Sox, Yankees are an unmatched pair

J.P. RICCIARDI Same old story

A look at the American League; second of two parts

The Yankees and the Red Sox are the center of the baseball universe. They are the most watched teams in spring training, and most of the time they deliver dynamic story lines. This year is no exception.

What other teams would have franchise heroes like Curt Schilling and Mariano Rivera demanding that their contracts be extended before the start of the season or they'll become free agents?

Where else can you find the highest-paid player in the game (Alex Rodriguez) issuing a no-comment on whether he'll opt out of his contract after the season? Where else would you see Joe Torre, winner of four championships, asking another Yankee hero, Bernie Williams, to come to camp on a minor league deal?

The Red Sox are drawing media in unprecedented numbers to cover Japanese star Daisuke Matsuzaka. And he will become part of a rivalry within a rivalry, enthralling the Japanese when he faces the Yankees' Hideki Matsui.

And there's always mystery surrounding Manny Ramírez and his commitment to Boston after demanding trades the past two years.

The Sox are experimenting with Jonathan Papelbon, putting him in the rotation after a 35-save campaign, while also working in Jon Lester, the 22-year-old cancer survivor, as cautiously as possible.

"We know coming into every season that you have to beat New York and Boston to go anywhere," said Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi. "This year is no different. They are highly talented teams, the highest payroll teams, and we play in their division. We feel we have a good team, but the Red Sox did a lot of impressive things in the offseason."

Asked whether the media hype over Matsuzaka might prove distracting to the Sox, Ricciardi said, "There's always hype and all kinds of things going on in Boston. There might be a little more of it, but it's nothing the Red Sox won't be able to handle."

The Yankees traded Randy Johnson and replaced him with Andy Pettitte, who will be asked almost daily, "Where's Roger Clemens pitching this year?" The Yankee lineup isn't as formidable without Gary Sheffield, but it's formidable nonetheless.

Very impressed with the Sox is Twins GM Terry Ryan.

"I think any team would have loved to have signed Daisuke Matsuzaka," Ryan said. "But the Red Sox were the team that got it done and they have an exceptional talent. The Red Sox really improved their team in the offseason. Like every other team, it has to transfer on the field and through a 162-game schedule, but, boy, they have some talent."

GMs and scouts who watch the Red Sox will be curious to see how Papelbon handles starting and who emerges as the closer. A few baseball officials we talked to last week hope Papelbon stays in the rotation because the sight of him coming out of the bullpen usually meant the game was over.

"The Red Sox know more about his medical situation than anyone on the outside, but not to see him coming out of the bullpen for the ninth inning is a break for all of us," said a scout.

There are also those who question the wisdom of the Yankees trading Johnson.

"I don't care what his ERA was, he could be dominant on any given night," said one Sox player. "You didn't go to the ballpark jacked up about facing RJ."

With full-squad workouts coming up, Sox newcomers J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo will be on display.

"Julio has probably the best range in the league," said Sox manager Terry Francona.

And his enthusiasm for the game is off the charts. At one point last season, a longtime Red Sox consultant went up to Lugo and told him, "Don't ever change the way you play the game. You play the game the way it should be played. You're a lot of fun to watch."

While many Sox fans lament the loss of dirt dog Trot Nixon, Drew, by anyone's measure, is an upgrade. If he slumps, no one is built better to withstand the Boston heat than Drew, one of the most thick-skinned athletes in the game.

The Yankees and Red Sox will start their engines this week, and you won't be taking your eyes off them.

The A's

Counting on Beane to work magic again

The toughest thing for GM Billy Beane is being unable to keep his own free agents. But he believes that day will come when the A's move into a new facility in Fremont in three years. He's been able to keep producing young talent and hitting on bargain-basement players every season, but with the losses of Barry Zito, Jay Payton, and Frank Thomas, has it finally caught up to him?

Did we mention there's a new manager -- Bob Geren -- replacing the fired Ken Macha?

"I would never sell them short," said Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi. "They always seem to come up with a way to overcome things."

