Life in The AL East

What is life like in the AL East?

Life is tough in many MLB cities, but at least for some of us it is not as bad as life in the AL East.

For the last decade (2000-2009), the AL East has been nearly a formality as the Yankees won eight division crowns, while Boston won two (one tie with Yanks), and the Rays snuck in a title.

Life for the Orioles and Blue Jays has been completely miserable and a decade of futility has passed for both franchises. The highest either team has finished was a second place finish for the Jays back in ’06, and a third place finish for the ’04 O’s.

We all remember the good ole days for both franchises, when the Jays were the best team in the early 90s, and the O’s had a nice run in the mid 90s, but were foiled by Jeffrey Maier.

Both TOR and BAL have had nice prospects and bright futures in the last ten years, but have been unable to compete with the outrageous salaries of the Red Sox and Yankees. Sure, the Rays won a division crown but they have also finished in last place seven times. Needless to say, the ’08 division title was nothing short of a miracle.

The Jays and O’s will win this division sooner rather than later, but not as long as both teams try to match the big market spending. The Rays did it with scouting, while having a perennial top five pick, good pitching, base running, speed, power, and very good defense.

As the powerhouses of MLB (NYY and BOS) kept spending, the O’s and Jays tried their best to keep up, while TB tried their own philosophy. BAL spent (wasted) money on Javy Lopez, Albert Belle, Rafael Palmeiro, and Miguel Tejada and TOR also tried to keep up by resigning their big name talent like Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells, and Alex Rios. But as we have found out, that is not how you beat BOS and/or NYY.

With players like Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, and the two pitching studs Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz, the O’s have a bright future, but they have had a bright future before and ruined it with outrageous spending that handcuffed them for the last decade.

The Jays, on the other hand, are trying to rid themselves of awful contracts given out after the second place ’06 finish. Former GM J.P. Ricciardi signed OF Vernon Wells after the ’06 season to a lengthy $126 million contract that ends after the ’14 season. And last season the Jays cut Alex Rios, who signed a long lucrative deal after the ’08 season that had over $50 million left on it.

The future is brighter in Baltimore than Toronto, and it is because of the Rays blueprint for AL East success. You build within, do not sign/extend players at ridiculous rates, and hire a quality manager. Orioles Manager Dave Trembley is in the final year of his deal, and it will be interesting to see what happens with him after this season.

The Jays brought back Cito Gaston from their glory days, but nobody would be able to win in this division with this team. He has some good players in Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, Travis Snider, and Ricky Romero, but they are still years away from competing.

The Rays did it the right way, by staying patient and correctly drafting and scouting. It took a while for TB to become relevant in the AL East, but they did it before BAL and TOR. It will be interesting to see which franchise becomes the next to knock off either the Red Sox or Yankees, therefore becoming America’s favorite team, much like the Rays in ’08.

@MatAnaya

What is life like in the AL East? March 1, 2010 – Matt Anaya Life is tough in many MLB cities, but at least for some of us it is not as bad as life in the AL East. For the last decade (2000-2009), the AL East has been nearly a formality as the Yankees [...]