Is this the year that marks the end of AL East dominance?

by Cbeck3 on May 15, 2011 3:12 PM EDT

The Yankees are struggling. But because the rest of the AL East is struggling too our position does not look too bad. But there is a question to be faced. Is the Eastern Division's dominance of the AL coming to an end? These thoughts triggered by the slump and Posada's craziness.

I think it is. Even if this is not the year, THE END IS NEAR!

There have been great small market teams over the years. We saw periods of great baseball in Pittsburgh, Cinci, KC, St. Louis, Baltimore and Oakland. I am sure I've missed teams which deserve to be mentioned. But these great teams slid and fell into dark days. It is hard to win from these places (harder since free agency). Someday Tampa will fall too. Amoung the big teams there seems to be a cycle of being good and having to rebuild. The Yanks have sometimes managed to be good and rebuild at the same time, but not always.

I think the Yanks and Boston are trying to stay good and rebuild at the same time, but. The Yanks are pretty old and the Red Sox (particularly their pitching) are pretty thin.

This could well be a year where the second finisher in the AL East is not a cinch to be the Wild Card team. By next year the Wild Card could be devalued enough it will not be the prise it has been.

If Cleveland is for real, they or the Tigers can be a real challenge for the WC. Chicago or the Twins could wake up. There seem to be several reasonably good teams in the west too.

I am not paniced by the slump. I think the Yanks are still the best team in the AL. But a period of greater parity does seem to be coming. The Yankees will not replace the core four. As their time at the top ends, it is worth saying that there has never been another group quite like them. There will probably never be another group together so long and so sucessful for so long.

It will be fun to see how Cano, Granderson and Tex can do in the coming years. Who will anchor the pitching over a period of years? I think we'll get more insight into how great Joe Torre was. He would have handled this Posada thing better, wouldn't he?

Change is upon us. Go Yanks.

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Comments

Syrup or grape jelly?

Last night, a comedian died in New York. Somebody knows why. Somebody knows

by Rorschach44 on May 15, 2011 3:19 PM EDT reply actions

Nope.

The only thing better than an Anderson is a Granderson.

Wagoning since the day I was born.

by Jeterian 2 on May 15, 2011 3:23 PM EDT reply actions

I believe we'll finish with a better record than the Tigers, Indians, Royals, Rangers or Angels.

The only thing better than an Anderson is a Granderson.

Wagoning since the day I was born.

by Jeterian 2 on May 15, 2011 3:24 PM EDT reply actions

I think the AL East has gotten better

The Rays, Yanks, and Sox are contenders but the Jays and to a lesser degree, the Os are better than they were in previous seasons. The Central is crap this season, White Sox and Twins are awful and the Tribe and Royals will fade. The less said about the West, the better.

Should you choose to test my resolve in this matter, you will be facing a finality beyond your comprehension, and you will not be counting days, or months, or years, but milleniums in a place with no doors.

by YankeesJets on May 15, 2011 3:53 PM EDT reply actions

Yer @#$%ed.

Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.

@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard

by Bloggy on May 15, 2011 7:45 PM EDT reply actions

BAND

Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.

by CasanovaWong on May 15, 2011 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions

RevHaloFan???

Iz dat yoo?

Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.

@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard

by Bloggy on May 15, 2011 8:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Well played, sir.

"Nature never intended for you to survive here. But this fall, nature isn't the only thing to fear." September 10, 2011. Alabama vs. Penn State. White House.

by Chris McKeown on May 15, 2011 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Lets just pray

Cashman & Co. ( hank/hal/levine, etc…dumb, dumber, dumbest… don’t over react & trade away the farm to “WIN NOW” we need to get younger & cheaper asap….

by cmypath78 on May 16, 2011 6:56 PM EDT reply actions

I do not understand why we need to get cheaper.

Younger is nice but good is more important than younger or cheaper.

Cheaper just means ownership makes more money, and I do not care about that. I want to win. I want to win now and win later too. So, if we trade let’s make good ones.

BTW, I think the team is fine right now. Now need worth spending a lot to fill.

"I’m never really surprised, but I am thrilled sometimes." Joe G. 2010

by Cbeck3 on May 18, 2011 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions

I think it’s more than fair to say that the best team in the American League has not surfaced yet. Take a look at the standings. There are only two teams that are better than five games over .500, the Rays and the Indians.

Remember when ESPN was drooling over Texas’ 9-1 start? Well guess who’s gone 13-19 since?

It’s way too early in the season to think that the wild card will not come out of the AL East. The Yankees and Red Sox will not be hovering around .500 40 games from now. They’ll likely have two of the top three records in the American League. The AL East is a very strong division and, while not every team has a realistic chance at winning it, drop the Blue Jays or Orioles in the AL Central or AL West and 1st or 2nd place is not unrealistic.

"Nature never intended for you to survive here. But this fall, nature isn't the only thing to fear." September 10, 2011. Alabama vs. Penn State. White House.

by Chris McKeown on May 18, 2011 9:05 AM EDT reply actions

I thought

the Yankees “AL East Dominance” ended quite some time ago, like 2004. Since then not only have the Sux won 2 World Series, but the Rays have gone to one. It’s been a 3 team race for several seasons now.

I bet it's good to be playing again, huh?

by david d on May 18, 2011 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

I wouldn’t go so far as to say 2004 is when the “dominance” ended. Yankees won the AL East in ’04, ’05 and ’06.

Starting in 2007 is when changes became noticeable.
2007 – Boston
2008 – Tampa Bay
2009 – New York
2010 – Tampa Bay

"Nature never intended for you to survive here. But this fall, nature isn't the only thing to fear." September 10, 2011. Alabama vs. Penn State. White House.

by Chris McKeown on May 18, 2011 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions

This was not ever about Yankee domination of AL East

it was about East domination of the AL. Boston isn’t near as goos as they were a few years ago. Ditto the Yanks and Rays. The rest of the league is closing in.

"I’m never really surprised, but I am thrilled sometimes." Joe G. 2010

by Cbeck3 on May 19, 2011 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions