GBB's 2011 AL East Preview

Well, with Opening Day now exactly 2 weeks away, it's time to start our traditional MLB Preview, in which we go division by division and predict how we see the divisions lining up this year! But don't worry, we'll still be mixing in plenty of Giants talk along the way. Like always, we'll start in the AL East and end in the NL West, so here we go:
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1st Place - Boston Red Sox

Lineup:
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
LF Carl Crawford
3B Kevin Youkilis
1B Adrian Gonzalez
DH David Ortiz
2B Dustin Pedroia
RF J.D. Drew
SS Marco Scutaro
C Jason Varitek

Rotation/Closer:
LHP Jon Lester
RHP Josh Beckett
RHP John Lackey
RHP Clay Bucholtz
RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka
CL: Jonathon Papelbon

It's going to be another neck and neck battle all year long between the Sox and the Yanks, but after the addition of Crawford and Gonzalez, the Red Sox really revamped their offense. All they need is health in their starting rotation (mainly Matsuzaka and Beckett), and they'll be a tough train to stop. Still sport one of the best closers in the game in Jon Papelbon.
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2nd Place - New York Yankees *AL Wild Card

Lineup:
LF Brett Gardener
SS Derek Jeter
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
RF Nick Swisher
CF Curtis Granderson
DH Jorge Posada
C Russell Martin

Rotation/Closer:
LHP C.C. Sabathia
RHP A.J. Burnett
RHP Phil Hughes
RHP Sergio Mitre
RHP Ivan Nova
CL: Mariano Rivera

The Yankees didn't add a whole lot to their squad that disappointed last year by losing to the Rangers in the ALCS. Still though, in any other division in this league, they're the clear favorites. Their core (Jeter, ARod, Mo and Posada) is getting a bit older though, and they need those young guys like Gardener, Granderson and Cano to really step it up. They also have some questions in their starting rotation, where they could really use Andy Pettite to pull a "Brett Favre" and return from retirement.
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3rd Place - Tampa Bay Rays

Lineup:
LF Johnny Damon
CF B.J. Upton
3B Evan Longoria
DH Manny Ramirez
RF Ben Zobrist
1B Dan Johnson
2B Sean Rodriguez
SS Reid Brignac
C John Jaso

Rotation/Closer:
LHP David Price
RHP James Shields
RHP Jeff Niemann
RHP Wade Davis
RHP Jeremy Hellickson
CL: Kyle Farnsworth

The Rays have lost a lot over the last 2 years and are now just a shadow of the that magical '08 squad. They still have Upton and Longoria, and have added a few productive vets in Ramirez and Damon, but their lineup after the first 5 is pretty abysmal. I think they're going to miss Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett a lot more than they expected too. Especially Crawford, who was an iron man for that team.
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4th Place - Baltimore Orioles

Lineup:
2B Brian Roberts
CF Adam Jones
RF Nick Markakis
1B Derek Lee
DH Vladimer Guerrero
3B Mark Reynolds
LF Luke Scott
SS J.J. Hardy
C Matt Wieters

Rotation/Closer:
RHP Jeremy Guthrie
LHP Brian Matusz
RHP Jake Arrieta
RHP Brad Bergesen
RHP Justin Duchsherer
CL: Koji Uehara

The Orioles have a lineup that can compete with anybody in the AL. They have speed, power, youth, experience and everybody from 1-9 is a threat with the bat. They also are finally putting together a young pitching staff that could turn out to be a solid one. Matusz, Arrieta and Bergesen are all 26 years old or younger and they have some nice mentors in Guthrie and Duchsherer. If they keep developing and JD can give them 30 starts, they could be a .500 ballclub on the rise.
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5th Place - Toronto Blue Jays

Lineup:
CF Rajai Davis
SS Yunel Escobar
2B Aaron Hill
3B Jose Bautista
1B Adam Lind
LF Juan Rivera
RF Travis Snider
DH Edwin Encarnacion
C J.P. Arencibia

Rotation/Closer:
LHP Rickey Romero
RHP Brandon Morrow
LHP Brett Cecil
RHP Kyle Drabek
LHP Mark Rzepczynski
CL: Octavio Dotel

The Jays are putting together a nice young staff. All of their starters are under 28 years of age and all of them appear to have bright futures in this league. Their lineup, however, is a little thin, and doesn't match up with the rest in this division. I'm curious to see how Bautista does coming off his 50-home run year, cause I don't see that happening again. I do think Travis Snider breaks out this year and hits 25-30 homers, but that won't be enough to carry this team in a tough AL East.
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Giants Notes: The Giants play another night game Thursday night, taking on the Angels after winning again Wednesday when Tim Lincecum improved to 3-0 on the Spring. I think it's safe to say, he's ready, after striking out 7 in 5+ innings of work. Brandon Belt also put forth his best effort of the Spring, going 3-4 with his 2nd homer to go along with 3 runs and 2 RBI. There's still plenty of spring left and even though it was starting to appear that Belt would start in AAA, if he finds his groove like he did Wednesday, he may force the issue upon Bochy and Sabean yet.