First of all, Joe Kennedy is joining the rotation to replace Zito, while old friend Alan Embree is replacing Kennedy as the lefty in the bullpen. Kennedy has good stuff and has been waiting for this opportunity.

Mike Piazza will be in the AL for the first time, as a full-time DH replacing Thomas, while Shannon Stewart will likely replace Payton, the A's top hitter last year, in left.

Can they pull it off again?

"We know what we're up against every year and we know we're going to lose people," said Beane. "I think we have enough of a core of players that will keep things together for us."

The Mariners

Can some cash flow save the sinking ship?

The Mariners will be all about the regular season, and the bottom line will be: Have they improved after three consecutive last-place finishes in the AL West? That's what will determine the fate of manager Mike Hargrove and GM Bill Bavasi, and more importantly whether free agent Ichiro Suzuki re-signs after this year.

Even with seven new faces, this team is as set as any in baseball, position-by-position. Ownership is fielding a $111 million payroll, tops in team history. But was it spent wisely?

That was the debate over third baseman Adrian Beltre and first baseman Richie Sexson a couple of years ago. Now the debate is whether they gave too much to Jeff Weaver ($8 million-plus for one year) and Miguel Batista (three years, $24 million).

The Mariners let Gil Meche and Joel Pineiro loose. They acquired right fielder Jose Guillen, making Jose Vidro the everyday DH. Was trading set-up man Rafael Soriano for Braves lefty Horacio Ramirez smart?

One of the first things that needed to happen as players trickled in last week was for lefty starter Jarrod Washburn to mend fences with Guillen, whom he ripped in 2004 when they were Angels teammates. Guillen had ripped the pitchers for not protecting the hitters. Guillen then ripped manager Mike Scioscia for benching him, and Washburn ripped Guillen.

"I think it's water under the bridge and you move on," said Washburn. "We're both grown men."

One goal of pitching coach Rafael Chaves is to reduce the 560 walks from last season. Only Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Kansas City had more.

The Mariners will have to decide whether to deal first baseman Ben Broussard and/or center fielder Jeremy Reed, because there's no place for them. It will also be difficult for invitee Aaron Small to make the team.

The Tigers

Sheffield makes league champs even better

Red Sox manager Terry Francona's assessment of the defending AL champs is in lockstep with the rest of baseball:

"In my opinion, the team that may have made the biggest gains -- and it's only one player -- is Detroit. They needed one thing -- a hitter in the middle of the lineup -- and they got that without giving up any of those major league starters, so that's a big gain right there."

Gary Sheffield, acquired from the Yankees, remains one of the most feared hitters in the game. At 37, age is becoming a factor. A wrist injury kept him out of the Yankee lineup most of last season, but his relationship with Jim Leyland made this move a no-brainer. He'll DH most of the time, but also play left field, right field, and first base.

The only other things to watch on this team are refinements. Jeremy Bonderman, who wins on guts and his bulldog mentality, is trying to add a third pitch, a splitter, to his arsenal. Rookie of the Year Justin Verlander needs to get to that 200-innings hump and build himself up.

Former Sox farmhand Mike Maroth, after missing most of last season with elbow surgery, is trying to reestablish himself as the fifth starter. At some point, Joel Zumaya is going to take the closer job from Todd Jones.

It will be interesting to see whether the Tigers deal young power-hitting DH Marcus Thames (26 homers in 348 at-bats) for relief help.

The Orioles

Struggling franchise has feathered its nest

The task is monumental, because when they look up, they see Boston, New York, and Toronto. But the Orioles, who haven't been above .500 for nine seasons, are improving before our eyes. The O's are feeling good about where they're going. Finally.

They have been criticized for their huge outlay of money -- about $43 million -- for relievers Jamie Walker, Danys Baez, Chad Bradford, and Scott Williamson, but they earmarked the bullpen as the primary concern. They suffered a blow when Kris Benson was lost for the season with a rotator cuff injury, but they promptly got good value ($3.5 million) in signing 36-year-old veteran Steve Trachsel, a 15-game winner for the Mets and an innings eater.

