Kuzul

The American League East is the best division in baseball—clearly the most talented in the MLB today by far. But only two teams from each division can make the playoffs, so who will it be?

Let’s take a look at who will finish where (and why they will finish there) between the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees. Because let’s be honest: Baltimore or Toronto, there is always next year.

In third place and missing the playoffs:

Tampa Bay Rays

Let’s look at Tampa.  They started off the season playing .800 ball, and people were talking about them playing in the World Series. It is not April anymore, and now, still, Tampa is very close to the top of the division. Their problem?

They play in the division with the two best teams in baseball.

Starting Pitching —Above Average. Looking at their starters, this is a strength for Tampa, as James Shields, Matt Garza, and David Price could be key starters for them as they push forward.

Bullpen —Average. This could really hurt Tampa, as they really do not have a shut-down guy before Rafael Soriano. So we do not really know what the game could hold for Tampa if the starter does not go seven.

Offense —Average. Good offensive team, but they still have holes in their lineup which they need to fix. They do not have a hitting catcher. Carlos Pena is batting .199 and BJ Upton acts like he does not even want to be on the team. It seems like the Rays don’t even get a hit every other week.

Coaching —Above Average. Joe Maddon and his staff are one of the best in baseball and know how to run a team.

What They Need at the Deadline —At bat, they need somebody to come off the bench or maybe a catcher that does not hit like a little leaguer.

Finishing in second place, making the playoffs, and winning the wild card:

Boston Red Sox

Let’s take a look at the Sox. They are beat up right now with injuries to both catchers, a starter, and their best player in Dustin Pedroia. But this is a team with veterans that knows how to get the job done when coming to the finish line. That is why Boston will take the wild card.

Starting Pitching —Above Average. Boston’s starting pitching is a real strength for this team and could be the reason why they are going to the playoffs as wild card winners.

Bullpen —Below Average. There is one big problem for Boston: their pen. Fans cringe when Jonathon Papelbon comes into the game. His ability to close it out is going down. And after Papelbon, who is next?

Offense— Average. Even with injuries and some known defensive players, Boston still manages to score runs when they need them—the most in the game of baseball.

Coaching —Above Average. Tito Francona and his staff are one of the best in the game, and they maybe have the best pitching coach in John Farrell.

What They Need at the Deadline —They could use another bat, but most importantly, another arm for the pen. They also need a back-end starter for the rotation, which is hit with injuries to Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz.

Now—taking the division—your AL East Champions are…who else but the:

New York Yankees

Arguably the best team in baseball, the Yankees are looking to repeat a championship run and are looking like the favorite for the World Series. But not all coming easy. Not really hit by many injuries—but rather by disappointments.

Starting Pitching —Best in baseball. The best pitching rotation in the game today is in New York. Without looking at Burnett and his pitiful run he is on, Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia, and Andy Pettitte combine for a record of 29-7. They should all be on the AL all-star team.

Bullpen —Below Average. Outside of the greatest closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, the rest of the Yankees’ bullpen is a joke. Joba is looking like a minor league pitcher when he is in the game, and their next go to guy is…Chan Ho Park.

Offense— Above Average. The Yankees are starting to get back some key bats in their lineup like Tex and A-Rod, but they still badly need someone off the bench. You cannot count on Colin Curtis and Chad Huffman in October, and Nick Johnson is somewhere in the Bahamas.

Coaching— Average. Joe Girardi over-manages the game too much, but they’ve got very good coaches in Kevin Long and Dave Eiland.

What They Need at the Deadline —They need a bat off the bench and maybe two solid middle relief pitchers who can solidify their pen if they are to make another World Series run.

So there is the AL East in a nutshell. It should be one second half of baseball to remember.

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The New York Yankees are 25-16 and playing like the team they were at the end of last year.

But there is just one problem they can’t seem to stay healthy at all this year.

The Mets were the team plagued by injuries last year, but now it seems that the Yankees have taken that roll this season.

Whether it is the age factor that is keeping Jorge Posada out of the lineup, Mariano Rivera at times during the season, and Andy Pettitte; you inevitably have the “core four” you had the “sore four”, not including Derek Jeter.

More injuries have plagued key relief man Alfredo Aceves, Center Fielder Curtis Granderson, and Outfielder Nick Swisher.

Marcus Thames tripped on his own bat and sprained his ankle.

Now, that’s just bad luck. Not to mention they’ve lost their DH in Nick Johnson for 60 days to surgery.

So how do the Yankees respond to all these injuries?

They just have to keep on winning and finding a way on a nightly basis.

It seems like the bottom of the order keeps getting worse and worse.

It gets even worse when Ramiro Pena, the utility infielder, is out playing RF because you only have a one man bench after Thames went down. But yet they manage to stay above Boston and keep in contention with Tampa.

But if the Yankees can’t start getting guys back there going to be in some major trouble.

Not to mention that Joba Chamberlain and Rivera have not been pitching well lately.

That is yet another break gone badly for the Yankees. Their bullpen is very slim as it is right now, and they could use the best players in their bullpen actually playing to their potential.

Outside of Joba and Mariano who is the next best guy? Chan Ho Park…Boone Logan…the Yankees need their core bullpen guys to get going.

Oh, I forget did I mention that now Mark Teixeira is back in his slump…yet again.

It seems that he gets hot and cold and hot and cold. People would be more on him if he was not the best fielding first baseman in the MLB. He is back to hitting .214 again with seven home runs another player on the Yankees who needs to step it up.

But after all of this, the Yankees still manage to be one of baseball’s best teams right now.

Not all is going bad for the Yankees, as now you see major production from home grown players such as Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli, who has burst on to the scene and has stepped up big by batting .362 with 17 RBI.

Also, Robinson Cano, seems like he will be holding up an MVP trophy at the end of the year. But it is only May so the Yankees have time to get there guys back and hopefully they can make their run back to the October Classic.

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