(First in a series of articles for fantasy baseball fans)

The American League East race will probably center on the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox — it always does.

But fantasy baseball fans know to ignore team won-loss records. They're more interested in individual stats, which is why the 2006 AL East teams could be particularly interesting for fantasy owners.

It's possible that four of the five teams will have new closers at some point this season — including three as-yet-unestablished pitchers.

Fantasy owners are well aware of the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, who had a huge 2005 (43 saves, 1.38 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 80 K in 78.1 IP). He's 36, though, so some warning bells should be ringing. One of these years, he will break down — though probably not in 2006.

Another known quantity is B.J. Ryan, who pitched well for Baltimore last year (36 saves, 2.43 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 100 K in 70.3 IP). Ryan, however, signed a bloated $57 million/5 year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Will he fare as well there?

Ryan relies on the strikeout, and when he doesn't, he's more of a ground ball pitcher than a flyball pitcher. He gave up four dingers in 2005. Toronto's Rogers Centre was statistically more of a hitters' park last year than Baltimore's Camden Yards, although switching to field turf from AstroGrass can only help. Still, fantasy owners should not be as aggressive bidding on Ryan as the Jays. While you can count on strikeouts and saves, don't be surprised if Ryan's ERA and WHIP rise modestly this season.

Elsewhere in the AL East, fantasy owners may not be as familiar with the candidates for saves. Here's a rundown:

BOSTON RED SOX

Which Keith Foulke — dominant in 2004 but injured and thus hittable in 2005 — will show up this year? And will he remain Boston's closer? I'm guessing that at some point during the season, the Sox will start viewing Foulke as a set-up man (or a perennial DL candidate) and move on to other warm bodies. Veteran Guillermo Mota, acquired from Florida this off-season, is one candidate, but fantasy owners may also want to stash two youngsters on their reserve squads.