I don't care much for the AL (I'll spare you my thoughts on the DH), but here's my concise analysis of the AL divisions:
1). Yankees - simply too much. Have all the pieces to win #28.
2). Red Sox - solid, solid team. Will battle with the Rays for the Wild Card.
3). Rays - runaway division winners in any other division. Geography sucks.
4). Toronto - can absolutely mash, but pitching won't keep them afloat in tough AL East.
5). Orioles - lots of good young talent: better days are on the horizon.
AL Central
1). Twins - they play the game the right way and always seem to find a way to win. How quickly can they find a substitute for Nathan?
2). Detroit - they'll go as far as their starting rotation will take them. Does Bonderman bounce back?
3). Indians - lots of young talent here. How quickly will they develop?
4). White Sox - no idea where the offense is going to come from this year. The drama between Williams and Guillen is already at mid-season form.
5). Royals - slowly starting to put the right pieces together. Grienke is phenomenal, and Callaspo, Butler, and Gordon give them a good young core.
AL West
1). Angels - best managed team in the AL. Have all the pieces to make a deep postseason run.
2). Seattle - nasty, nasty rotation with Hernandez and Lee at the top. Figgins takes some of the pressure off of Ichiro and they have enough power to give the Angels a run in the West.
3). Texas - Texas makes the AL West similar to the NL East. Very close in talent to the Mariners. Lots of talented young players - how quickly they develop will determine how quickly the Rangers can challenge for the West title.
4). Oakland - some interesting young players, but simply not enough there to compete in a tough division.
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