AL East update

Things just got a whole lot more interesting in the A.L. East. While Toronto dives even deeper into a tailspin that includes losses in nine of their last eleven, the Sox can’t seem to shake the road blues that have plagued them all season. Away form the friendly confines of Fenway Park the boys of summer have dropped four of their last six, colliding with a hot Minnesota team earlier this week, and now losing the first two of a three game series against the Roy Halladay-led Jays. Much to the Red Sox’ dismay, things are looking up for the other two-thirds of the three-headed monster that makes up the toughest division in baseball. While Alex Rodriguez recovered from hip surgery, the Yankeess were languishing near the bottom of the AL East at an embarrassing 13-15. But since the return of their embattled third baseman, the Bronx Bombers are thriving. Don’t look now, but the pinstripes have won 14 of their last 9 and now sit atop the division. "His impact on the game was clear right away," says new acquisition CC Sabathia. "First pitch he sees, he hits a huge home run. It's been a lot of fun ever since. He's added a swagger to our team and our lineup." It appears that a little swagger is just what the doctor ordered. Mark Teixeira has become the happiest number three hitter in all of baseball now that A-Rod’s behind him; the duo brings back the bittersweet memories of the dynamic Ramirez-Ortiz tandem that delivered two championships to the Hub in ’04 and ’07. The Yank’s pitching has stepped up as well, Sabathia is 3-0 with an ERA hovering around 1.6 in his last three starts, and AJ Burnett is continuing his consistent dealing that made Hank Steinbrenner shell out almost 85 million for the pitcher’s services. And as if things couldn’t get any worse for the Sox, highly touted prospect David Price made his first start for the Tampa Bay Rays and went 5 2/3 strong, giving up one run, two walks while scattering five hits. But more impressively, he struck out eleven, often baffling hitters a few of the hottest hitters in baseball, Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel. The first overall pick in the 2007 draft is here, and most likely, here to stay. Evan Longoria also drove in his league-leading 55th RBI. The Sox have their work cut out for them for the rest of the year, but I like their chances. Four out of five of their pitchers are underperforming, and even if they don’t turn it around, (I am fairly confident that they will) they have Clay Buccholz waiting in the wings and future Hall of Famer John Smoltz returning June 17th. The Sox have a rarity in the MLB: pitching to spare, and possibly the most depth in all of baseball. Although the baseball gods aren’t smiling down upon us now, all the stars are aligned for the Sox to make another deep postseason run.