Can they Yankees do it again in '06?

[Yankee Legend]

I want your thoughts on this. In my opinion there are three teams that will contend for the AL East title. Especially the Blue Jays who have made improvements to become formidable rivals.

The Red Sox have improved thier rotation with beckett. They added crisp in outfield and loretta and lowell in the infield. They still need major improvements in the bullpen.

I would still give it to the Yankees though. With the addition of Damon, they now have the deepest lineup in the league, maybe angels and white sox can compare. Also, i think the rotation will come around this season. And the addition of a reliable guy like farnsworth can make the bullpen much stronger.

[Tinyballer]

Truthfully i think yanks still come out on top and the blue jays and red sox end up in a dog fight. Because robinson cano could explode this year and give us another great bat. Also we will have wang and chacon for a whole season and they might be able to give us 15 win each. Toronto and red sox are pretty even now so it will be a dog fight

[farmsystem]

Since I'm not an expert at predictions I would have to go with all the division winners from last season. That obviously includes the Yankees. It's great that the Blue Jays acquired some big time talent but they still have to prove it on the field. I always believe in pitching and defense with a decent offense to win consistently. The Yankees were fortunate to get major pitching contributions from unknowns last year to carry them through tough times. The Yankees do not want to test it again this season. I am leary of the Yankees pitching because of age and effectiveness. RJ and Moose are getting up in age. Pavano, Wright and Wang are injury prone. I don't know how the new relievers will be able to handle playing for the Yankees. I certainly hope whoever pitches for the Yankees step up.

[TonyStarks]

The Yanks do have a deep lineup but it still pains me they aren't getting younger. The Rotation is a year older which is not good. RJ and Moose had very mediocre seasons and I'm pretty much sold that RJ is running on fumes and his career maybe over. Farnsworth is flakey, or inconsistent if you look at his career...not sure where you got reliable from. Maybe it was from his time in Atlanta and that's not a good sample size. Mazzone could have turned Hideki Irabu into Juan Marichal!

Any break downs in the pitching this year and the Yanks will be the early 90's version of the Rangers...Outslug everyone and pray for the best from your pitching. It isn't a very good combination. The bullpen will be more vital this year than any in the Championship years. I just hope that Dotel comes back fast and is ready...because I'm very concerned with Farnsworth. He's got a rep for being inconsistent and mix that in with Bronx fans and you have a ticking time bomb. I honestly hope he works out or I see Cashman having to eat his contract up in a trade to the NL.

Cashman needs to start grooming pitchers along and giving younger pitchers look. I'm very worried about what the starting 5 will look like and who will be odd man out.

[KCGHOST]

You have to pick the Yanks until one of the pretenders proves they are better.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

I have picked the Yankees. Although I am not happy with the addition of Johnny Damon, they have made some good additions.

But as always we will know at the end of the upcoming season. The last couple of years the Mets had made some good additions on paper, but in the end they could not live up to the expectations.

[pacewon]

We'll need our pitching to stay relatively healthy to do it, but the same can be said for the Jays and Sox.

I say yes.

[The Big C]

I picked the Orioles, but only because I interpreted the question "Who will win the AL East in 2006?" as "Who will suck the most in 2006?". Despite the Blue Jays making lots of improvements, I think it will still come down to the Yanks and Sox.

[christian gentleman]

2006 AL East

order of finish

yankees
blue jays
red sox
orioles
rays

the way i see it, the jays and the sox cancel each other out. the big unit has a big year. chacon and moose and wright are awesome. damon is smooth because he is quite used to playing in the northeast. a-rod dominates. jeter hits 330. we start another run like 1996-2000.

[BasEbaLlKnoItAll]

order of finish

yankees
blue jays
red sox
orioles
rays

the way i see it, the jays and the sox cancel each other out. the big unit has a big year. chacon and moose and wright are awesome. damon is smooth because he is quite used to playing in the northeast. a-rod dominates. jeter hits 330. we start another run like 1996-2000.

Ditto. lol Though I wouldnt be too shocked if the Rays finished better than the Orioles.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Ditto. lol Though I wouldnt be too shocked if the Rays finished better than the Orioles.

I won't be surprised if the Blue Jays will win the pennant...

[Evangelion]

Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Who else would beat them? Come on!

Ok, seriously, right now the Yankees have the less number of question marks heading into this season. While their pitching still a question mark, they still have a beast of line-up to make-up for that, somewhat happen last year. They still have the best closer among the three teams that should fight for the division.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays are a toss up. Blue Jays are just a team on paper at this moment. Saying they're going to win the division or even the Wild Card is strench at this point. I'll wait until they prove they're a team that can fight with Sox and Yankees this year before I'm sold on them. They could just another team that's great on paper and flops during the season like that Met team a few years back.

[DoubleX]

The Red Sox and Blue Jays are a toss up. Blue Jays are just a team on paper at this moment. Saying they're going to win the division or even the Wild Card is strench at this point. I'll wait until they prove they're a team that can fight with Sox and Yankees this year before I'm sold on them. They could just another team that's great on paper and flops during the season like that Met team a few years back.

Given all the offseason changes and injury questions in the Sox rotation, I think they're just a team on paper right now too. They have new faces at 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, and CF, that's quite an overhaul.

[Brownie31]

'06

Let's see: 1926, 1936, 1956, 1976 & 1996-who copped the AL pennant those years? Yankees of course! Looks good for '06! Also: Brooklyn Dodgers (with Casey Stengel in the outfield) won the NL title in 1916 as did the Mets in 1986 while LA Dodgers won in 1966. Not to mention Giants in 1936 and Dodgers in 1956. Thus: only in 1906 & 1946 were there no current or former NY area teams not winning a pennant. Six of one & half a dozen of the other!-Brownie31

[DoubleX]

Let's see: 1926, 1936, 1956, 1976 & 1996-who copped the AL pennant those years? Yankees of course! Looks good for '06! Also: Brooklyn Dodgers (with Casey Stengel in the outfield) won the NL title in 1916 as did the Mets in 1986 while LA Dodgers won in 1966. Not to mention Giants in 1936 and Dodgers in 1956. Thus: only in 1906 & 1946 were there no current or former NY area teams not winning a pennant. Six of one & half a dozen of the other!-Brownie31

So maybe its the Mets year this year? The Yankees haven't won in an 6th year of an even-numbered decade since 1926.