Predictions, Make the call as the season gets rolling

The Rays are a contender, yes. For the Blue Jays I think a .500 finish is a ceiling for them, not a floor.

i dont get to do this often i want a pass,remember i said the sox would need to carry 13 pitchers...guess what they are.i have to admit this team has real health issues.nick punto is the sub for all inf positions save first base.one injury,one be it ellsbury,gonzo and this gets ugly.as for the jays,their destiny is likely tied to the sox,if the sox pitching is worse than i give it credit for than they will go north of 500.the gap between the 2 teams shrinks.this could go either waybut as near as i can tell its on sox pitching.

It's a big gap. Last season the Sox had a run differential advantage of 156 over the Blue Jays (132 more runs scored, 24 fewer allowed). The Sox have not fallen off by that much, and there's no way the Blue Jays improved by 156 runs by fiddling and diddling with their bullpen.

The Sox rotation right now is 3 legitimate MLB starters and 2 question marks, with depth options backing up those question marks if they don't work out. The Blue Jays rotation is 2 legitimate MLB starters and 3 known zeroes.

I'm somewhat surprised by the 13 pitchers, but I think it's the aftermath of the Bailey situation.

They've moved their Swiss Army Knife into a single function role as a closer. In the absence of another Swiss Army Knife, they need more than one pitcher for more than one job. Especially because, as you would be quick to point out, there are some question marks in the rotation at this point.

Not so worried about the positional depth, though. Guys aren't going to need scheduled days off at this point in the season, so the 6th infielder only comes into play if there's an injury. They'd have to make a roster move at that point, of course. But they have the depth available to them (including some guys who had excellent springs, for whatever that may be worth).

Yes, the fate of the Red Sox rests on the arms of the pitching staff, and there are X-factors galore there. But I think it's a question of playoffs vs. another 3rd place finish, not "ahead of or behind the Blue Jays in the standings."

if the sox pitching stays healthy i agree its 3rd place and playoffs,but ben put a lot of risk through the system.a lot has to stay right.

Hey, I just noticed the standings are exactly opposite (upside down) form what I want to see at the end of the season:

Baltimore
Toronto
New York
Tampa Bay
Boston

good get,the longer balt is in play the more diffcult for the other teams ,the competitive balance thing.

good get,the longer balt is in play the more diffcult for the other teams ,the competitive balance thing.

Baltimore is not in play.

In 2005, Baltimore was in first place, with a 2 game lead, and on a 96 win pace, on June 20. And they weren't in play then, either. They finished 21 games back, with 74 wins.

Bad teams win games. Good teams lose games.

Baltimore being in first place 6 wins into the year…that counts for something in Baltimore, I'm sure. Let's see where they stand on May 15, when they wrap up a stretch of 3 in NY, 3 in Boston, 4 at home against Texas, 3 at home against Tampa, 2 at home against NY.

My money is on "last place."

if the os by some shot go 500 in this stretch it means that hey did better than anticipated and the cost coud be paid late in theseason

If Baltimore wants to take wins away from our competition, I'm not going to complain.