AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	16	8	-	7-3	W1	--
Toronto Blue Jays	13	12	3.5	5-5	W2	135
Baltimore Orioles	12	14	5.0	3-7	L2	133
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	11	14	5.5	5-5	W1	133
New York Yankees	9	14	6.5	2-8	L1	133

Tigers 8, Orioles 4. Another day and another loss for the O's. Last night's debacle makes it 7 of 8 for Baltimore. While Oriole losses bring smiles to our little faces, this one we can empathize with. Baltimore pitchers walked 8 batters and threw 2 wild pitches. ouch.

Blue Jays 6, Rangers 1. Roy Halladay pitched a complete game. How rare is that these days, especially this early in the season? There are 20 teams that are yet to have a pitcher throw a complete game. Roy Halladay? HE HAS TWO! If Halladay wins the Cy Young this season, the Jays will look like geniuses. If Halladay is on the DL by the all-star break? well, oops.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• General George S. Steinbrenner released his missive yesterday, and while he is not happy with the team, Joe Torre and Brian Cashman have his support.

It is time to put excuses and talk away. It is time to see if people are ready to step up and accept their responsibilities. It is time for all of them to show me and the fans what they are made of. Let's get going. Let's go out and win and bring a world championship back to New York. That's what I want.- George Steinbrenner

• It is Boston's other Japanese import that is causing the Yankees grief.
  
• The benches cleared last night in the O's/Tigers matchup after the ultra-sensitive Miguel Tejada thought an inside pitch was a little too close.
  
• Jaret Wright. $3 million well-spent. It is May 1, and Wright is beginning his second stint on the DL, already.
• Gustavo Chacin is latest Blue Jay to hit the DL.
  
• Tampa Jesuit graduate, Dave Magadan, has the Red Sox hitting on all cylinders.
  

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	16	8	-	7-3	W1	--
Toronto Blue Jays	12	12	4.0	4-6	W1	135
Baltimore Orioles	12	13	4.5	4-6	L1	134
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	11	14	5.5	5-5	W1	133
New York Yankees	9	14	6.5	2-8	L1	133

Red Sox 7, Yankees 4. How are the Rays ever supposed to pick up ground on the Sox, if Boston keeps getting to play weak teams like the Yankees? The Sox went all Big Papi and ManRam on the Yankees. Both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit home runs for Boston. Ramirez had the decisive blow, a 2-run shot in the 8th that put the Sox up 7-3. After losing 5 of 6 to the Red Sox in a little over a week (and 2 of 2 to the Rays), the Yankees have fallen 6.5 games behind the Sox and once again sit alone in last place of the AL East, a game behiiiiinnnnnd the TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS.

Indians 6, O's 1. All of the sudden the Orioles have lost 6 of 7 and are back in their familiar position (below .500).

Blue Jays 7, Rangers 3. You don't hear us make too many predictions around here. One of our biggest pet-peeves is somebody that makes 20 predictions and gloats when they get one or two right. Still we are starting to get a sense that this will be the story of the Blue Jays for the rest of the year. After their win yesterday they are now 12-12. We know this team has talent and they have had injuries, but even when the roster is healthy this looks like a .500 team. We would be surprised if this team finishes more than 2 games above or below .500.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• Not surprising, there are rumblings in the Bronx that Joe Torre's job security is very thin right now. George Steinbrenner has a history of firing managers early in a season. In 1985, he fired Yogi Berra after a 6-10 start. Of course, Berra wasn't coming off his 11th straight playoff appearance and did not have 4 championships on his resume. If Steinbrenner was younger, we might think this could happen, but we would be shocked if it happened now. On the other hand, Steinbrenner almost fired Torre last October and he already has a manager-in-waiting on the bench, that goes by the name Don Mattingly.
• You wont ever hear Derek Jeter publicly defend Alex Rodriguez, but as team captain he is quick to defend Joe Torre.
  
• The Orioles activated Jaret Wright before Sunday's game in order to start against the Indians. He only lasted 3 innings.
  
• Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne was named "Sports Douche of the Week." A little harsh. We would have gone with Ron Mexico.
  

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	12	6	-	8-2	L1	--
Baltimore Orioles	11	8	1.5	8-2	L1	143
Toronto Blue Jays	9	10	3.5	4-6	W1	141
New York Yankees	8	10	4.0	4-6	L4	141
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	8	11	4.5	5-5	W1	140

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 3. With a 4-3 lead heading to the 8th inning and BJ Ryan on the DL, the Jays realized their only hope was to do the obvious...score more runs. A 2-run homer by Aaron Hill capped the scoring and gave the Jays enough of a cushion to top the Pink Hats who were obviously still hung over from their April sweep of the Yankees. APRIL.

A's 6, O's 5. The Orioles lose! The Orioles lose!


NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• The Yankees would be 17-0 without A-Rod. Derek Jeter's defensive struggles? A-Rod's fault. All the injuries to the pitching staff? A-Rod's fault.
• Alex Rodriguez is the fastest ever to 13 14 home runs.
  
• This makes us giggle like a school girl.
  
• The Yankees passed over top prospect Phillip Hughes last time, but they won't make the same mistake this week. Chase Wright was demoted after giving up 4 straight home runs to the Red Sox on Sunday Night and Hughes will get the ball for his major league debut on Thursday against Toronto. Hughes is generally regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.
• While Mets fans have trouble letting go of Scott Kazmir, Orioles fans are having trouble letting go of Jeffrey Maier.
• David Ortiz is Shakespeare with a bat. We had no idea Shakespeare had a tendency to go yard in the 9th inning of close games. We admit, some metaphors confuse us.
• Jaret Wright and Ramon Hernandez finally get to throw to each other, on rehab assignments. That is soo BFF.
  

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Toronto Blue Jays	5	4	-	5-4	L1	--
Boston Red Sox	4	4	0.5	4-4	L1	154
New York Yankees	4	4	0.5	4-4	L1	154
Baltimore Orioles	4	6	1.5	4-6	W1	152
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	3	6	2.0	3-6	L1	152

Orioles 2, Royals 1. If there is any consolation to the 3-6 start for the Rays it is that just about everybody else in the AL East has had a shot at the Royals except for the Rays. The O's are the latest with a chance to feast on Kansas City, scoring the winning run on a Jay Gibbons single in the bottom of the 10th. The human rain delay, Steve Trachsel worked 7 innings and only gave up 3 hits.

Tigers 5, Blue Jays 4. Tomo Ohka worked 6 innings but gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• Sounds like the Yankees have finally restocked their minor league system after years of trading away all prospects. In particular, the AAA team is loaded with good arms.
• The Yankees are stealing more bases this season. Four of the top 16 thieves are Yankees.
• Darrell Rasner will take Mike Mussina's spot in the rotation on Tuesday. No word yet if Moose is going on the DL.
• With the Red Sox rainout yesterday, Terry Francona adjusted the rotation and now Diasuke Matsuzaka will get two cracks at the Yankees.
• So far, the 2007 version of the Orioles is bizarro-Baltimore. The pitching has been good, but the hitting is slow to get started.
• Jaret Wright was placed on the DL by the Orioles.

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Toronto Blue Jays	5	3	-	5-3	W1	--
Boston Red Sox	4	4	1.0	4-4	L1	154
New York Yankees	4	4	1.0	4-4	L1	154
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	3	5	2.0	3-5	W1	153
Baltimore Orioles	3	6	2.5	3-6	L1	152

Mariners 3, Red Sox 0. Felix Hernandez says "where's my $100 million?" All the talk last night was on Daisuke Matsuzaka's Fenway debut and his matchup with Ichiro. However King Felix had other ideas as he took a no-hitter into the eighth and pitched a complete game 1-hitter, screaming "sashimi!" after each of his 6 strikeouts. We might have made that last part up. Dice-K gave up 8 hits and 3 runs as the Mariners looked decidedly less Royals-ish.

