As the Doc sees it.....
So far the season has pretty much being going along as i expected it would.
The Jays are playing pretty good & the starting pitching is quite decent. Mark Buehrle is among the top pitchers in MLB. The guy knows how to pitch. R.A. Dickey is starting slowly, but he'll settle down when he has a few games under his belt, just like last season. Brandon Morrow has been inconsistent & it's not surprising considering he has barely pitched in two years. Drew Hutchison has pitched extremely well & showing his great spring wasn't a fluke. Dustin McGowan had a tough opener, but has settled down & pitching very effectively. The bullpen has been somewhat inconsistent, but most of this is due to the fact closer Casey Janssen hasn't come off the DL yet. The hitting is starting to come around & the power numbers are among the league's best. Jose Reyes played his first game yesterday & hasn't lost a step. The biggest injury so far has been to infielder Maicer Izturis, who destroyed his knee while walking down the dugout steps. He had surgery and his season is likely over. He was off to a very good start, but he won't be missed that much since the organization is rich in decent infielders. The Jays are in first place & all i'll add is that it's a very much better start than last season.
The Tampa Bay Rays are dealing with devastating long-term injuries to their starting pitching. The bullpen is average at best & they have no closer. What carries the team once again are the hitters & team chemistry. I doubt Evan Longoria can carry this team on his entire shoulders once again. David Price has been solid, but everyone knows he's outta there if the team gets off to a slow start & doesn't improve much by July.
The Boston Red Sox are pretty much where i expected them to be. A solid team who'll contend, but this season will prove that last season's successes were an abherration. John Farrell in my book isn't a very good manager. He's not in the same league as the likes of John Madden, Buck Showalter & even Joe Girardi. Pedroia is off to a slow start once again & he's playing with a damaged wrist. Big Pappi is being Big Pappi. Mike Napoli isn't getting any younger & his body looks like it's poised to break down. Big questions at third base & shortstop. I'm not impressed with the outfield. Jackie Bradley Jr. should not be in the majors. The Red Sox greatly miss Jacoby Ellsbury, who happens to be the rival Yankees' best player. The starting pitching is decent. John Lester & Jake Peavy are solid. Not sold on Bucholz. Lackie will have a bad year, i can feel it. Bullpen very ordinary. No closer. Victorino's absence isn't helping. Adding Pierzinsky will destroy team chemistry. The guy will be a cancer in that clubhouse. The Red Sox will fade by August and will be battling it out with the Orioles for 3rd place in the division. Let's put it this way: three years ago, it was all about the worst collapse in the history of baseball & the Popeye's fried chicken/drinking in the clubhouse incident. Two years ago it was all about Bobby Valentine & how he wasn't a good fit for this club. Last year, they surprised everybody, had a lot of luck and wound up winning the World Series despite being managed by John Farrell, one of the league's worst managers in my opinion. But once again, this team's past problems are resurfacing when we learn that Middlebrooks was screwing the tv reporter. Same thing happened with Jason Varitek a few years back. This is a team that has players who should be focusing on baseball instead of finding ways in how to screw the next pretty tv reporter. It seems that it's only with this team where this kind of stuff happens.
The Baltimore Orioles. When i think about the Orioles, manager Buck Showalter comes to mind. Great manager in my opinion & he rarely gets outmanaged. He's innovative & you never know what to expect from him. His team hasn't changed much as last season & i don't expect them to contend. Average starting pitching. No ace. Decent bullpen. The hitters are okay. Nick Markakis isn't getting any younger. I don't expect them to contend, but they won't finish in last place.
The New York Yankees. A god-awful team of has-beens if you ask me. Old. Very old. A team led by Derek Jeter, who'll spend a good part of the season on the DL or being 'rested'. His last season, but sadly is final season should have been last year. Big hole at first base. Texeira is injured again. I once again suspect that years of abuse (e.g. steroids/hgh) are now haunting him. His body is prematurely breaking down. Second base is another big hole. Losing potential future hall-of-famer Robinson Canoe was devastating to this team. He was supposed to be a Yankee-for-life, but they lost him because either they weren't offering him enough or simply had no money left to re-sign him. They wasted way too much money on Jacoby Ellsbury & Tanaka. They also overspent for Brian McCann, but it wasn't a bad acquistion in my opinion. Sure, he sucks at the plate right now, but his hitting stats will gradually improve. Third base also is a big question mark, but the guy they have playing there right now (Solarte) has been surprising. But will it last? Kelly Johnson is now a starter with this team & this tells you all you need to know.
The outfield has been very good. Gardiner is okay in right & one of the rare players it has on the roster with above-average speed. Ellsbury is the other one with great speed & has been their best player. However, they way overpaid for him. The only way that kind of spending can be overcome & justified is if they win the World Series either this season or the next, which will definitely not happen. Carlos Beltran has also played very well. Ichiro is okay, but also not getting any younger & he's a shadow of his ol' self.
Pitching. Starting pitching is decent, but not exceptional. The top two pitchers (in my opinion) are Kuroda & Tanaka. But the problem with Tanaka is that they once again spent way too much money to get this guy. He's good & he'll continue being very good for a few years, but he's not THAT good to justify spending that crazy amount of money on just to have bragging rights over other teams who were interested in signing him. Pineda is their next best pitcher, but still has question marks on whether or not he can remain healthy for an entire season. Sabathia is good, but a shade of his ol' self. I think maybe his weight loss has made him less effective, but it could be age & how he abused his body (not taking care of himself & keeping his weight down) over the years. Ivan Nova. Super Nova some Yankees fans nicknamed him. I never got that nickname since i was never impressed by this guy. Now his season likely over with a suspected ligament tear in his pitching elbow. It looks like he'll be undergoing Tommy John in the near future.
The bullpen? Extremely average at best. David Robertson will never be able to replace the great Mariano Rivera. And he's already on the DL. Not exactly the great start to his career as a closer that he or anyone wanted.
I consider Joe Girardi to be one of the better managers in the league, but he's not a miracle worker. Even the great Sparky Anderson or Earl Weaver couldn't have accomplished much with this team of aging veterans & players with broken bodies. You need good pitching to win & this is one thing the Yankees also lack of. Decent starting pitching, but that's about it.
The Yankees will finish in last place in the AL East. I'm now certain of this.
As i see it today:
Top 2 teams: Jays & Rays.
Followed by: Boston & Baltimore.
Worst team: Yankees.
