Posted on Sun, Mar. 30, 2008

EAST DIVISION

BOSTON RED SOX

2007: 96-66, 1st, World Series title

MANAGER: Terry Francona

OUTLOOK: The World Series winners two of the past four seasons stood pat and have several key young players who gained experience. Two of them, Lester and Ellsbury, will be counted on heavily this season. The Red Sox hope right-hander Curt Schilling (shoulder), out at least until the All-Star break, or right-hander Bartolo Colon, signed in February, can boost the rotation at some point.

LINEUP

CF Jacoby Ellsbury

2B Dustin Pedroia

DH David Ortiz

LF Manny Ramirez

3B Mike Lowell

RF J.D. Drew

1B Kevin Youkilis

C Jason Varitek

SS Julio Lugo

ROTATION

RH Josh Beckett

RH Daisuke Matsuzaka

LH Jon Lester

RH Tim Wakefield

RH Clay Buchholz

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Jonathan Papelbon

LH Hideki Okajima

RH Mike Timlin

3

Newcomers added by Boston in the offseason. None are regulars.

NEW YORK YANKEES

2007: 94-68, 2nd, wild card

MANAGER: Joe Girardi

OUTLOOK: The Yankees are counting on their kids, highlighting a recent shift in the organization's philosophy. Three pitchers 23 or younger, Hughes (21), Chamberlain (22) and Kennedy (23), have important roles this year. Missing the playoffs would still be unacceptable. The $200 million powerhouse is looking for its 27th World Series title in its final season at storied Yankee Stadium .

LINEUP

LF-DH Johnny Damon

SS Derek Jeter

RF Bobby Abreu

3B Alex Rodriguez

C Jorge Posada

1B Jason Giambi

DH-LF Hideki Matsui

2B Robinson Cano

CF Melky Cabrera

ROTATION

RH Chien-Ming Wang

LH Andy Pettitte

RH Phil Hughes

RH Mike Mussina

RH Ian Kennedy

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Mariano Rivera

RH Joba Chamberlain

RH Kyle Farnsworth

13

Consecutive trips to the postseason for the Yankees.

TORONTO Blue Jays

2007: 83-79, 3rd

MANAGER: John Gibbons

OUTLOOK: Hobbled by injuries and held back by punchless bats, the Blue Jays discovered a surprise strength in 2007 -- their talented young arms. If the hitters return to form, Toronto has the talent to make the playoff race in the AL East interesting. General manager J.P. Ricciardi hopes newcomers and former World Series winners Rolen and Eckstein will provide a spark in a clubhouse lacking urgency.

LINEUP

SS David Eckstein

RF Alex Rios

CF Vernon Wells

3B Scott Rolen

DH Frank Thomas

LF Matt Stairs

1B Lyle Overbay

2B Aaron Hill

C Gregg Zaun

ROTATION

RH Roy Halladay

RH A.J. Burnett

RH Dustin McGowan

RH Shaun Marcum

RH Jesse Litsch

KEY RELIEVERS

LH B.J. Ryan

RH Jeremy Accardo

RH Brandon League

951

Games missed because of injury, by 13 players, in `07.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

2007: 69-93, 4th

MANAGER: Dave Trembley

OUTLOOK: This is a rebuilding year for the Orioles, who no longer can pretend they have a shot at making some noise in the AL East. Their rotation is young, their cleanup hitter lacks power and they've got inexperience in center field, left field, shortstop and at the helm. Trembley will enter his first full year as a major league manager with no stars and little hope of finishing higher than fourth place.

LINEUP

2B Brian Roberts

3B Melvin Mora

RF Nick Markakis

1B Kevin Millar

DH Aubrey Huff

C Ramon Hernandez

LF Luke Scott

CF Adam Jones

SS Luis Hernandez

ROTATION

RH Jeremy Guthrie

LH Adam Loewen

RH Daniel Cabrera

RH Steve Trachsel

RH Matt Albers

KEY RELIEVERS

LH George Sherrill

LH Jamie Walker

RH Chad Bradford

10

Consecutive losing seasons, a franchise record.

TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS

2007: 66-96, 5th

MANAGER: Joe Maddon

OUTLOOK: Thanks to a deep farm system, the Rays have finally assembled enough talent to have reasonable expectations of escaping the AL East cellar. The departures of Young and Dukes make for better harmony in the clubhouse, and the additions of Garza and Bartlett figure to improve the starting pitching and defense. Success hinges on how the young rotation and new bullpen fare.

