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The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees have been rivals for decades, ever since the Babe Ruth trade in 1918. The Yankees have long held the upper hand, but times have appeared to have changed. The Evil Empire versus the Red Sox Nation is simply archaic now. The Red Sox have won two World Series in the last four years, while the Yankees last won in 2000. Eight years does not seem like much of a drought, but when your team gives out $200 million plus in player salaries, the season comes with some expectations.
Of course the Boston Red Sox have long painted themselves as the team with blue-collar players that countered the stars of the Yankees, but that has not been true for a while. The Red Sox have a team full of stars like Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. The Red Sox also have the fourth highest payroll in baseball at over $133 million. Both teams sport high payrolls that are several times higher than the smaller market clubs. That is more than double the Minnesota Twins’ payroll and more than six times the Marlins’ payroll.
The Yankees and the Red Sox are once again the two favorites in the American League East. The Yankees pitching is questionable though. Chien-Ming Wang is the staffs’ unquestioned ace after a 19-7 season in 2007 and Andy Pettitte is still pitching well in the number two spot. The rest of the rest of the rotation has unproven young players (Phil Hughes) or aging veterans who look like they may finally be pitching their age (Mike Mussina).
The bullpen remains strong with Mariano Riveria as the closer and the offense remains worthy of the Bronx Bomber nickname. Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, and Hideki Matsui are a walking All Star team.
The Boston Red Sox are the favorite to win the division after sweeping the World Series last season. Josh Becket, Daisukie Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, and Tim Wakefield give the team a strong starting rotation. The only questionable pitcher, Jon Lester, is in the fifth spot. Jonathan Papelbon is the solid closer that converts close games into wins.
Past Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz the Boston bats are a little suspect, but Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, and Coco Crisp always seemed to get it done last season despite their numbers.
The Red Sox have given up their moniker as loveable losers, but the Chicago Cubs are holding on to that reputation still, nearly 100 years after their last World Series victory. This season’s team is coming off a playoff appearance last season.
Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Rich Hill are the strong front of the rotation that supports the back end (Jason Marquis and converted reliever Ryan Dempster). Either Bobby Howry or Kerry Wood will emerge as the closer out of the bullpen. Howry has been a solid relief pitcher for years and will probably take the spot.
Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano will once again love the outgoing wind and the fence on the ivy as they smash home runs to Cubs’ fans delight. Kosuke Fukodome is the big acquisition this summer from Japan. The solid hitter should bring a high on base percentage to the club, so they actually have somebody on for those long shots at Wrigley.