AL East Roundup: Dice-K Might Be Talking Trash…Or He Might Not

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	26	11	–	8-2	W3	—
New York Yankees	17	19	8.5	5-5	L1	118
Baltimore Orioles	18	21	9.0	5-5	L3	116
Toronto Blue Jays	16	22	10.5	3-7	W1	115
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	15	22	11.0	3-7	W1	115

Red Sox 7, Tigers 1. Diasuke Matsuzaka said “I got your #3 starter right here.” Of course the interpreter might have mistranslated. Up to this point, Dice-K has been effective, if not over-powering. Last night, the Sox began to see return on their investment, as Matsuzaka pitched a complete game against the defending AL champs. He allowed only 6 hits, struck out 5 and did not walk a batter.

Blue Jays 5, Orioles 3. Troy Glaus drove in three including a 2-run home run in the 8th that proved to be the game-winner off of Danys Baez. Meantime, the Jays may have finally found a suitable replacement in the bullpen as Jeremy Accardo converted his second save and is yet to allow a run in 17.2 innings.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Melvin Mora and Jay Payton nearly came to blows in the dugout following last night’s loss. Mora became heated when Payton mocked Sanjaya from American Idol*.
  
• Miguel Tejada’s excuse for only hitting two home runs this season? He is not a home run hitter of course. Maybe he forgot to take his “B-12” this season.
• Remember all the talk about the Yankees scoring a 1,000 runs this season? Not so much anymore. Alex Rodriguez has 1 home run in May. Bobby Abreu is in such a bad slump, that he has tried to bunt for a bas hit on several occasions in the past few weeks. Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano are both struggling. $200 million just doesn’t go as far as it used to.
• Roger Clemens had his first workout for the Yankees in Tampa. Must be a slow news day in the AL East.

* Might not be true.

AL East Roundup: Can Roger Clemens DH On His Off-Days?

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	25	11	–	8-2	W2	—
Baltimore Orioles	18	20	8.0	6-4	L2	118
New York Yankees	17	19	8.0	5-5	L1	119
Toronto Blue Jays	15	22	10.5	2-8	L1	116
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	15	22	10.5	2-8	L1	116

Red Sox 6, Orioles 5. Sometimes a team just has one of those seasons. It might be a little early but the Sox are definitely having one of those seasons so far. Trailing 5-0 in the 9th inning, the Evil Empire Jr. rallied for 6 runs to take the rubber match of the series against the Orioles and all of the sudden the Sox have opened up a 8 game lead. The one bit of bad news was Josh Beckett being forced to leave the game early with skin inflammation of a finger. Any hopes of Beckett going 35-0 went right out the window.

Mariners 2, Yankees 1. The Yankees have now played 13 series this season and have only won 3 after losing 2 of 3 to the M’s this weekend. Derek Jeter is having another great year and Jorge Posada is hitting well, but outside of them, nobody is hitting, including Alex Rodriguez who has 1 home run in May. But hey, Maybe Roger Clemens can play DH on his off days. Well, on the off days that he doesn’t want to go golfing.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Joe Torre has more important matters on his mind as his brother remains in critical care following a kidney transplant.
• Scott Proctor dropped his appeal of his 4-game suspension and will be able to return on Thursday.
• As if the Roger Clemens story wasn’t enough of a circus, it looks like if things go as scheduled, his first start for the Yankees will be in Fenway Park.
• Josh Beckett has a history of blisters on his fingers, but he is hopeful that this time he won’t be forced to miss a start.
• Miguel Tejada has now played in 1,118 consecutive games, giving him the 5th longest streak in history.
• Derek Jeter committed his 7th error on Sunday, but it was his first since the 11th game of the season.

The AL East Roundup:

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	16	8	–	7-3	W1	—
Toronto Blue Jays	13	12	3.5	5-5	W2	135
Baltimore Orioles	12	14	5.0	3-7	L2	133
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	11	14	5.5	5-5	W1	133
New York Yankees	9	14	6.5	2-8	L1	133

Tigers 8, Orioles 4. Another day and another loss for the O’s. Last night’s debacle makes it 7 of 8 for Baltimore. While Oriole losses bring smiles to our little faces, this one we can empathize with. Baltimore pitchers walked 8 batters and threw 2 wild pitches. ouch.

Blue Jays 6, Rangers 1. Roy Halladay pitched a complete game. How rare is that these days, especially this early in the season? There are 20 teams that are yet to have a pitcher throw a complete game. Roy Halladay? HE HAS TWO! If Halladay wins the Cy Young this season, the Jays will look like geniuses. If Halladay is on the DL by the all-star break? well, oops.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• General George S. Steinbrenner released his missive yesterday, and while he is not happy with the team, Joe Torre and Brian Cashman have his support.

It is time to put excuses and talk away. It is time to see if people are ready to step up and accept their responsibilities. It is time for all of them to show me and the fans what they are made of. Let’s get going. Let’s go out and win and bring a world championship back to New York. That’s what I want.- George Steinbrenner

• It is Boston’s other Japanese import that is causing the Yankees grief.
• The benches cleared last night in the O’s/Tigers matchup after the ultra-sensitive Miguel Tejada thought an inside pitch was a little too close.
• Jaret Wright. $3 million well-spent. It is May 1, and Wright is beginning his second stint on the DL, already.
• Gustavo Chacin is latest Blue Jay to hit the DL.
• Tampa Jesuit graduate, Dave Magadan, has the Red Sox hitting on all cylinders.