Toronto Blue Jays
 The American League East, with
the defending World Champion New York Yankees and
the always dangerous Baltimore Orioles, is arguably the toughest division in
baseball. Unfortunately, despite some notable offseason moves, the Blue Jays
still seem to lack the consistent power needed to be a contender.
With addition of Roger Clemens, the Blue Jays now have one of the strongest
rotations in baseball. In Clemens, Juan Guzman and Pat Hentgen, the Blue Jays
send a former Cy Young Winner (Clemens owns three awards), the defending Cy Young
Winner (Hentgen), the defending ERA champion and runner up (Guzman and Hentgen
respectively) and the three pitchers that held batters to the lowest averages in
the league last season. Joining them is Eric Hanson, who besides battling
injuries has several good seasons left in him, and a bullpen led by Dan Plesac
and Mike "the knife" Timlin.
In addition to the strong pitching staff, the Jays have a strong defensive core.
But, the loss of Roberto Alomar and John Olerud is being felt at the plate. Joe
Carter's production has waned over the past few seasons, veteran catcher Benito
Santiago is focused on his catching rather than his hitting, and the injury bug
has sidelined most of the young prospects the Jays' were depending on for quick
infusion of power. And, since neither Otis Nixon nor Orlando Merced are known as
power hitters, the Blue Jays will have to look deeper for the power they will
need.
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Baltimore Orioles
After losing in last year's
playoffs to the New York Yankees, General Manager Pat
Gillick made significant changes to the roster, in hopes of climbing out of the
shadow of the defending champs. The biggest of all the deals was stealing
free-agent Jimmy Key away from the Bronx bombers to bolster the O's already
strong starting rotation. But, Gillick was forced to give up big-ticket
outfielder Bobby Bonilla and DH Eddie Murray and the Orioles will feel their
loss.
Off-season additions have given manager Davey Johnson, who has never finished
lower than second in any of his nine full seasons as a big league manager, the
tools he needs to finally beat the Yankees. Key will join Mike Mussina and
Scott Erickson in one of the strongest starting rotations in baseball. Rocky
Coppinger (assuming he can stay out of the minors) and Shawn Boskie will look to
fill the four and five spots. Depth still plagues the Orioles bullpen with
Arthur Rhodes, Mike Johnson, and Jesse Orosco looking to pave the road for
erratic but talented closer Randy Myers.
Offensively and defensively, the Orioles are strong. Ironman Cal Ripken
continues his streak at third base for the first time in over a decade, but is
joined by Mike Bordick and Roberto Alomar in one of the most talented infields in
the big leagues. Brady Anderson, who hit 51 homers last year, is joined in the
outfield by former Reds star Eric Davis, and looks for the third spot to be
filled by either B.J. Surhoff or Jeffrey Hammonds. And, assuming he can stay
healthy, Designated Hitter Pete Incaviglia will provide the O's with consistent
power.
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Charm City