LINEUP

2B Akinori Iwamura

LF Carl Crawford

CF B.J. Upton

1B Carlos Pena

DH Cliff Floyd

RF Jonny Gomes

3B Willy Aybar

C Dioner Navarro

SS Jason Bartlett

ROTATION

LH Scott Kazmir

RH James Shields

RH Matt Garza

RH Edwin Jackson

RH Andy Sonnanstine

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Troy Percival

RH Al Reyes

RH Dan Wheeler

0

Times in their 10 seasons the Rays have won more than 70.

CENTRAL DIVISION

CLEVELAND INDIANS

2007: 96-66, 1st

MANAGER: Eric Wedge

OUTLOOK: Although they claim to have moved on, the pain of last October still lingers for the Indians, who were arguably baseball's second-best team behind Boston. Sabathia's decision to suspend negotiations on a contract extension until after the season -- when he's eligible for free agency -- has Cleveland fans fearing that this season could be their last, best chance to end a 60-year World Series title drought.

LINEUP

CF Grady Sizemore

3B Casey Blake

DH Travis Hafner

C Victor Martinez

1B Ryan Garko

LF Jason Michaels

SS Jhonny Peralta

RF Franklin Gutierrez

2B Asdrubal Cabrera

ROTATION

LH C.C. Sabathia

RH Fausto Carmona

RH Jake Westbrook

LH Cliff Lee

RH Paul Byrd

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Joe Borowski

RH Rafael Betancourt

LH Rafael Perez

370

RBIs last year by the top four hitters in the lineup.

DETROIT TIGERS

2007: 88-74, 2nd

MANAGER: Jim Leyland

OUTLOOK: If the Tigers don't make the playoffs -- no easy feat in the American League -- they and their fans will consider the season a failure. They appear to have the best lineup in baseball with the additions of Cabrera, Renteria and Jones. The rotation looks capable, led by Verlander. The injury-riddled bullpen, however, will likely be under pressure until it proves doubters wrong.

LINEUP

CF Curtis Granderson

2B Placido Polanco

DH Gary Sheffield

RF Magglio Ordonez

3B Miguel Cabrera

1B Carlos Guillen

SS Edgar Renteria

C Ivan Rodriguez

LF Jacque Jones

ROTATION

RH Justin Verlander

LH Kenny Rogers

RH Jeremy Bonderman

LH Dontrelle Willis

LH Nate Robertson

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Todd Jones

RH Denny Bautista

LH Bobby Seay

181

Consecutive games without an error for Placido Polanco.

MINNESOTA TWINS

2007: 79-83, 3rd

MANAGER: Ron Gardenhire

OUTLOOK: The trade of ace Johan Santana to the Mets leaves a hole in a rotation that will welcome 2006 All-Star Liriano back, provided he's strong enough after his Tommy John surgery 17 months ago. Even with a healthy Liriano, starting pitching will be a major question. The offense will miss Torii Hunter's bat in the middle of the lineup, so the Twins have their work cut out for them in this loaded division.

LINEUP

CF Carlos Gomez

C Joe Mauer

RF Michael Cuddyer

1B Justin Morneau

LF Delmon Young

DH Jason Kubel

3B Mike Lamb

2B Brendan Harris

SS Adam Everett

ROTATION

RH Livan Hernandez

RH Scott Baker

RH Boof Bonser

LH Francisco Liriano

RH Kevin Slowey

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Joe Nathan

RH Matt Guerrier

LH Dennys Reyes

30

pounds lost in the offseason by right-hander Boof Bonser.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

2007: 72-90, 4th

MANAGER: Ozzie Guillen

OUTLOOK: The White Sox retooled, acquiring Swisher, who will probably be used in left with Owens playing center and leading off. The bullpen got a makeover, which was no surprise after it went 19-25 with a 5.49 ERA. Linebrink and Dotel were added as a bridge between the starters and All-Star closer Jenks. The question remains, was last season an aberration or an indication?

LINEUP

CF Jerry Owens

LF Nick Swisher

1B Paul Konerko

DH Jim Thome

RF Jermaine Dye

C A.J. Pierzynski

3B Joe Crede

SS Orlando Cabrera

2B Juan Uribe

ROTATION

LH Mark Buehrle

RH Javier Vazquez

LH John Danks

RH Jose Contreras

RH Gavin Floyd

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Bobby Jenks

RH Octavio Dotel

RH Scott Linebrink

23

saves blown by the White Sox bullpen last season.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

2007: 69-93, 5th

MANAGER: Trey Hillman

OUTLOOK: The big change is Hillman, the only manager in the majors who didn't play or coach in the bigs. He proved in spring training that he won't put up with laziness or inattention to detail, and this young club might respond to his message of taking care of the little things. Breakthrough seasons by Butler, Gordon, Teahen and DeJesus could enable this team to avoid a fifth straight last-place finish.

