AL EAST Wrap Up

The AL East has taken on a new look this season that many people did not predict. The one consistent that remains is the struggle of the Baltimore Orioles. Everyone and their grandmother predicted that Baltimore would struggle but everyone thought the Toronto Blue Jays would be in the basement with them. For much of the season the Blue Jays have sat comfortably atop the division while the other teams have battled for position. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were predicted to build on their surprising season last year but that has not happened. They sit in the cellar of the division with a record of 8 and 14 and have lost two straight. Essentially we have three struggling teams trying desperately to claw their way back up to the top of the divisional rankings before the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays start running away with it.

Along with the Devil Rays the New York Yankees have started a freefall towards the bottom of the standings. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the off season the team has been unable to find an identity or put together wins. There has been one consistent team in the division and that has been the Boston Red Sox. The team recently put together a monstrous win streak and does not seem to be showing signs of slowing down. While other teams went through major overhauls in the off season, the Red Sox chose to stick with their current cast of characters and feed off some of the energy remaining from last season. As of today, April 30^th, the Red Sox have pushed past the Blue Jays for the division lead. The Red Sox have had a healthy mix of offense and defense while the Blue Jays have not received the pitching or good news when it comes to injuries that they need. Both teams seem to be able to go shot for shot offensively but unless the Jays start getting arms back from the DL, Boston could run away with the division.

Of course there is still a lot of time for the Yankees or the Devil Rays to start making a push. The Rays have the talented young stars to get it done and just need to start getting some consistency. The Yankees have shown signs of life with a recent series win against Detroit. Phil Hughes has been dominant recently in the starting rotation and AJ Burnett and C.C Sabathia are bound to start performing at the level that they are expected to. There is no doubt that the AL East has always been one of the most competitive divisions in baseball and this season looks to be more different. We may even be in for a few more divisional surprises.