AL East

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

For some fans, the American League East is a treacherous place. When baseball’s biggest super powers all swing their bats in the same division, it’s hard to gain any ground when you’re the little guy. 

Yes, I’m talking to you Baltimore.

But, thanks to our overactive sports imaginations and a little something called fantasy baseball, we can build our own big league monopoly, so let’s mine the AL East and construct a divisional behemoth that will strike fear into the hearts of fake teams everywhere.

Phil Rizzuto joined the New York Yankees in 1941. He batted .307 and played adequate defense at shortstop as the Yankees won the pennant and went on to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series.

The following season, Rizzuto made the All-Star team as the Yankees again won the pennant, but they lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals despite Rizzuto's .381 batting average.

It's the second day of February, and the Super Bowl is just four days away, meaning baseball is right around the corner (pitchers and catchers report in about two weeks).

That means it's time to start talking about the Yankees (and the Mets, in time—the Wilpons need money).

Over the next two weeks, I’ll examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East on a position-by-position basis.

The players at each position will be ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, I begin the series with a look at the catchers.

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Looking back, I'd have to say that Phil Rizzuto was the "voice" of my youth. It was the "Scooter's" unmistakable, high-pitched voice that would be resounding throughout the steamy living room during those summers in the late 60's when I first started following America's pastime. Whether it was his trademark "Holy Cow!" (which, at times, could be heard a block away) or his sending of birthday wishes to the "average Joe" in New Jersey or New York, you just KNEW it was summer when you heard Phil Rizzuto.

Last week, I wrote an article entitled MLB Predictions: Boston’s Josh Beckett and 10 AL East Stars Who Will Rebound in 2011, predicting 10 star athletes from baseball’s AL East Division who will fare better in the year ahead than they did in the 2010 season.

I anticipate a return to form for stars like Derek Jeter of New York and Josh Beckett of Boston—elite players who offered uncharacteristically mediocre contributions last year.

The New York Yankees agreed to terms with Freddy Garcia on Tuesday, the latest in a succession of bargain basement signings of once-great pitchers rendered ordinary (or worse) by age, injuries—or in the case of Bartolo Colon—the soft late-night glow of the refrigerator.

This strategy was last employed with success by the 1989 Cleveland Indians, which would be cause for encouragement if it didn't occur in the fictional world of the movie Major League.

The biggest off-season talk so far in the AL East has clearly been about the Red Sox big moves. Around the division, beyond Boston, the Yankees have made little improvement from last year, losing out on Cliff Lee, and signing Rafael Soriano, all while waiting on Andy Pettitte.

As of recent, the Yankees have been most active, in signing veteran pitchers Mark Prior, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia, all to minor league deals. According to sources, Pettitte has a $12M offer waiting for him, if he decides to return for another year.

In 14 days, pitchers and catchers will report to their respective camps as 2011 spring training means baseball is finally back again.
 
For the New York Yankees, it means pitching tryouts will begin, as there are two big holes that need to be filled in the starting rotation.
 
GM Brain Cashman is trying to fill the fourth and fifth spots, while Yankees fans are holding their breath hoping southpaw Andy Pettitte will appear.