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As we head into the All-Star break and just past the half way mark of the 2022 baseball season, there’s no real surprise here – the American League East division is by far the toughest and baseball division in the land. This claim is easy to make when none of the teams in the AL East currently have a losing record; all of the ballclubs are at .500 or better right now.
The AL East could conceivably control the entire league in the 2022 postseason.
The New York Yankees are sitting on top of the AL East (and all of MLB) with dominating 61-26 record. The only smudge marks to the Yankees record are their recent extra-inning losses to their archrival Red Sox and dropping a Tuesday nigh game against the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds game in the Bronx leaves a bitter taste in the mouth to Yankees fans since the Bombers were leading that game going into the ninth inning leading 3-0 and then Clay Holmes pummels two batters and like a bad dream the Yanks lost 4-3. Nevertheless, this season is the Yankees to lose and odds makers are certainly betting big on the men in Pinstripes to win the World Series.
The Tampa Bay Rays are that team that just won’t go away – or go away quietly. It’s amazing how little press coverage the Rays get, let along how few fans actually go to their home games because the Rays are simply good. Good enough at least to be sitting at 47-40 and holding on to a wild card spot right now. However, those wild card spots are only good at the end of the season; you don’t get a first half pass to the playoffs and the Rays are going to need everything that got just to hold off their own division fighting for the coveted wild card spots as well.
The pesky Red Sox (sorry for the pun, I couldn’t resist with the Pesky Pole in right field at Fenway) have been resurrected from the baseball dead at the beginning of the 2022 campaign. Through the first month of the season, it looked like the Red Sox forgot to show up in Boston from spring training or were just on an extended spring break. Well, the weather has gotten warmer and so have the Red Sox and they sit back just one game behind the Rays and are holding on to the second wild card spot. There’s so much of the season left and time will tell if the 2022 Red Sox have some magic in them or they’re getting ready for a late season collapse. Stay tuned for this one folks -the Yankees and Red Sox will have a big brawl ready to go in the Bronx this coming weekend.
Despite their winning record at 46-42, there is something going on with the Toronto Blue Jays recently as they just fired manager Charlie Montoyo. The Jays started out the season well but in July they’ve hit the skids including a recent dismal road trip. The Blue Jays are loaded with young talent and should be a continuous playoff contender. However, the Jays front office felt it was time to part ways with their skipper who walks away with an even 236-236 record.
The biggest and most pleasant surprise in the AL East this season and I should say in the entire American League has been the upward movement of the Baltimore Orioles. Wait, the Baltimore Orioles? Yes, you heard me right – the O’s from Camden Yards are now at an even 44-44 and on a nine-game winning streak. The Orioles, along with the Seattle Mariners, are two of the hottest teams in the big leagues lately and the O’s are starting to believe in themselves as legitimate wild card contenders. With great relievers like Jorge Lopez and young newcomer Adley Rutschman, the new-look Orioles are a far cry from the sad clown losing teams the past couple of seasons. Skipper Brandon Hyde is doing a good job of righting this ship and the Orioles are looking to make an honest run at a winning season and a postseason spot.
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