The AL East is usually known as a powerhouse in baseball. This year they are known as the weak division with every team in a position to run away with the division. But it seems like every couple weeks, there is a new leader in the division. If you remember in my pre-season baseball prediction, I said this would be a tight division with Tampa and Boston on top. Instead they are both on the bottom with Baltimore, Toronto, and New York fighting for first.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have been the consistently bad team in the division. For them, it is one step forward, two steps back. They will get a couple of strong wins against good teams, and then go lose 4 or 5 games in a row against a bad team. They are in the middle of a horrible season. We all guessed that there would be regression for this team, but not by this much. There problems can be attributed to just about anywhere. The OF is awful. Jackie Bradley Jr. isn't hitting smack, they don't have an everyday RF (Betts, Holt, and Nava are trading off everyday), and Gomes platoon splits have reverted back to pre-2013. Resigning Drew was an awful move. He has barely hit, and since Bogaerts has moved to third he has lost his ability to hit. Pedroia and Ortiz are having down years. The Red Sox are shaking up their team. They DFA'd A.J. Pierzynski today. Peavy is on the verge of getting traded. Badenhop, Miller, Lackey, Breslow, Uehara, Gomes, and Drew are all on the trading block. The Sox have waved the white flag and are using this season to give their younger players some time in the majors. It isn't quite complete, yet, with some players still set to be moved, but these moves are coming with a quickness. 2014 is a failure. They are turning their heads to 2015.
The Red Sox have been the consistently bad team in the division. For them, it is one step forward, two steps back. They will get a couple of strong wins against good teams, and then go lose 4 or 5 games in a row against a bad team. They are in the middle of a horrible season. We all guessed that there would be regression for this team, but not by this much. There problems can be attributed to just about anywhere. The OF is awful. Jackie Bradley Jr. isn't hitting smack, they don't have an everyday RF (Betts, Holt, and Nava are trading off everyday), and Gomes platoon splits have reverted back to pre-2013. Resigning Drew was an awful move. He has barely hit, and since Bogaerts has moved to third he has lost his ability to hit. Pedroia and Ortiz are having down years. The Red Sox are shaking up their team. They DFA'd A.J. Pierzynski today. Peavy is on the verge of getting traded. Badenhop, Miller, Lackey, Breslow, Uehara, Gomes, and Drew are all on the trading block. The Sox have waved the white flag and are using this season to give their younger players some time in the majors. It isn't quite complete, yet, with some players still set to be moved, but these moves are coming with a quickness. 2014 is a failure. They are turning their heads to 2015.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays were at the bottom of the AL East for the majority of the season. Then the Red Sox started their 1-7 skid at Fenway, and Tampa has overtaken them due to winning 8 of their last 10 games. This team has been bad due to some injuries and lack of production, too. They lost Wil Myers for the majority of the season, and he wasn't producing when on the field. With that injury, Longoria lost his protection in the lineup. But Tampa is on an uptrend. Kevin Kiermaier has stepped up in Myers place. Zobrist is producing. And David Price looks like he has started to fix whatever was going wrong earlier in the season. This team is going to fight it's way to the top. Don't count Tampa out yet.
The Rays were at the bottom of the AL East for the majority of the season. Then the Red Sox started their 1-7 skid at Fenway, and Tampa has overtaken them due to winning 8 of their last 10 games. This team has been bad due to some injuries and lack of production, too. They lost Wil Myers for the majority of the season, and he wasn't producing when on the field. With that injury, Longoria lost his protection in the lineup. But Tampa is on an uptrend. Kevin Kiermaier has stepped up in Myers place. Zobrist is producing. And David Price looks like he has started to fix whatever was going wrong earlier in the season. This team is going to fight it's way to the top. Don't count Tampa out yet.
