Baseball Preview 2013: East Divisions

Although we're a week into the 2013 season, I'm still plugging away at my geographically organized baseball preview, in the form of a comparison between Sports Illustrated and ESPN's projected starting lineups. Last time I looked at both leagues' West divisions, since two teams from those divisions started off the season in the first ever interleague Opening Day experience. This time I'm tackling the East divisions since SI boldly predicts that both World Series participants will come from east of the Mississippi River. Also, it's somewhat topical since mlb.tv's free game today features one of the aforementioned projected league champions, the Washington Nationals, as Stephen Strasburg leads them to Cincinnati to take on Johnny Cueto and the Reds.

However, despite this National League matchup, I'm starting this post with the American League East. Not only is this a very powerful division, it's also a very consistent division: there's only one discrepancies between the two publications concerning which hitter will be in the starting lineup and which will be on the bench, and only two on the starting pitching side. The major differences have to do with the bench and the bullpen, however, since it's always more fun to talk about the starters, I'll use the featured bench roles to analyze which starters are deemed most vulnerable, in that they need the most backing up. Let's dive right in.

AL EAST

Tampa Bay Rays

Sports Illustrated has this team projected to finish first in the division, which I find refreshing and encouraging, since it means that not everyone has bought into the hype surrounding Blue Jays and their the-more-acquisitions-the-better strategy. However, both publications agree that utility infielder Sean Rodriguez will play the biggest non-starting role, due to his ability to play all over the diamond. But where SI thinks that the no. 2 bench guy will be outfielder Sam Fuld (not a bad pick, considering fellow OFs Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings both spent time on the DL last year), ESPN thinks that famously tattooed infielder Ryan Roberts will be TBR's BN2 (he can play 3B, where Evan Longoria has certainly had his injury woes in the past, or 2B, to spell newcomer Kelly Johnson). In the bullpen, both mention Joel Peralta as Fernando Rodney's primary setup man, but in an unorthodox move, ESPN lists a third reliever, lefty Jake McGee, who did have the better fantasy season of the two.

Toronto Blue Jays
As I mentioned above, ESPN has this team picked to win the division, which I find reactionary and misguided. As many players on this team should know, since about half of them came over from the Marlins in an offseason blockbuster trade, bringing in the most new faces doesn't lead to a championship, or even a winning record. I figured that out back with the 2001 Rangers (with such big name free agent busts as Andres Galarraga and Ken Caminiti to supplement Alex Rodriguez), and yet ESPN's pundits are still behind the curve. The only difference between the two projected lineups has to do with the fifth starter. SI has Ricky Romero slotted in, which clearly shows that the magazine went to print before he was optioned to the minors, opening the door for J.A. Happ as he heads to his final year of arbitration eligibility.

New York Yankees
There's another discrepancy between where the next two teams will finish in the standings, with SI having the Yankees finishing above the Orioles, while ESPN has the third and fourth place teams flip-flopped. In addition to that, there are different names in both bench spots for the Yankees. SI has Eduardo Nuñez, who was playing the instrumental role of filling in for Derek Jeter at shortstop until he left Friday's game with a bruised biceps after getting hit by a pitch (pictured), and Juan Rivera, who's presence is another result of press-time issues, as he was released before the season, the Yankees choosing to go with Lyle Overbay as Mark Teixeira's replacement at first. ESPN has backup catcher Chris Stewart, which shows they do not place much confidence in starter Francisco Cervelli, MLB's #498 ranked player (he is unranked by ESPN), and Vernon Wells, who's "untradeable" contact was moved for the second time, this time by the Angels, just before the season started.

Baltimore Orioles
This is the only team that features a lineup discrepancy, and it's not a drastic one: SI thinks that Nolan Reimold, who had his 2012 cut short with a neck issue, will be the primary DH, while ESPN has Wilson Betemit plugged into that position. Betemit started the season on the DL, so SI gets the better of this prediction, although both are currently dealing with new injuries. As for the other bench spot, SI lists backup catcher Taylor Teagarden, which is strange since I don't see Matt Wieters ceding much time there. ESPN had it right when they picked IF Ryan Flaherty, since the O's already need him to replace the oft-and-newly injured Brian Roberts at 2B.

