AL East Roundup: Rocket’s Return

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	20	10	–	7-3	W1	—
New York Yankees	14	15	5.5	6-4	W2	128
Baltimore Orioles	14	17	6.5	3-7	L1	126
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	14	17	6.5	5-5	L1	126
Toronto Blue Jays	13	18	7.5	2-8	L6	125

Yankees 5, Mariners 0. We can understand if nobody noticed that the Yankees beat the Mariners for their second straight win. Apparently news came down that the Evil Empire added a couple of dollars to their payroll with the signing of some veteran pitcher. With the Red Sox off to a huge start, and Houston being Houston, there is no surprise in this move, so let’s move on.

Red Sox 4, Twins 3. JD Drew drove in 2 runs without hurting himself and Curt Shilling didn’t allow a run until the 7th inning.

Indians 9, Orioles 6. The Tribe scores 7 runs in the 4th and 5th innings and cruised behind CC Sabathia and his crooked cap.

Rangers 3, Blue Jays 2. Michael Young’s solo home run in the 8th put the Rangers on top and sent the Jays to their 6th straight loss.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• George Steinbrenner‘s support for Joe Torre may have influenced Roger Clemen’s decision to join the Yankees.
• It will be interesting to see how all of Roger Clemen’s special privileges will go over with the rest of the Yankees veteran roster.
• JP Ricciardi revealed that the Jays lied about BJ Ryan’s injury in spring training, telling the media it was a bcak problem when in fact he had a sore elbow.
• With BJ Ryan on the DL, the Jays have been going to Jason Frasor in the 9th, but that could change as Frasor has struggled in the role and could be sent down to the minors.
• MLB has approached the Red sox and the Yankees as two potential teams that could play spring training games in China next season as well open the regular season in Japan.

AL East Roundup: Ladies And Gentlemen…Your Last Place New York Yankees

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	12	7	–	7-3	L2	—
Baltimore Orioles	11	9	1.5	7-3	L2	142
Toronto Blue Jays	10	10	2.5	4-6	W2	141
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	9	11	3.5	5-5	W2	140
New York Yankees	8	11	4.0	4-6	L5	140

Blue Jays 10, Red Sox 3. The Blue Jays are a lot like the Devil Rays these days and we are not just talking about their aversion to the first part of their nickname and a distancing from their team colors. With all their injuries, especially to BJ Ryan, the Jays only hope is to outscore their opponents, and they have the offense to do it. Roy Halladay struck out 10 in 8 innings and the Jays knocked around 15 hits. Mike Lowell homered for Boston, his third in 3 games.

A’s 4, O’s 2. All four runs by the A’s were scored after the Orioles played hot potato with the baseball. Aubrey Huff hit a triple. Who was playing in the outfield? Stevie Wonder?

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• Better them than us. The NEW YORK YANKEES ARE IN LAST PLACE.
• Apparently the Rays aren’t the only team with bullpen issues. The Yankees bullpen is in disarray. We have to agree if Joe Torre is already using the Great Mariano in the 8th inning, bringing Andy Pettite out of the bullpen and his main setup man is Kyle Farnsworth, who has the weakest 98 mph fastball in baseball. Oh yeah, and your submarining lefty gives up grand slams to left-handed hitters.
• Derek Jeter was removed from last night’s loss to the Rays with a bruised thigh after being hit by a pitch. He is not expected to miss much time.
• Alex Rodriguez says he wants to stay in New York after this season. We would expect him to say nothing else.
• BJ Ryan is not coming back anytime soon. The Jays moved him to the 60-day DL. Sounds an awful lot like his season is in jeopardy.
• The Orioles lost reliever Scott Williamson to the DL.
• Yet another injury for the Blue Jays. This time it is Greg Zaun headed to the DL. At this rate, Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby and Garth Iorg will be suiting up for the Jays.

AL East Roundup: There Is A Chink In The Armor Of The Great Mariano

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	10	5	–	8-2	W3	—
Baltimore Orioles	9	7	1.5	7-3	W2	146
New York Yankees	8	7	2.0	6-4	L1	146
Toronto Blue Jays	8	8	2.5	4-6	L3	145
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	6	10	4.5	4-6	L2	143

Red Sox 7, Yankees 6. This was as bad a loss for the Yankees as one can imagine this early in the season. With Andy Pettite on the mound and two rookies to follow in the next two games, this was the Yankees best chance for a win and they let it slip away. With the Red Sox wearing their Christmas uniforms in honor of the Celtic’s Red Auerbach, scored 5 in the 8th to overcome a 6-2 deficit. Two of the runs came off of Mo Rivera who has now blown two consecutive saves for only the seventh time in his career. But the worst part for the Yankees had to have been the performance by Alex Rodriguez. A lot of Yankees fans today will tell you that this game summed up A-Rod’s stint as a Yankee perfectly. With two home runs early off of Curt Schilling, Rodriguez lined out softly to the second baseman in the 9th inning when it “really mattered”. Also questionable was Joe Torre’s decision to go with Jose Vizcaino in the 8th with a 4-run lead rather than his usual set-up man Kyle Farnsworth.

