With the end of the season in sight, I thought I'd start to review the division races and offer some opinions on the clubs.
1st Place Boston Red Sox
Having won 5 of their last 6 the Bosox play mostly within their division to end the season. They do have a 4 game set against Houston coming up and play the 2nd place Yankees again but I see Boston finishing atop the AL East.
Without the power of David Ortiz missing this year the Red Sox have still been able to generate runs by playing more of a small ball style. The addition of Nunez has been vital and their defence is great.
Pitching after Sale the strikeout God is Pomeranz and Porcello, who are all having great years respectfully. Right now the BoSox have the best 1-3 in the league i feel. They're playing well and if they get hot towards the start of the playoffs I think they could be a legitimate contender to win the World Series
2nd Place New York Yankees
I don't think anyone could have predicted the Yankees would be this good at the start of spring? Having a terrific 1st half thanks in part to the duo of Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez the Yanks are right behind Boston by 3.5 games.
Scoring runs for the Yanks is not a problem. The team has outscored everyone in their division but the starting pitching is an issue. Their arms just don't stack up with the teams that will be entering the post season.
Having said that the Yankees pen is very strong so if the starters can get them to the 6th inning the back end can come in and close teams down. I wouldn't put $ on NYY going very far but it's baseball and anything's possible in October.
3rd Place Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa is 3 games under .500 and are only looking to play spoilers at this point. They always seem to play teams in their division tough so they'll have a shot at Boston and NYY before the season comes to a close.
The Rays are the same old Rays again this year, besides having great fielding they just don't hit or pitch well enough to win more games than they lose. I don't know where they're headed in the future but I don't think anyone has much expectations..or hope?
4th Place Baltimore Orioles
The O's have the same record as the Rays 71-74 but they were threatening for a wild card spot a few times this season. Now having lost 6 straight they will only have to look forward to next season to figure out how to contend.
After being nearly invisible the first half, 3b Machado has returned to form and is hitting the ball hard. All Baltimore should be worried about now is signing the 25 year old to an extension.
I feel they have a good team but like alot of others they could use some more starting pitching. Also Tampa needs a relief pitcher or two to add to the core. They have all offseason to plan that.
5th Place Toronto Bluejays
Those poor Bluejays, I've never seen a season more riddled with injuries in my lifetime. At one point in the first half they were missing 3 of thier top 5 starting pitchers. After winning 20 games last season, this year Aaron Sanchez has been sidelined due to a bad finger.
After surgery to remove a piece of his nail Sanchez never made it back. Suffering with blister and nail issues that wouldn't heal the club just announced last week they're shutting him down for the season.
The Jays are old. A roster full of former allstars that are trending downward would best describe the team. C Russel Martin and SS Troy Tulowitzski are getting big money for mediocre play. With Jose Bautista probably leaving after this season it's time for the club to take a new approach. I think I smell a rebuild in Toronto..even though the club isn't hinting at it.
With a 68-77 record so far it never did feel the Jays were a contender. This means something should be done. The Jays have a few super prospects a couple years away and could shed contracts and trade a few vets to get some more youth. As a lifelong fan I'll be following their off season closely and reporting on it.
Well that's a brief rundown of the AL East. Stay tuned as we cover the rest of the American league tomorrow before we bounce over to the National League.
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*Pictures courtesy of Sports Illustrated