LINEUP

CF David DeJesus

2B Mark Grudzielanek

LF Mark Teahan

RF Jose Guillen

3B Alex Gordon

DH Billy Butler

1B Ross Gload

C John Buck

SS Tony Pena Jr.

ROTATION

RH Gil Meche

RH Brian Bannister

RH Zack Greinke

RH John Bale

RH Brett Tomko

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Joakim Soria

RH Yasuhiko Yabuta

LH Jimmy Gobble

102

Home runs last season, the fewest in the majors.

WEST DIVISION

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

2007: 94-68, 1st

MANAGER: Mike Scioscia

OUTLOOK: Along with the wealth in the outfield, Los Angeles has an abundance of solid starting pitchers -- if they all get healthy. Injuries to Lackey and Escobar at the top of the rotation are a concern, but on paper the Angels have good pitching, hitting and fielding. They should know by late October if all that is enough.

LINEUP

3B Chone Figgins

DH-LF Gary Matthews Jr.

LF-DH Garret Anderson

RF Vladimir Guerrero

CF Torii Hunter

2B Howie Kendrick

1B Casey Kotchman

C Mike Napoli

SS Maicer Izturis

ROTATION

RH John Lackey

RH Jered Weaver

RH Jon Garland

RH Ervin Santana

LH Joe Saunders

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Francisco Rodriguez

RH Scot Shields

RH Justin Speier

123

Home runs hit by the angels last season, ranking 12th in the 14-team American League.

SEATTLE MARINERS

2007: 88-74, 2nd

MANAGER: John McLaren

OUTLOOK: The Mariners gave up cash and prospects to get Bedard to be their ace, and they signed Silva for the middle of what they think is baseball's best rotation. It's good enough to force Batista, who had 16 wins in 2007, into the No. 5 role. The power-thin lineup needs to produce if Seattle is to overtake the Angels.

LINEUP

CF Ichiro Suzuki

DH Jose Vidro

LF Raul Ibanez

3B Adrian Beltre

1B Richie Sexson

RF Brad Wilkerson

C Kenji Johjima

2B Jose Lopez

SS Yuniesky Betancourt

ROTATION

LH Erik Bedard

RH Felix Hernandez

RH Carlos Silva

LH Jarrod Washburn

RH Miguel Batista

KEY RELIEVERS

RH J.J. Putz

RH Brandon Morrow

LH Arthur Rhodes

7

Consecutive 200-hit seasons for outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, a major-league record.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

2007: 76-86, 3rd

MANAGER: Bob Geren

OUTLOOK: GM Billy Beane decided he didn't have enough to compete in the power-packed AL so he decided to trade his ace, Dan Haren, and best hitter, Nick Swisher, as part of a rebuilding plan. The team's only chance for success would require healthy, productive seasons from Chavez, Crosby and the brittle rotation.

LINEUP

RF Travis Buck

2B Mark Ellis

3B Eric Chavez

DH Mike Sweeney

1B Daric Barton

LF Jack Cust

SS Bobby Crosby

CF Carlos Gonzalez

C Kurt Suzuki

ROTATION

RH Joe Blanton

RH Rich Harden

RH Justin Duchscherer

LH Lenny DiNardo

RH Chad Gaudin

KEY RELIEVERS

RH Huston Street

LH Alan Embree

RH Keith Foulke

1998

Oakland's injury-ravaged losing season in `07 was its first since 1998.

TEXAS RANGERS

2007: 75-87, 4th

MANAGER: Ron Washington

OUTLOOK: If the Rangers are going to have a chance to compete, the starters must improve. The top four were a combined 23-43 with a 5.51 ERA last season. The Rangers went 29-28 after the trade deadline last season, but it seems the best they can hope for is to finish in front of Oakland and escape the AL West basement.

LINEUP

2B Ian Kinsler

SS Michael Young

CF Josh Hamilton

3B Hank Blalock

DH Milton Bradley

LF David Murphy

RF Marlon Byrd

C Gerald Laird

1B Ben Broussard

ROTATION

RH Kevin Millwood

RH Vicente Padilla

RH Jason Jennings

RH Luis Mendoza

RH Brandon McCarthy

KEY RELIEVERS

LH C.J. Wilson

LH Eddie Guardado

RH Joaquin Benoit

216

Combined games missed last season by the top four starters in Texas' rotation.