The AL East Dream Team

Sam Blackstone compiles an AL East team that would have other teams drooling with envy.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

For all the talk about the Yankee’s lineup, the Red Sox pitching staff, and the Ray’s grittiness, none of these ballclubs won a playoff series in 2011. But, with a mythical $600 million budget and the choice of any player in the AL East, our team looks primed for a late October run in 2012.

Starting Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia
In three seasons in the AL East, Sabathia has gone 59-23 posting a 3.18 ERA with 624 strikeouts to just 202 walks. Josh Beckett, John Lester, James Shields, David Price, and Ricky Romero have all been solid and at times dominant. But, only Sabathia has shown the type of consistent dominance worthy of the label ‘ace’ for this division.

Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera
Was there any question who would win this one? No statistics needed to back this one up; just a small bag of Cracker Jack and about five minutes to watch one pitch make a fool of the best hitters in baseball.


Lineup:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury – CF - a repeat of his 2011 season (.321, 32 HR, 105 RBI, 39 SB) would possibly make him the leadoff hitter on every dream team regardless of division
2. Curtis Granderson – RF - the same thing can be said of Granderson (.262, 41 HR, 119 RBI, 136 runs scored)
3. Alex Gonzalez – 1B – freshman year at Fenway University treated Gonzalez well (.338, 27 HR, 117 RBI) and power numbers are expected to be even better next year
4. Robinson Cano – 2B – it was a toss up between Cano and Pedroia for second base and then it was a tossup between Cano and Gonzalez for the clean up spot. No, I’m not a Yankee fan.
5. Jose Bautista – LF – he’s got 97 HR and 227 RBI the past two seasons and he can play the hot corner when need be too
6. David Ortiz – DH – I guess we could put anyone in here but Jorge Posada proved being a DH isn’t as easy as Ortiz makes it look
7. Evan Longoria – 3B – one hell of a 7 hitter huh? Injuries and a slow start hurt overall numbers in 2011 (.244, 31 HR, 99 RBI) but when the time came for someone to step up in September, Longoria proved he’s that Ray errrr man
8. J.P. Arencibia – C – most of you are probably asking ‘Who?’ He had 23 HR and 78 RBI in his rookie year with Toronto. Get to know him.
9. J.J. Hardy – SS – you probably didn’t think we could sneak an Oriole in here justifiably. Hardy quietly hit 30 HR and tallied 80 RBI this year. Don’t underestimate us again!