Bob Haynie: No Beast In AL East
Coming into the season, I knew the AL East was going to be a tight division in 2015. So far, I'm looking kind of smart because as June has arrived, only four games separates first place and last place. It should remain a close race throughout the summer.
Is the AL East a competitive division? Sure it is.
Is it a good division? Well...
Heading into Monday's games, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are tied for first with identical 26-25 records. The Yankees just lost three of four games to the Oakland A's and are 5-13 over their last 18 contests. The Rays ended a six-game losing streak by winning two-straight over the Orioles this past weekend.
The Orioles, who are in third place, finished a stretch where they played 17 of 20 games at Camden Yards by going 10-10. The Birds are 23-26 and haven't been at .500 since May 5. Their longest winning streak this season has been three games and that was over a month ago.
At 23-29, the Toronto Blue Jays reside in fourth place in the AL East. The Blue Jays dropped two of three to the Twins in Minnesota over the weekend and are just 9-17 on the road this season.
With a record of 22-29, the Boston Red Sox are the division cellar-dwellers. The Red Sox have lost nine of their last 12 games and have been outscored by 48 runs in 2015.
Yet, they are only four games out of first place.
Every team has flaws and all are dealing with some level of adversity. At this time, it is hard to say which club is really capable of taking control of the division.
We know that teams will get healthier, players will start playing better on certain teams and trades will be made to impact the balance of strength in the East.
The top spot is very much up for grabs. I'm assuming the next few months will be fun and frustrating for fans of the American League's Eastern Division.
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