2011 MLB Preview: AL East Edition

Again, we are on the dawn of the baseball season. It reveals the presence of spring and new growth. Baseball is a sign of the time. People, locked in their houses and huts for months, are excited to re-acclimate themselves to the outdoors. The fishing, golfing, and summer lake activities are all kicked off each and every spring by the emergence of baseball. With the optimism of summer in the air, I have decided to document my 2011 MLB Preview Selection Show (with no show, podcasts or even videos – irony got me). Let’s get started.

AL East Champions:  Boston Red Sox

            I am extremely attracted to the youthfulness (Evan Longoria, David Price, Jake McGee and Jeremy “Hell Boy” Hellickson) and the added veteran presences (Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez) to the Tampa Bay Rays (wish they were still the “Devil” Rays, as it would be a fitting home for 2011 AL ROY hopeful “Hell Boy” Hellickson), but this team doesn’t have the ammo to shoot down the division this season. They may not shoot it down, but the Maddon’s crew will be firing all season, no doubt.

            As much as I love the Yankees, everything they stand for, their respectful and humble fan base and the way they frugally allocate their money (sarcasm abundant), I do not see the division title in their sights this season. They simply lack the starting pitching. Nova and Garcia are slotted as the 4 and 5 starters, with the never dependable A.J. Burnett. They Yankees lineup will score a lot of runs, but I see A.J.’s ERA stretching closer to the pH levels of water than that of pi (An inside science joke for me and my fellow science majors).

            Neither the Blue Jays nor the Orioles deserve their own paragraphs, so I’m going to highlight their limited glowing areas as a collective unit. Kyle Drabek, of the Blue Jays has some electric stuff and will be a serious threat for ROY in the AL. Other than that, 75 wins looks optimistic for the Jays. The suddenly aged Orioles (Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee, and Brian Roberts) seem to have made a final push at the division with the off-season acquisitions they made (more sarcasm). Weiters is still the future in Baltimore and we’ll see how he progresses.

            The Champs of the East will be the Red Sox: Starting pitching (Lester, Buchholz, Lackey, Beckett and Dice-K), check. Speed (Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford), check. Power (Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, and David Ortiz), check. Former MVP’s (Dustin Pedroia), check. This team also has strength in their bullpens and they are deep. They are poised.

Who do YOU like at #1?

As the draft approaches, this year’s number one pick has yet to emerge. There are a plethora of options to pencil in the #1 slot, but no player has really distanced himself from the pack. Take a look at season’s past, where multiple guys were worthy of the #1 pick. If players like Ndamukong Suh, Calvin Johnson, Vince Young or Reggie Bush found themselves among the 2010 prospects, they would probably be taken number 1. This is obviously, not the case.

At the beginning of the process, Auburn’s Nick Fairley was fresh in our minds as his dominant season was played on highlights over and over. He seemed like this year’s Suh, a dominating defensive tackle that can disrupt any offense and cause havoc in the backfield. He was penciled as the number one guy, but as time moved forward, Fairley perhaps un-Fairley slipped on many experts big boards. Rumors about his attitude and the fact that his junior season has been his only strong season of his collegiate career raised eyebrows among NFL scouts, causing a loss a slip in status. Speaking of raised eyebrows, A.J. Green has captivated scouts with his pure ability at the WR position. As a Bulldog, Green was an impact offensive player in the toughest conference in the country from the time that he was a freshman. The Panthers, with an aging Steve Smith, may be in the market for a player like Green. He is viewed a player who has the speed to gain separation from coverage, but also the size to take the ball from any defender. Recently at the combine in Indianapolis, it wasn’t Green making the headlines. It was Julio Jones, the Alabama product who has been highly touted ever since his prep days. Julio caught everything thrown his way and shocked the stopwatches with a blistering 40 time of 4.39, all on what was soon to be learned as a fractured foot. This performance hurt Green’s status as the provisional number 1 overall pick, because teams now feel that Jones has closed the gap for the #1 receiver spot, giving the draft more depth at receiver and lowering Green’s value.

With still no “Can’t Miss” player in the draft, eyes moved towards the player who had the nation captivated all fall: Cam Newton. Cam is a big, strong-armed quarterback, with the athleticism and elusiveness to evade any pass rusher. He proved his leadership on the field for national champion Auburn Tigers’ while taking home the most prized trophy in collegiate athletics, the Heisman Trophy. Cam is a likable player, always carrying around a smile and a good interview for fans and media. He appears to have the highest ceiling in the draft, but people inside the ropes have major question marks about Cam. His accuracy has been questioned all season, with this past Combine performance not proving anyone wrong. Also, the notion of Cam being able to succeed at the next level with the run first attitude he’s garnered, scares NFL general managers and coaches alike. Some experts do not even have Cam as a first ROUND pick, let alone the number 1 man. (Also, Carolina wasted…used* the #48 pick on Jimmy Clausen a year ago, so QB doesn’t seem like the place to go.)So quarterback isn’t the place to go, huh? With that, we arrive at our current number one overall draft pick, Missouri Tigers quarterback Blaine Gabbert.  Blaine impressed coaches with his big arm and confidence on the white board. Gabbert has the size and vision of a successful NFL QB and he is widely considered the best pure passer in the draft. A major knock on Blaine is the fact that he hails from a spread offense in Missouri, a fact that has seemingly not scared of analysts across the board.

As the game of musical chairs continues around the first pick, I personally have a guy who has all the skills and potential impact of a number 1 overall pick, but has not received a worthy look: LSU CB Patrick Peterson. Peterson, along with Nebraska cover man Prince Amukamara lead the field of defensive backs into the 2011 draft. Peterson might be the most talented player in the draft, a player that can make impacts not only on the defensive end of the ball, but also in special teams. His skillset seems reminiscent of players like Charles Woodson and Deion Sanders coming out of college. He obtains electrifying speed and in his time at LSU showed all the skills necessary to be a shutdown corner at the next level. In the NFL, it is commonly noted that there are 4 cornerstone positions on the football field: Quarterback, Left Tackle, a pass rushing Defensive End and an elite corner back. We’ve all seen how players like Darrelle Revis and Nnamdi Asomugha have impacted their defenses. Coordinators have been allowed to put them on a respective, and respected, “islands” and been given the freedom to be much more aggressive with the remaining 10 players on the field. Although Peterson may become a corner back on this level at some point in his future, I feel that his impact will be noticed in the return game immediately. In the 2000’s players like Dante Hall, Devin Hester and Joshua Cribbs, have played huge roles in the return game. These players were called “game-changers”, players who strike fear into the heart of every Heath Farwell and Tully Banta-Cain in the league. They have become invaluable, repeatedly giving their offenses the best possible starting field position and sometimes, getting a little hungry and taking one back to the house. There is an abundant amount of reasons that CB’s aren’t popular first picks. A major reason is due to the amount of money these top picks have cashed in for in recent drafts. First overall picks are the highest paid players in the league, so teams feel the urge to move in a direction that will prove to be a good return on their investment, namely the quarterback, tackle and defensive end positions. With the hopeful success of a new CBA, these rookie contracts will be scaled down, giving teams the option to take the best player on their boards, and not just the one with the highest potential. This is where Peterson becomes the number one man on my board and once Peterson evolves into the second coming of Champ Bailey, the Panthers will be happy they made history, and slotted a cornerback at #1.