Around the AL East: Cashman is staying while Friedman and Maddon are leaving
The Orioles are going into the 2015 season in a position unfamiliar to them. They will be the chasee and not the chaser for the American League East title.
The Orioles won 96 games this season and took the AL East for the first time since 1997. It was their ninth division championship.
The Orioles clinched the division on Sept. 16, the second-earliest date in team history. They won the AL East by 12 games, the first division team to win by 10 or more games since the 2006 Yankees.
Now the team that once endured 14 straight losing seasons is the club that everyone is chasing.
Over the last three years, the Orioles have more wins and playoff appearances than any other AL East club. They've made the postseason twice since 2012 while no other club has more than one appearance.
AL East wins since 2012:
274 - Orioles
264 - New York
259 - Tampa Bay
237 - Boston
230 - Toronto
In the last couple of weeks there has been some big news around the AL East.
When the Orioles face the Tampa Bay Rays next year, they won't have Andrew Friedman in the front office, Joe Maddon in the dugout or David Price on the mound.
Maddon stunned a lot of people around the game when he opted out of his contract. The clause kicked in after Friedman left the team for the Dodgers.
That pair led the Rays to five 90-win seasons and four playoff appearances in the last seven years. But they won just 77 games in 2014 and now we find out what the Rays will look like in the future without the Friedman-Maddon braintrust.
In New York, the Yankees have missed the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1993-94. But they did sign general manager Brian Cashman to a three-year contract extension.
On his watch they have won the World Series four times in 17 years. Cashman is a hard GM to grade since he always has such a big budget to work with and can afford to not only spend big, but overcome big-dollar mistakes.
Before the 2014 season, the Yankees went on a spending spree by adding Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Masahiro Tanaka to contracts totaling $458 million. Then they finished 13th in the league in runs scored and fired hitting coach Kevin Long.
Now we find out if New York can retain free-agent closer David Robertson, replace retiring shortstop Derek Jeter and contend again in the division.
Remember when the Toronto Blue Jays won all those games this season and looked in control of the division? Yeah, easy to forget now. The Blue Jays won 83 games and something always seems to happen to derail them.
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2013, but in the seasons before and after they finished last by a combined 51 games. Yes, that is truly bizarre.
But they still have some good, young talent that could turn the corner at any time and a big payroll. In 2015, the Red Sox will try to go from worst to first for the second time since 2013.
At some point - maybe as soon as next year - the AL East will be very formidable again. But for now, some clubs have issues to deal with and they are all currently chasing the Orioles.
In the last couple of weeks there has been some big news around the AL East.
When the Orioles face the Tampa Bay Rays next year, they won't have Andrew Friedman in the front office, Joe Maddon in the dugout or David Price on the mound.
Maddon stunned a lot of people around the game when he opted out of his contract. The clause kicked in after Friedman left the team for the Dodgers.
That pair led the Rays to five 90-win seasons and four playoff appearances in the last seven years. But they won just 77 games in 2014 and now we find out what the Rays will look like in the future without the Friedman-Maddon braintrust.
In New York, the Yankees have missed the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1993-94. But they did sign general manager Brian Cashman to a three-year contract extension.
On his watch they have won the World Series four times in 17 years. Cashman is a hard GM to grade since he always has such a big budget to work with and can afford to not only spend big, but overcome big-dollar mistakes.
Before the 2014 season, the Yankees went on a spending spree by adding Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Masahiro Tanaka to contracts totaling $458 million. Then they finished 13th in the league in runs scored and fired hitting coach Kevin Long.
Now we find out if New York can retain free-agent closer David Robertson, replace retiring shortstop Derek Jeter and contend again in the division.
Remember when the Toronto Blue Jays won all those games this season and looked in control of the division? Yeah, easy to forget now. The Blue Jays won 83 games and something always seems to happen to derail them.
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2013, but in the seasons before and after they finished last by a combined 51 games. Yes, that is truly bizarre.
But they still have some good, young talent that could turn the corner at any time and a big payroll. In 2015, the Red Sox will try to go from worst to first for the second time since 2013.
At some point - maybe as soon as next year - the AL East will be very formidable again. But for now, some clubs have issues to deal with and they are all currently chasing the Orioles.
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