30 Teams, 30 Questions

Over the next few days, I’ll be looking at all 30 teams and presenting one question per team. I must take this time to preface this: Every team has more than one question in which we want answered. Yes, even the Red Sox and the Phillies for those that seemingly already want to pit these two teams against each other in the World Series.

And I will grant you that many teams do have more than one question that needs a proper answer as well.

But I will start with a look at the AL East where the Red Sox are considered by some to be the favorite to win the division.

Baltimore: What should the O’s fanbase take away from all the roster movement?

It’s clear that manager Buck Showalter wants his mark on this team. Bringing in some established veterans like Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee and even J.J. Hardy should not only lift the O’s overall talent level, but its collective baseball IQ as well. The talent increased a bit more with the deal for Mark Reynolds. It will also provide time for a handful of younger players to absorb the teachings from professionals like Vlad and D-Lee.

I wouldn’t say the O’s are a threat to anyone on the division, but getting these guys to “learn” the game is a step in the right direction. It won’t hurt to try. No one would dare say this team can contend for the wild card let alone the AL East title, but look at what’s on the roster. I don’t see 100 losses this year either.

Think of it as a form of “out with the old, in with the new”. Lose that mindset of losing and implant one of winning.

Boston: Can these guys stay healthy?

This has to be the main question heading into 2011. Look at the guys that lost substantial time in 2010: Dustin Pedroia, Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis. These four guys played in a total of 243 games with Youk playing the most (102) and Ellsbury playing the least (18). Get this. Who played the most games in the outfield for the Red Sox last year? J.D. Drew with 139. Second was Darnell McDonald with 117.

And we didn’t see the Josh Beckett we thought we would see either. Beckett only started 21 games in ’10 posting a 6-6 record with an uncharacteristic 5.78 ERA and 1.535 WHIP. The ERA and WHIP from 2010 marked the highest in his career.

Sure, they added some nice pieces with Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, but Boston must have a relatively clean DL this season.

New York: What happens after Sabathia?

Probably the most sought after answer in Yankee fandom. As of right now, it’s CC, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre. Hughes had a nice season in 2010, but faded. Burnett never seemed right. Nova is still a bit raw. Mitre? He might be #5. ANd the Yankees are hoping that either Bartolo Colon and/or Freddy Garcia can revive their baseball careers…now.

If there was seriously one team that needed to “win” the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, it was New York. Add Andy Pettitte‘s retirement to the mix and this starting staff remains a serious issue for the pinstripes.

But there is a bright side. The Yankees possess the best 1-2 in the bullpen with Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano. Better get to then in seven because if you don’t, put an “L” on your schedule. Oh, and I see no holes in the offense either.

Tampa Bay: Will the slash in payroll result in a slash in performance?

No team was hit harder by departing free agents than the Rays. Gone are Carlos Pena (Cubs), Joaquin Benoit (Tigers), Crawford (Red Sox) and Soriano (Yankees). Also, the Rays sent Matt Garza to the Cubs and Jason Bartlett to the Padres. All have either All-Star talent or already played in an All-Star Game. A lot to lose in a short period of time.

I don’t expect the Rays to win the division, but I don’t honestly believe the season will be as bad as you might think it will be. You can look at the signings of Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez as being “reaches”. Possibly, but I think both Damon and Manny will be big contributors. I like Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac up the middle of the infield. I like John Jaso getting another trip through the league.

Not as bad as thought.

Toronto: Can the Blue Jays find enough pitching to compliment that offense?

We all know of Ricky Romero (well, you should). You might put Kyle Drabek in that group only because he was in the deal for Roy Halladay. You may not be completely familiar with Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil.

Morrow is finally a full-fledged starter as a Jay. The Mariners moved him from starter to closer to starter to closer to starter. You get the point. Morrow has a live arm and a lot of talent. Cecil won 15 games last season and now has a nice changeup to compliment his fastball and slider.

The bullpen was pretty much rebuilt with Frank Francisco as the closer, Octavio Dotel, and Jon Rauch brought in to setup for Francisco. This is still a decent bullpen. Plus, if Francisco stumbles, either Dotel or Rauch can step in to the closer’s role. Now that I think about it, the bullpen might just be a tic better.

#5 will be the issue. It may not really matter though. Even with Vernon Wells in So Cal, the Blue Jays will still crank a lot of home runs. Maybe not as many as in 2010, but enough to make this a pretty potent lineup. As long as two guys don’t sustain slumps simultaneously, the Blue Jays are a threat at any time to win any game.

Tomorrow, we’ll look in on the AL Central.

Five down, 25 to go…