It is day 3 and now we are on the eastern teams in baseball.
NL East:
NL East:
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Philadelphia Phillies (65-97)- The Phillies World Series window closed years ago. They are an old, decrepit team. The rotation will be solid, but the lineup will not produce for them this year. It is very likely that Howard and Utley both go down with injuries again. Expect a terrible year in Philly this year.
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Miami Marlins (74-88)- One of the biggest problems with the Marlins is the lack of experience on the team. The team tried to address that by signing some vets such as Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jeff Baker, and Garret Jones. All are average players at best, but can help guide the team. The year will also be better if Giancarlo Stanton can stay healthy for at least 140 games and Christian Yelich doesn't hit any speed bumps his first full year. The team will also hope Jose Fernandez can improve upon his first year, which was magical. If the young pitching staff also improves upon last year, they Marlins may be able to sneak into the playoffs.
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New York Mets (79-83)- The Mets are an extremely average team. For everything they have right, their is something wrong. They have a great third baseman, but awful first baseman. They have a fantastic rotation. They will be average again this year, but could actually be a few games over .500 if their young pitchers step up and their outfielders post anything close to average production. That could very well happen this season with the additions of Curtis Granderson and Chris Young. If the Mets sign Stephen Drew, they may just be able to sneak into playoff talks. Until then, they aren't going anywhere except home in October.
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Atlanta Braves (85-77)- This spring training has been rough on the Braves. Beachy and Medlen are both gone rehabbing Tommy John. Minor is going to be out for the first couple games. The Ervin Santana signing helps the team, but the rotation is what will cost this team the division. Maybe if Evan Gattis post numbers somewhere close to McCann and BJ Upton actually shows up this season, they can help ease the loss of these pitchers. However, a team cannot survive solely on offense, and even though the Braves have one of the best in baseball, the pitching will be bumpy. The Braves will make the Wild Card, though.
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Washington Nationals (89-73)- The Nationals had a disappointing year last year. They were poised to runaway with the league, but instead didn't make the playoffs. Blame the offense. Harper will probably hit a bunch more homers this season, seeing as how he bulked up. A full season of Anthony Rendon will also help. Ryan Zimmerman will also put in another solid season. The offense is this team's ticket to first place. The pitching will make this team a World Series contender. Name a rotation better then one with the likes of Strasburg, J. Zimmerman, G. Gonzalez, and Fister. Pitching is what makes this team exciting to watch. The team will win the East with an improvement on offense and an even stronger rotation.
AL East:
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Toronto Blue Jays (75-87)- The Blue Jays have a few talented players, but this is most definitely not a team built to win. They did not make any big moves to help the team improve. This is the same team with the same question mark filled line-up and rotation. Bautista will continue his business. Rasmus is looking like the old Rasmus this spring, i.e. not good. Cabrera is hitting like crazy, but those numbers will probably come back down during the season. There are no starters in that rotation that have proven they can pitch with success in the AL East. Don't expect this team to be in playoff talks this season.
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Baltimore Orioles (83-79)- The Orioles have a talented lineup, but the thing that has really kept them out of the playoffs and prevented them from going far is their rotation. It is fairly talentless. They have tried to help it, though. Only problem is they brought in a NL pitcher in Bud Norris last season and Ubaldo Jimenez this season, who we have n idea how he is going to perform on this team. They won't be in contention this season due to the rotation, Machado's health, and the enigma that is Chris Davis (his power dropped off in the second half of last season). Hardy, Davis, and Adam Jones will do the best they can to help this team stay in contention, but it won't be enough.
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New York Yankees (85-77)- The Yankees are going to be a little better, but they really should've made more moves with their rotation. Sabathia is most likely to continue his decline, we have no idea what we are gonna get with Tanaka, Kuroda's health could shut-off at any moment now, and we have absolutely no clue what to expect from Pineda. There are too many question marks in that rotation. The moves they made on offense are only going to mask the other holes on offense. The giant gaping holes at pretty much anywhere in the infield are still there. Anyone expecting Jeter to put up monster numbers is out of their mind. Teixera is going to have trouble getting back into the grove. They have merely average players holding down the fort at 3rd and 2nd. Not to mention Jacoby Ellsbury is as sturdy as a feather. Beltran could also go down at any moment. This team is filled with way too many question marks to even think of them touching that World Series trophy, let alone a Wild Card.
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Tampa Bay Rays (92-70)- This is a pick I had a tough time with. As good as the Red Sox are, the Rays can match them. They have the upper hand in the rotation. Price, Cobb, Archer, and Moore all have electric stuff. As always, the question comes down to whether or not the offense can help. The offense is thin. Evan Longoria and Wil Myers are the players that come to mind. The Rays success depends on how well these two players produce. Expect the rays to stay in talks until the end, and snag a Wild Card.
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Boston Red Sox (94-68)- The Red Sox will regress a tad this season, but not much. Lester will have a career year this year. Bucholz will not put up as good numbers as last year, but will still put up solid numbers until he inevitably gets injured. Lackey will also be solid. The real question mark is how will Doubront perform. He has had mixed results this spring, but if he performs like he did mid-season last year for the majority of this season the Red Sox will definitely get the AL East crown. The offense will also be about the same. Sizemore will win the starting CF job out of camp, but he will have a short leash. The loss of Salty hurts and Pierzynski most definitely doesn't make up for it, but expect Middlebrooks to cover for that. Bogaerts is the player to watch. Expect a solid season from, especially since he showed great poise and ability to adapt quickly in his brief time last season. At the end of the season, the Red Sox will once again be AL East champions.