MLB 2011 Pre-season Team Rankings - Part 1
The 2011 Major League Baseball regular season is just about to begin. As many interesting things have happened during the pre-season like Cliff Lee joining the Philadelphia Phillies and Carl Crawford going to the Boston Red Sox the following rankings are
a particular team’s potential to have a successful 2011 regular season.
Number 1 - Philadelphia Phillies
Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee have come together for the Phillies rotation. The performance expected by them is expected to be phenomenal and no one is ready to settle for anything less. Jayson Werth’s loss may be made easier by the
fact that the quick Domonic Brown is present. Philadelphia are the hot-favorite for the NL Pennant.
Number 2 - Boston Red Sox
With Victor Martinez not playing anymore and Adrian Beltre not looking too keen to re-sign, depressing news for the Red Sox was just piling on. Until, happiness came in the form of New York Yankees loss, when the pitcher-par-excellence Cliff Lee decided
to play for the Phillies instead of the Yankees. This coupled with the talent of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez will only make the Red Sox stronger.
Number 3 - San Francisco Giants
If Mark DeRosa manages to get healthy soon then the Giants will not have to suffer the loss of Juan Uribe. They easily have one of the best rotations in the game and Miguel Tejada can help pick up their not-so-great offence.
Number 4 - New York Yankees
The Bronx Bombers definitely suffered a blow when Cliff Lee decided to go with the Phillies instead of them. With Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera re-signing with the team, they still retain their star power. But the question is whether they aging stars would
be able to perform like they once did or not?
Number 5 - Texas Rangers
Elvis Andrus is improving steadily as an all-rounder. Cliff Lee would probably be missed on the team but under the appraisable guidance of Nolan Ryan, the Rangers are all set to get on the field.
Number 6 - Minnesota Twins
We haven’t had the Twins in too many news updates in the offseason but that does not mean that they haven’t been preparing. They managed to bag the division title when Joe Mauer was injured with Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan absent. Imagine the possibilities
when Joe Mauer is in full form.
Number 7 - Atlanta Braves
They added the highly reliable Dan Uggla to their line-up if his 33 home-runs along with 105 RBIs is an indication of how he would perform then the Braves should feel relaxed. They still need someone to combat Cliff Lee in the NL East.
Number 8 - Chicago White Sox
The White Sox definitely need work on their offence. Adam Dunn needs to be on the field and perform and if that means dragging him off the bench and into the field, then it will need to be done.
Number 9 - Cincinnati Reds
The Reds won the National League Central the previous year and one could only expect good things with the new players they have employed. These include Bronson Arroyo, Jay Bruce, Edinson Volquez and Aroldis Chapman.
Number 10 - Colorado Rockies
The 10 year mega deal with Troy Tulowitzki will definitely help them into the limelight.
Continued in Part 2
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: