It appears that two representatives from the AL East will be punching a ticket for the playoffs. Currently Tampa Bay holds a five game lead over Boston for that coveted Wild Card spot. Minnesota is seven games out and Toronto, Detroit, Oakland and the Angels are behind the Rays by double digits.
In all likelihood, with an extended absence by Minnesota's Justin Morneau, Boston and Tampa will be battling down the stretch to join the Yankees in October.
NEW YORK YANKEES (64-36)
With a payroll of $206,333,389, the Yankees have put that money to good use as they currently hold the best record in the majors. In what has seemed like an endless string of deaths for the heralded franchise, owner George Steinbrenner, public address announcer Bob Sheppard, and former manager Ralph Houk, the Bronx Bombers have been able to keep their composure and dominate baseball.
The Yanks have 3 pitchers with double digit wins: the best Subway spokesman since Happy Gilmore has 13 wins, Phil Hughes follows with 12, and former PED user Andy Petitte has 11. A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez both have 9 wins.
Old reliable, Mariano Rivera, continues to clean up the ninth with 21 saves and a completely ubsurd 0.96 ERA. It's amazing how this guy never ceases to fail. I keep expecting a Trevor Hoffman-like collapse, but it never comes. Rivera has probably the best set-up man in baseball, in Joba the Hut. It just proves that no matter how afraid of bugs you are, you can still pitch in the majors.
After taking hitting lessons from George Costanza, that Yankees have been crushing the ball. They rank 4th in the majors with a team batting average of .273, 5th in homeruns with 119, 1st in RBIs with 524, and sixth with 934 hits.
Led by MVP candidate Robinson Cano, .330/19/69, success at the plate has been contagious for the pinstripes. Five regulars are hitting .275 and above, Cano .330, Nick Swisher .300, Brett Gardner .298, ARod .275, and Jeter .275.
Four players have 15+ homers and 60+ RBI, Mark Teixeira 20/72, Cano 19/69, Swisher 18/60, and ARod 16/82. ARod and his bevy of blondes still sits at 599 career homers.
Look at Swisher, he always seemed like a good guy for the locker room, but he has been producing on the field as well. The real question is, what is more impressive, this chucklehead to be producing at at .300/18/60 clip or the girl he is dating?
There is no question that the Yanks have the talent to repeat as World Series champs, the only question is, can they pull together as a team in October to win one final championship for The Boss.
TAMPA BAY RAYS (62-38; 2 GB)
With a payroll of about 1/3 of the Yankees, $71,923,471, the Rays have been in contention for the AL East crown since April. While their statistical rankings fail in comparison to their rivals from New York, the Rays manage to win games.
With the hooded genius of Joe Maddon, the superstardom of Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford, and a formiddable pitching staff, the team from Tampa will have their playoff lives in their own hands.
Only 2 games back of the Yankees for AL East supremacy, and 5 games ahead of Boston in the wild card standings, the Rays look like a good bet to be playing into October and try to add upon their magic 2008 season.
The team is led offensively by Crawford, .309/12/55, and Longoria, .296/15/67, as well as, the power of Carlos Pena and his 22 homers. Not eye popping numbers, but enough run support to help out a very good staff.
The Rays are led by All-Star Game starter David Price and his 13 wins and miniscule 2.90 ERA. He is joined by Matt Garza, the first pitcher in club history to throw a no-hitter, and his 11 wins. James Shields and Jeff Niemanns 9 wins and rookie Wade Davis' 8 victories. Off-season acquistion Raphael Soriano has registered 28 saves in perserving victories for his new club.
There is a new attitude concerning Tampa and their team. An attitude of winning and expected success. They should be able to produce enough offensively to give their pitchers a chance to win each night. Aside from a major meltdown, we should be seeing the Rays in the postseason for the second time in club history.
And now for the worst promotion for a major league team I have ever seen. A mix between Captain Planet and baseball.
