The New York Yankees

The Yankees finished 2011 with a record of 97-65, but were eliminated in the ALDS by The Tigers. They made some changes this off season to make sure that doesn't happen again.

The major changes The Yankees made were changes to the starting rotation. They traded Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda. This was probably one of the most even trades of the year. Montero had 69 plate appearances with 4 home runs and 12 RBI's. It was a small sample size for the Yankees, but pitching was more important. The Yankees also signed Hiroki Kuroda to a 1 year $10 million contract. A very efficient deal. With these two acquisitions the Yankees' pitching rotation will probably be the following:



CC Sabathia: 19-8, 147 ERA+, 237 IP, 230 K.
Hiroki Kuroda: 13-16, 121 ERA+, 202 IP, 161 K.
Michael Pineda: 9-10, 103 ERA+, 171 IP, 173 K.
Ivan Nova: 16-4, 119 ERA+, 165 IP, 98 K.
Freddy Garcia: 12-8, 122 ERA+, 146 IP, 96 K.

By the way all their names end with "A." Can you think of a good name to call them. Like the Phillies had H2O in 2010.

The bullpen for the Yankees is also a strong point. They have the great Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, and Rafael Soriano. Rivera had a 1.91 ERA, 44 saves and 8.8 K/9 rate. Robertson had a 1.08 ERA, and 13.5 K/9 rate, As for Soriano, he had a rough season, part of it being injured. He had a 4.12 ERA in 2011, but he has a 2.86 ERA over his career. The combination of these three pitchers gives the Yankees the best 7th, 8th and 9th inning relief pitcher combination in baseball.

The Yankees also have one of the best lineups if not the best. The only two teams that compare to the compare to The Yankees' lineup are The Boston Red Sox and The Texas Rangers. Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, and Curtis Granderson all hit over 20 home runs. Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Curtis Granderson all had an on base percentage of .350 or greater. Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixiera all drove in more than 100 RBI's. That's a quick summation of the power provided by The Yankees. In 2012 Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter will be back for the entire season. Also I predict that Brett Gardner will have a break out season.

The Yankees are currently working out a deal to trade AJ Burnett to the Pirates for salary relief and probably a couple of minor league players. As for Phil Hughes he may be fighting with Freddie Garcia for the 5th spot in the rotation or Hughes can be the 6th inning man in the bullpen. Also The Yankees are on the verge of signing or trading for a DH. They would prefer a left handed DH to face right handed pitching, because he will platoon with Andruw Jones, who will face left handed pitching.

The Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers won the National League central with 96 wins in 2011. In the 2011-2012 off season it looks like The Brewers aren't even going to win the wildcard. they lost Prince fielder to free agency and Ryan Braun has to face a 50 game suspension for a failed test for performing enhancing drugs. The Brewers haven't signed any sluggers besides Aramis Ramirez so there is no one to replace Fielder.

Braun and Fielder used to be the 3-4 bunch for the Brewers combining for 231 RBI's, 71 home runs, a .406 on base percentage, and an OPS+ of 165, which is phenomenal. Now The Brewers have to play 50 games without Braun, the 2011 NL MVP and 162 games without Fielder. The Brewers didn't sign Carlos Pena as a replacement and don't seem to be in the bidding for any of the other remaining possible free agents. A trade might be brewing, but it doesn't seem likely.

The rotation for The Brewers seems pretty stable with Zack Grienke anchoring it. Grienke won 16 games with a 3.86 ERA over 171 innings. The other notable starters are Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, and Randy Wolf. These three starters combined for 619 innings and a 3.58 ERA. The Brewers have four starters with decent ERA's and can provide a sufficient amount of innings. If they do fail to pitch a decent amount of innings The Brewers have good bullpen. With Axford and Rodriguez in the back end the 8th and 9th innings are almost a given. 


Although the middle of the lineup is significantly weaker, The Brew Crew still has Rickie Weeks and they signed Aramis Ramairez. Weeks hit 20 home runs, had a .350 on base percentage and an OPS+ of 121. Rmairez hit 26 home runs, had a 361 on base percentage, and 136 OPS+. Also Corey Hart hit 26 home runs for The Brewers, but any combination of  these three players will not make up for the combination of Braun and Fielder. 


When Braun returns after his 50 game suspension, The Brewers may be able to compete with The Reds, but they will already be in a hole. with The NL West looking stronger than ever, a wild card also looks out of the equation.