AL East (04/19/00)Since they've won the World Series in 3 of the past 4 years, most people are content conceding the championship to the Yankees for the foreseeable future. After all, they have one of the biggest local television markets in the country, seemingly unlimited financial resources, a deep farm system and a GM and manager who understand that a winning team is more than a sum of it's parts. But many pundits feel that this is the year the Yanks won't be alone at the top of the division.
Conclusion
The Yanks have been so dominant for so long that it's hard to pick against them. But they do have some cracks that should allow Boston and Toronto to close the gap. If the Yanks suffer any problems with their starting pitching, they could be in big trouble. Boston still needs to find adequate starters behind Pedro, but they have some decent choices to pick from. Toronto has the goods to make a run but it remains to be seen if Fregosi can mature this team enough to do it. The O's are still spinning their wheels in place and will continue until Angelos gets it through his skull that he's not a baseball man. Tampa is still a few years away from being a major league baseball club.
1) Blue Jays
2) Red Sox
3) Yankees
4) Orioles
5) Devil Rays