BOSTON RED SOX (58-44; 7.5 GB)
Not only is it tough enough being in the same division with two of the top teams in the MLB, but the Red Sox have been T-Mac fragile this season. They have had to put regulars on atleast the 15-day DL, 13 different times this season.
Jacoby Ellsbury X 2: chest contusion and fractured ribs.
Mike Cameron: kidney stones
J.D. Drew: vertigo. I only thought Lucille 2 on Arrested Development suffered from that. Maybe a little Buster Bluth lovin' is all Drew needs.
Dice-K X 2: neck and forearm strains
Jeremy Hermida: fractured ribs
Mike Lowell: hip
Dustin Pedroia: broken left foot
Josh Beckett: back strain
Clay Buchholz: hamstring
Victor Martinez: fractured left thumb
Manny Delcarmen: right forearm strain
That is a lot of the BoSox $162,747,333 payroll on the DL. Even with all of the injuries they are only 7.5 games behind the Yankees for the AL East lead, and only 5 games behind the Rays in the wild card standings.
Offensively, the Sox have been pretty darn good. 6th in the majors in batting average at .271, 2nd in homers 135, 2nd in RBIs 510, 4th in hits 965.
Led by Adrian Beltre's .332/17/65, who is conjuring up his 2004 season with the Dodgers, he has been a great pickup for the Sox and major improvement offensively compared to Mike Lowell. With another under-the-radar season, Kevin Youkilis is quietly becoming one of the AL's most feared hitters. His .308/19/62 stat line proves he is one of the most reliable and consistant hitters in the game. After a very slow start and rumors of a benching, David Ortiz, has re-gained some of his offensive prowess. Now, supposively, off the juice, Ortiz is going old school and found his power. His 21 homers lead the team, and he is becoming a great protector in the lineup for Youkilis and Beltre.
Boston's ace, Josh Beckett, only 2 wins and a 6.33 ERA, has been on the DL since May 15, with a lower back strain. Stepping in to fill the ace void has been Jon Lester who with 11 wins and a 2.92 ERA has become a strikeout machine. He has been making hitters look like they are playing Dizzy Bat.
Along with Lester, Clay Buchholz has amassed 11 wins and a 2.71 ERA. Off-season pickup John Lackey, on the heels of destroying his former Angel teammates has earned 10 wins.
For Red Sox fans it's a shame that there is only 1 wild card spot, I just don't see them making up those games on the Yankees or Rays. Those teams seem too solid to collapse and allow the Red Sox to sneak in. But you never know.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (53-49; 12.5 GB)
It's hard to believe that the Jays traded away their best player, Roy Halladay, are over .500, but still are 12.5 games out of first place. This just goes to show how tough this AL East is. They beat up on each other but dominate teams from other divisions.
This is a home run hitting machine. Our friends from the Great White North lead the majors with 155 homers on the year. Led by Jose Bautista's MLB leading 30 HRs, the Jays put more bombs in the air than the U.S. in 1945.
A resurgent Vernon Wells, 20/55, has helped Bautista a the plate. Speaking of Bautista, where did this clown get this power. All I remember him doing in Pittsburgh is growing a mean 5-o'clock shadow and striking out. That's it.
A no-name pitching staff has been fairly consistant with Shaun Marcum's 9 wins, Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil's 8 wins, and Brandon Morrow's 7 wins, they have done enough to keep the Jays.
Here are some hosers teaching us some more about our neighbors to the north.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (32-70; 33.5 GB)
Not too much to say about this team. They stink. They have a worse record than the Pirates. Enough said.
They have nobody hitting over .300.
The best ERA for a starting pitcher is Josh Guthrie's 4.23.
The team leader in wins is reliever David Hernandez with 5.
Their best player is journeyman Ty Wiggington .258/17/51.
They traded Miguel Tejada to the Padres.
Cal Ripken Jr. played in 2,632 straight games.
Had to end on a good note.
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