Five Questions

Asked at The Hardball Times. Ben Jacobs on the Red Sox:

1. Did Epstein find any huge bargains this off-season?
2. Is Boston's rotation a strength or a weakness?
3. So, is the bullpen going to be a problem at some point this year?
4. Can Boston's offense really be better this year than the last two seasons?
5. But are they built for success in the playoffs as well as they were last year?

Larry Mahnken on the Yankees:

1. What will Jason Giambi do?
2. Which Randy Johnson are the Yankees getting?
3. Can a team win with only two outfielders?
4. Tony Womack?!
5. Will the revamped bullpen be good enough?

Ben and Larry also write the Rivals In Exile column.

Here are some of THT's predictions:

American League East 
                 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th
Brian Borawski   NYY  BOS  TOR  BAL  TAM
John Brattain    BOS  NYY  TOR  TAM  BAL
Craig Burley     BOS  NYY  TOR  BAL  TAM
Joe Dimino       NYY  BOS  BAL  TOR  TAM
Aaron Gleeman    BOS  NYY  BAL  TOR  TAM
Brian Gunn       BOS  NYY  BAL  TOR  TAM
Ben Jacobs       BOS  NYY  BAL  TOR  TAM
Larry Mahnken    BOS  NYY  BAL  TOR  TAM
Tom Meagher      BOS  NYY  BAL  TOR  TAM
Lee Sinins       NYY  BOS  TOR  BAL  TAM
Studes           BOS  NYY  BAL  TOR  TAM
Steve Treder     BOS  NYY  BAL  TOR  TAM
 
ALC Consensus    MIN  CLE  CHW  DET  KAN
ALW Consensus    OAK  LOS  SEA  TEX
NLE Consensus    ATL  PHI  FLA  NYM  WAS
NLC Consensus    STL  CHC  HOU  CIN  MIL  PIT
NLW Consensus    LOS  SDP  SFG  ARI  COL
 
World Series

Brian Borawski    Giants over Yankees
John Brattain     Red Sox over Marlins
Craig Burley      Red Sox over Cardinals
Joe Dimino        Yankees over Dodgers
Aaron Gleeman     Red Sox over Atlanta
Brian Gunn        Red Sox over Cubs
Ben Jacobs        Red Sox over Dodgers
Larry Mahnken     Yankees over Cardinals
Tom Meagher       Red Sox over Phillies
Lee Sinins        Yankees over Cardinals
Studes            Yankees over Atlanta Braves
Steve Treder      Dodgers over Red Sox