They have outstanding young arms in Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen, and Daniel Cabrera, though Cabrera, in particular, has to find consistency.

The Birds have an emerging lineup with veterans (they added Aubrey Huff and Jay Payton) and kids (Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts) who will give each and every opponent one tough game.

The Orioles tried to do some bigger things -- Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee -- but settled for Huff, who along with Jay Gibbons and Kevin Millar should take care of the DH-1B situation.

Spring training should be as optimistic as it's been in a long time.

"We like the things we've been able to do," said Orioles vice president Jim Duquette. "We've improved our bullpen. Our starting rotation is emerging with younger pitchers and I think we have more depth on our team than we've had for a while."

The Rest

These issues will keep camp fires burning

Cleveland: Keith Foulke retiring is a big blow. Now spring training is quite an audition for Joe Borowski as closer, or maybe Roberto Hernandez, with a growing possibility the Tribe might have to make a deal. Watch Washington's Chad Cordero as a possibility. GM Mark Shapiro is negotiating an extension, while manager Eric Wedge's deal is up after this year, though there are club options for '08 and '09. Let's see if the Tribe picks up at least one of those before spring training is over.

Chicago: The pitching looks different without workhorse Freddy Garcia (traded to Philadelphia) and young Brandon McCarthy (traded to Texas). After Jon Garland, Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras, and Mark Buehrle, spring training will go far in determining who else winds up in the rotation. There's also quite an outfield competition centered around Brian Anderson and Darin Erstad. Watch the shortstop situation and Juan Uribe's legal problems.

Kansas City: The Royals gave Gil Meche $11 million per year, so maybe we'll see why. The biggest story is third base prospect Alex Gordon emerging, which will likely move Mark Teahen to right field. Will we see the continuing decline of shortstop Angel Berroa or will this be a rebirth? Who'll start at catcher: John Buck or Jason LaRue?

Los Angeles: Bartolo Colon's recovery from a shoulder injury will be monitored closely. If he's able to start the season, the Angles have six very good starting pitchers (John Lackey, Kelvin Escobar, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders) to go with a lights-out bullpen bolstered by the acquisition of righty set-up man Justin Speier. The story lines will be who emerges as the No. 1 catcher among Mike Napoli, Jose Molina, and Jeff Mathis, and how first base/DH is sorted out among Casey Kotchman, Robb Quinn, and Shea Hillenbrand.

Minnesota: With Brad Radke retired and Francisco Liriano gone for most of the season after Tommy John surgery, Fort Myers will be a haven for Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz to show they're still viable major league pitchers. The Twins are also looking for a DH, though for now it's Jason Kubel. Terry Ryan walked off with GM of the Year in November as voted by his peers, but '07 will require his best work.

Tampa Bay: Another year, probably another struggling team. The Rays have a lot of talented young outfielders and one wonders whether the gifted but oft-injured Rocco Baldelli will be spun off for pitching. The Rays also have to make room for B.J. Upton. They will draw a lot of Pacific Rim media after their signing of third baseman Akinori Iwamura, who could also play second base. Scott Kazmir is always a spring training draw.

Texas: "It's not a slam-dunk perfect roster," said GM Jon Daniels. "But there are a lot of options and flexibility." The one thing new skipper Ron Washington wants to do is improve the record in close games, so he'll try to manufacture more runs. After that, watch Eric Gagne's comeback as closer, the return of Sammy Sosa to major league baseball, Kenny Lofton replacing Gary Mathews Jr. in center, and young righty Brandon McCarthy's emergence after being dealt from the White Sox.

Toronto: Finding someone (Brandon League?) to replace Justin Speier as B.J. Ryan's set-up man, and someone (Tomo Ohka, John Thomson, Victor Zambrano, or Josh Towers?) to replace Ted Lilly are major issues. The Jays will also hold their breath for the long-term health of A.J. Burnett and Roy Halladay; it's imperative they make 30-plus starts. This is a lineup to die for, with Frank Thomas added as DH.