standings

Usually my posts are baseball card (or just 'cards' in general) related. Today though, I would like to take some time and discuss a little bit about the game we all love...baseball! Well I have written about baseball before. Games I went to last season, be it minor league or major, or how the Jays were doing. This time however, I would like to talk standings. More specifically, the dreaded AL East. I don't usually pay too much attention to the other divisions, namely because 1; Toronto is in this division and 2; there is ALWAYS activity and excitement in the AL East.

Now, as it currently stands, at 2:49 PM on Thursday, the standings look like this:

Baltimore (4-1)
Toronto (4-1)
New York (3-2)
Boston (0-5)
Tampa Bay (0-5)

Which is quite surprising to say the least. With the worst two teams of the 2010 (in terms of this division), up out on top. With all the teams that fought for that coveted top spot, struggling to do much of anything. I watched the Yankees blow a 4-0 lead in the 8th the other night. I saw the end of the Boston game, in which they were behind the Indians, 3-1, bottom of the 9th, two men on and Otriz striking out for the final out of the game. My question is, what is going on?

Now, I know it is terribly early in the season for all this talk but maybe it says something about the teams. New York has had some issues with their pitching staff. Well, maybe issues with putting together a cohesive, working pitching unit. Boston spent tons of money getting Gonzalez and Crawford and are showing nothing as of yet. Tampa, which I was kind of expecting, is in shambles after the free agency and all the players leaving and signing with other teams. Baltimore and Toronto are very different though. Baltimore had a terrible start to last season but an excellent finish. After signing Vlad and Lee, I knew combined with all their great young talent, they would be a force to be reckoned with. Toronto on the other hand, completely befuddles me, in that they lost a lot of guys in the off season but seem to be holding up pretty well.

I feel all that will change though. I predicted before the season started, what the final standings in the AL East would be. Here is how I see it going down come September:

Boston
New York
Baltimore
Tampa Bay
Toronto

Now, I have to explain that this is how I feel currently. Originally I had thought the same outcome but with Baltimore and Tampa switched. With Baltimore's recent explosive show of greatness, I switch it up and have them take third. The thing with Boston and New York is that usually when they get on a roll, they plow through everyone else. I see Boston on top due to the Yankees lack of a great pitching staff. Boston is pretty solid all around. Tampa Bay will continue to struggle all year and I seem to believe that Toronto will just fall apart soon. Ideally, if things end the way I would like to see them, they would look something like this:

Toronto
New York
Baltimore
Tampa Bay
Boston

Sorry Sox fans but I am kind of enjoying this 0-5 start. If I had to pick a side between New York and Boston, it's NY all the way. In fact, I usually consider them my second favorite team. Them being the wife's favorite team helps this consideration. I know Toronto will NEVER see first place, especially at the end. Hey, I can hope right?

So I guess it's all up to the boys now. I'll have to check in at the end of the season to see how close I was to hitting the mark. What do you think?