Hold on to your hats, cuz there are more discrepancies here. In the starting rotation, SI tabbed lefty Brian Matusz, the former #5 ranked prospect (2010 by Baseball America), while ESPN put their money on Jake Arrieta, who topped out at #67 in 2009. ESPN wins the divinatory battle here as Matusz is spending (or at least starting) 2013 as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen, a role at which he excelled last year. There are also disagreements about who will be the primary setup man for closer Jim Johnson. SI has Pedro Strop, a member of the WBC champion Dominican Republic team, mostly because he has a high strikeout rate and this year's baseball preview is obsessed with all things strikeout. ESPN has Darren O'Day, who again had the better fantasy season, but is curiously unranked by MLB.

Boston Red Sox
Just one very small discrepancy on this team, the consensus to finish in last place. SI has utility infielder Pedro Ciriaco, even though it's mostly been Jose Iglesias who has been spelling the concussed Stephen Drew at shortstop, while ESPN lists catcher David Ross, who was brought in via free agency to back up Jarrod Saltalamacchia.


NL EAST

Washington Nationals
No discrepancies as far as the standings in this division, as both SI and ESPN agree from one to five how things will shape up. Curiously though both publications list Kurt Suzuki as the starting catcher, a position I assumed would go to Wilson Ramos, at least based on their rankings (535 and 343 respectively by MLB.com). And then only ESPN deigned to give Ramos a bench spot, with SI instead featuring Dutch outfielder Roger Bernadina and utility man Steve Lombardozzi. In the bullpen, there is a discrepancy on who will be the primary setup man for new closer Rafael Soriano: will it be Drew Storen, the incumbent coming into last year, or the guy who replaced him when he got injured, Tyler Clippard? They both have seasons with 30+ saves, so they'll likely both contribute a fair share to this team.

Atlanta Braves
This is one of the strongest and most consistent teams in baseball with the only discrepancy being which lefty will set up for Team USA closer Craig Kimbrel: Eric O'Flaherty or Jonny Venters. Venters ended up starting the season on the DL, so SI gets the win here.

Philadelphia Phillies
Another pretty consistent team here, except one that won't be nearly as good as the Braves. The only issue here was on the bench, with SI giving the nod to IF Freddy Galvis (who was supposed to take over for an injured Chase Utley last year before being suspended for PED use) and C Erik Kratz (who will take over for Carlos Ruiz until he finishes serving his own suspension), while ESPN tabs veteran journeyman Kevin Frandsen. Curiously both publications list lefty Antonio Bastardo as the primary setup reliever, neither giving any love to newly acquired righty Mike Adams.

New York Mets
A couple of prominent goofs on the part of Sports Illustrated stand out here. First of all, they list sophomore Jordany Valdespin as the leadoff hitter and second baseman while leaving the much more talented Daniel Murphy on the bench. Murphy is clearly the better hitter and while Valdespin did play 2B in the minors, the Mets have been using him as a backup outfielder this year, which is probably where he belongs. The bullpen here also has a lot of questions. SI and ESPN seem to be at odds with whether New York will go with Frank Francisco for one more year or finally hand the reins to Bobby Parnell. ESPN thinks the latter, and furthermore that the now DL-ridden Francisco won't even be Parnell's primary setup man, with that honor going to new addition Brandon Lyon. Not a big deal cuz this team probably won't have the opportunity to save many games, but it's a situation worth looking at.

Miami Marlins
First base is the main issue here: ESPN seems to think Logan Morrison will recover from his stint on the 60-day DL quick enough to make a difference for the team, whereas SI gives the job to former non-roster invitee Casey Kotchman. Kotchman did start the season with the job, but is now on the DL himself with a hamstring injury, so the Marlins are left scrambling again. There's a small bullpen issue (whether newcomer Jon Rauch or unranked Ryan Webb will pitch behind another Team USA representative Steve Cishek), but this team is in such shambles that it's not really an issue.