The Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays finished with a record of 81-81 in 2011. This off season they have been adding relief pitchers, when they should be adding offense.

The Blue Jays traded for Sergio Santos, Signed Francisco Cordero, and Darren Oliver.  The Blue Jays continue to steadily build their bullpen. Their bullpen is currently a conglomeration of old and young players. It is a definite strength to The Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays also have one of the most dangerous sluggers who had risen out of no where. Bautista hit 54 home runs in 2010 with an on base percentage of .378. In 2011 Bautisita hit 43 home runs with an on base percentage of .447. He is a definite force to be reckoned with. JP Arencibia is the 26 year old catcher who emerged by hitting 23 home runs for The Blue Jays in 2011. Brett Lawrie is the 22 year old Canadian born third baseman who burst on the scene in 2011. In 43 games Lawrie hit 9 home runs, 4 triples, and 8 doubles. He earned 25 RBI's and a .373 on base percentage.

The pitching rotation is anchored by Ricky Romero. In 2011 he pitched 225 innings with a 2.92 ERA. If Brandon Morrow were to work on his command and control he can be an all star pitcher. His ERA is consistently over 4. I think Morrow can do much better than he is showing. Will The Blue Jays give Kyle Drabek another chance to make the rotation? He is considered a top prospect as he was part of the Roy Halladay trade. Drabek had an ERA above 6 in 78 innings pitched in 2011.

Th Blue Jays have no chance of making the playoffs. Playing in a division with The Yankees, The Red Sox and The Rays; The Blue Jays just cant compete. The Blue Jays should continue to grow their own talent and maybe in the future another Joe Carter in the future.

The Chicago White Sox

The White Sox finished 2011 with a 79-83 record. It was disappointing to see The White Sox do poorly, but that's the unpredictable aspect of baseball we all love so much.

The lineup for The White Sox was hurt by the poor performance of Adam Dunn. He actually had a negative WAR. WAR stands for wins above replacement. His WAR was -2.7 meaning without Adam Dunn the White Sox would have won 2.7 more games. You cannot fault the White Sox for signing him. He had a 138 OPS+ in 2010, but the transition between leagues and to DH must have been incredibly difficult for him. If The White Sox want to do well in 2012 they need to get Adam Dunn back to him old self.

A positive look at the White Sox's lineup is the consistency and excellent performance of Paul Konerko. Konerko has an  average OPS+ of 140 over his last three seasons, which is great. He has also driven in 304 RBI's over that span. The White Sox need to keep one consistent hitter for the entire year and Konerko is definitely that guy.

The rotation looks a little different without Mark Buehrle, because he signed with The Miami Marlins. If Jake Peavy can stay healthy and get back to the Peavy from 2008, The White Sox will have an ace. Peavy hasn't pitched 20 games since 2008 because of injuries. The pitcher to watch is John Danks. He is going to be 27 and hasn't had a big season yet. If 2012 can be his break out season The White Sox may still be alive in the American League Central. The final pitcher worth discussing is Philip Humber. He pitched 163 innings in 2011 with a 3.75 ERA. He 29 and has good stuff. Being in the prime of his career he may be an advantage to The White Sox.

Although they traded away Sergio Santos and Carlos Quentin The White Sox have a chance to improve on their record from 2011, but not by much. They lost big parts of their team in Mark Buehrle, Carlos Quentin and Sergio Santos. I guess The White Sox have decided to start rebuilding. Combined with The Twins, The White Sox can be a thorn in the side of The Tigers.