Orioles 5, Blue Jays 4. Don’t the O’s know they are not supposed to be winning? Baltimore overcame a 4-2 deficit with 2 runs in the 8th and 1 in the 9th, on a walk-off single by Nick Markakis, his third hit of the game. The O’s are now 2 games over .500 for the first time in 87 years, while the Jays are in full survival mode while BJ Ryan is on the DL. Baltimore has now won 6 of 7.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• The Red Sox Times breaks down Curt Schilling’s blog entry following his first start against the Yankees last night.
• Apparently Jonny Damon has a hamstring.
• Joe Torre promised not to use Mo Rivera in the 8th inning this season. Well, that lasted a whole 3 weeks. So, is this the end of the Great Mariano?
• Mariano Rivera may well be the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball and has sustained his greatness over 10 years, a t time when relief pitchers rarely have more than one or two dominant seasons.
• BJ Ryan, on the DL with elbow pain, will miss 4-6 weeks.
• Hideki Matsui went 1-3 in his first single-A rehab start with the Tampa Yankees.
• This just in…Red Sox fans are not so classy.
• Jay Payton was activated for the first time this season for Baltimore.

Around The AL East: Sox Fans Believe Josh Beckett Is Going To Finish 32-0.

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	7	4	–	7-3	W3	—
Toronto Blue Jays	7	5	0.5	6-4	W1	151
Baltimore Orioles	7	6	1.0	7-3	W4	150
New York Yankees	5	6	2.0	4-6	L1	150
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	5	8	3.0	3-7	L1	148

Red Sox 7, Angels 2. The Red Sox played their annual Patriot’s Day morning noon tilt, and once again the winning time of the marathon was quicker than the game itself. Oh, and Josh Beckett won his third straight start and Pink Hat fans everywhere are already screaming Cy Young. Big Papi hit his 4th home run.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Chase Wright has two starts above A-ball but will make his major league debut at Yankee Stadium tonight. Nothing like just throwing a child in the middle of the lake filled with piranhas to see if they can swim.
• We have all seen the now-famous pizza throwing incident from yesterday’s Red Sox game, but can somebody explain to me why it happened? They were both Sox fans and he kept an Angels player from catching a foul ball. Shouldn’t the guy have bought him a beer instead? Sox Fans *shaking head*.
• The excuses are starting to come already as to why Daisuke Matsuzaka has not thrown two perfect games in his first two starts. Apparently they use a much different ball in Japan.
• Former Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo is impressing people in Boston.
• The Jays’ Reed Johnson will be out until at least July after having surgery to repair a herniated disk.
• Not a good week for the Blue Jays as Troy Glaus and BJ Ryan were also placed on the DL.
• Marshall Bradway of RealGM Baseball suggests that the Devil Rays sacrifice long-term success in an effort to field the best possible team now. Hmmm? Not likely to happen.

AL East Roundup: Marcus Scutaro Helps Mariano Rivera Honor Jackie Robinson

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	6	4	–	6-4	W2	—
Toronto Blue Jays	7	5	–	6-4	W1	—
Baltimore Orioles	6	6	1.0	6-4	W3	150
New York Yankees	5	6	1.5	4-6	L1	150
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	5	7	2.0	4-6	W1	149

A’s 5, Yankees 4. Mariano Rivera is the only player in baseball that is still allowed to wear #42 regularly, so it was fitting that Rivera picked up his first save on Jackie Robinson Day. What? oops. our bad. Apparently Marcus Scutaro didn’t get the memo that said the A’s were supposed to let Mariano pick up the save so that SportsCenter could have their feel-good moment.

Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1. Josh Towers worked into the 8th inning and allowed only 3 hits, a walk and an unearned run.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST….

• The Yankees placed Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano on the DL. AA pitcher Chase Wright will be called up to start on Tuesday.
• Derek Jeter has committed more errors (6) than BJ Upton (5). That’s not an easy thing to do.
• Yet another big name pitcher goes to the DL in the AL East. This time it is Jays’ closer BJ Ryan.
• Selling Japanese players to the Japanese market is easy. Selling teams to Japanese baseball fans is not as easy, but that is exactly what MLB is trying to do.
• Boston is hoping that Diasuke Matsuzaka will boost local tourism.
• Willy Mo Pena is the odd man out in Boston.
• The baseball schedule features one morning tilt every season, on Patriot’s Day in Boston. Make that zero games this season as the game has been rescheduled for noon.