AL East Standings

Boston Red Sox (36-23)
The Boston Red Sox are currently the leader of the American League East. They just finished a weekend series with their hated rival, the New York Yankees where they won 2 out of 3 games of the series. The Boston Red Sox have a lot of veterans on their team and they are leading a division that they were expected to finish mid pack in. They signed some key veterans in the off-season, some of the veterans are first basemen Mike Napoli, veteran catcher David Ross and they still have their leader in the clubhouse David Ortiz and second basemen Dustin Pedroia. They also have had a stellar pitching season from Clay Buchholz. 

New York Yankees (34-25)
The New York Yankees have started out having spectacular results to the season despite not having their captain on the field in Derek Jeter. They have had big contributions from Robinson Cano who continues to be a great second basemen. They also have had contributions from Kevin Youkilis who used to play for the hated rival Boston. They continue to get good pitching and they are going to have to keep getting good hitting to stay where they currently are. 

Baltimore Orioles (33-25)
The Baltimore Orioles are coming off of a spectacular last season and they are looking to continue to keep their good stretch of playing going. They have many unknown players on their team or players that failed to produce in their previous spots that they played in their careers. They do have one good player who is the face of the franchise in center fielder Adam Jones but the surprise continues to be from the production of outfielder Nate McLouth. They also have a great catcher in Matt Wieters who continues to play at a all star caliber way. The Orioles should continue to compete for a playoff spot if they play the way they have been.

Tampa Bay Rays (31-26)
The Tampa Bay Rays started off their season slow. Their Cy Young award winning pitcher David Price has started off his season slow and could be better but he has been better lately. They still continue to impress despite having a small budget to work with from season to season. They have one great player in third basemen Evan Longoria who is a great player and always plays at an all star level. They also have a good number two pitcher in Matt Moore who has been consistent in the big leagues ever since he debuted.

Toronto Blue Jays (24-34)
The Toronto Blue Jays have been the biggest disappointment based on what kind of moves they made in the off-season. The Blue Jays traded for many all star caliber players but they have lived up to the expectations. The player that has not lived up to expectations the most is defending NL Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey, who they acquired from the New York Mets during the off-season. They also have had many injuries to players that they acquired from Miami Marlins, such as pitcher Josh Johnson and shortstop Jose Reyes. There is a lot of baseball to be played and the Blue Jays can turn the season around but it is going to take a lot of hard work. They are similar to last years' Miami Marlins team but as I wrote in the NL East standings last week they are one of the worst teams in baseball so just because you win the off-season does not mean it translates to the field.  

This is David Ortiz, the Designated Hitter of the Division leading Boston Red Sox