New York Yankees
The Yankees are in a bad predicament. C.C. Sabathia is out for the season. Michael Pineda is out for the majority and there were questions over how good he actually is (caught cheating twice) when he was playing. Their prized possession, Masahiro Tanaka, is going back to New York to get an elbow problem checked up on. There are some real questions about the state of this team. Not to mention this offseason spending spree has failed miserably. Ellsbury, Beltran, and McCann aren't hitting much, if any. Then there is the giant, gaping hole at 2B, 3B, and SS (sorry Jeter, you aren't doing much). I am surprised New York is still in it with how poor their offense has been. Beltran and McCann are the main strugglers. These guys have looked absolutely lost at the plate. You would think moving to Yankee Stadium would help them, but they have both been terrible this season. And the Yankees have relievers and Quad-A pitchers holding together the back of their rotation. Still they have proved they are willing to make moves, with the trade for Brandon McCarthy, so if they make a couple more they could be in good position.
The Yankees are in a bad predicament. C.C. Sabathia is out for the season. Michael Pineda is out for the majority and there were questions over how good he actually is (caught cheating twice) when he was playing. Their prized possession, Masahiro Tanaka, is going back to New York to get an elbow problem checked up on. There are some real questions about the state of this team. Not to mention this offseason spending spree has failed miserably. Ellsbury, Beltran, and McCann aren't hitting much, if any. Then there is the giant, gaping hole at 2B, 3B, and SS (sorry Jeter, you aren't doing much). I am surprised New York is still in it with how poor their offense has been. Beltran and McCann are the main strugglers. These guys have looked absolutely lost at the plate. You would think moving to Yankee Stadium would help them, but they have both been terrible this season. And the Yankees have relievers and Quad-A pitchers holding together the back of their rotation. Still they have proved they are willing to make moves, with the trade for Brandon McCarthy, so if they make a couple more they could be in good position.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are doing what they do best. They look good for an extended period of time in the season, and then they fall apart. I was surprised they said in first as long as they did. The team has good players. But this isn't a team that meshes well together. This was proven when they fell out of first place. This isn't the team to win the World Series, or take a playoff spot. They have had some injuries this year (Brett Lawrie, Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion), but they actually have some decent pitching this season (Mark Buerhele, Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchinson), although Buerhele has started to falter. This team has the players to win, but I don't think they can come together and win.
The Blue Jays are doing what they do best. They look good for an extended period of time in the season, and then they fall apart. I was surprised they said in first as long as they did. The team has good players. But this isn't a team that meshes well together. This was proven when they fell out of first place. This isn't the team to win the World Series, or take a playoff spot. They have had some injuries this year (Brett Lawrie, Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion), but they actually have some decent pitching this season (Mark Buerhele, Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchinson), although Buerhele has started to falter. This team has the players to win, but I don't think they can come together and win.
Baltimore Orioles
This is the team with the best shot at winning the AL East. The Nelson Cruz signing was the smartest move of the offseason, and he more then compensates for Chris Davis poor production. I knew Davis wouldn't hit 53 dingers again, because he has been around for too long to just change into an MVP threat. After some poor production at the beginning of the season, Manny Machado has started to heat up. Bud Norris has also been a solid starter. Ubaldo Jimenez has been a dud (who would've guessed? *sarcasm*). As usual the team needs pitching help, particularly starters, but they have a good opportunity to run away with the division.
This is the team with the best shot at winning the AL East. The Nelson Cruz signing was the smartest move of the offseason, and he more then compensates for Chris Davis poor production. I knew Davis wouldn't hit 53 dingers again, because he has been around for too long to just change into an MVP threat. After some poor production at the beginning of the season, Manny Machado has started to heat up. Bud Norris has also been a solid starter. Ubaldo Jimenez has been a dud (who would've guessed? *sarcasm*). As usual the team needs pitching help, particularly starters, but they have a good opportunity to run away with the division.
The problem with the parity in the division, is none of the teams are well rounded. One team has something that another team doesn't have. No team is complete. If the Orioles had the Red Sox rotation, they may have the best record in baseball right now, but they don't. If the Red Sox had the Blue Jays lineup, they may be in first place. There is a lot going wrong for all the teams in the division. None looks like they are ready to take control, but it does look like this could still be an exciting division to watch in the second half.