Tigers 4, Orioles 1. You can always tell major leaguers don't get paid overtime. Once two teams hit the 9th inning of a tied game, everybody starts swinging for the fence. After all, how many opportunities will the Tigers players have to hit the nightlife in Baltimore? The O's and the Tiggers were scoreless through 11 last night before Craig Monroe hit a 2 out grand slam.

Blue Jays 7, Royals 4. In danger of losing a 3-game set to Kansas City at home. Gustavo Chacin and his cologne pitched just well enough to hold off those scrappy Royals. Scrappy is code in sports for "not very good". Troy Glaus hit a home run.

Twins 5, Yankees 1. There is a reason why Kyle Farnsworth never became the great closer that many had predicted. Sure he throws hard, but he throws straight. A 95-mph fastball isn't a great weapon in the major leagues if it doesn't move and you don't have an off-speed pitch to compliment it. Last night, the twins scored 4 runs in the 8th of of Farnsworth, to break a 1-1 tie.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• Mike Mussina became the latest Yankees pitcher to be injured. He injured his left hamstring in the third inning and had to leave the game versus the Twins.
• Jose Guillen invited Red Sox reliever Brendan Donnelly to throw down after the game. Jose Guillen has never been the most mature of major leaguers.
  
• Four Yankees will wear #42 on Monday including Mo Rivera who wears the number normally.
  
• Jay Payton was signed as a free agent this off-season by the Orioles. He is yet to play with Baltimore, having started the year on the DL. Now his return has been delayed at least another week.
• The Orioles have a pretty decent prospect, in Hayden Penn, if Jaret Wright must go on DL.
  
• The Red Sox made several roster moves yesterday.
• Fans in Toronto had other things on their mind last night (playoff hockey, snow) and the crowd showed.
  

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Toronto Blue Jays	4	3	-	4-3	L1	--
Boston Red Sox	4	3	-	4-3	W2	--
New York Yankees	4	3	-	4-3	W2	--
Baltimore Orioles	3	5	1.5	3-5	W2	154
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	2	5	2.0	2-5	L4	154

Red Sox 14, Mariners 3. The Sox went all Tea Party on the Mariners in their home opener at Fenway. Boston scored 7 in the first two innings and were up 13-1 after 5. Josh Beckett may have had his best start as a Red Sox giving up just 2 hits and 1 run over 7 innings. He walked none and struck out 8. JD Drew managed to hit his first home run with Boston and he didn't pull a hamstring rounding the bases.

Tigers 3, Orioles 1. The Orioles just can't catch a break. Jaret Wright pitched better, but still lost his second straight with the O's and then had to be removed with shoulder stiffness.

Royals 6, Blue Jays 3. Toronto committed 4 errors leading to 3 unearned runs. Josh Towers made his first start of the year and gave up all 6 runs.

Yankees 10, Twins 1. Andy Pettite pitched 6 scoreless innings and he was supported by Alex Rodiguez's 6th home run of the season. An A-bomb by A-Rod! At this pace A-Rod may beat Barry Bonds to the home run record. He only needs 286 more home runs. The Yankees, Sox and Jays are all tied for first in the AL East. This race is going down to the wire!

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• Jaret Wright was upset after the game and indicated that the injury to his shoulder is reminiscent of his previous shoulder injuries that led to two surgeries.
  
• The Yankees starters have struggled, but the bullpen has been strong.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka will face Ichiro tonight to lead off the Red Sox game against the Mariners. The two have faced each other before in Japan. Here is video of their encounters in Japan.
• The Red Sox honored the 1967 AL Championship team before their home opener.
  
• Frank Thomas has 488 career home runs, but his sights are set on 600.
• Alex Rodriguez is just the 4th player in the last 50 years with an extra-base hit in each of his team's first seven games, and one of seven players with 6 home runs in his teams first 7 games.
• It is only seven games, but some are already talking MVP for Alex Rodriguez. The funny thing about all this is...Let's say A-Rod hits .330 with 60 home runs, 150 RBI and wins the MVP. The he has a big October but the Yankees fall short in the playoffs. Because of all the crap he has received from the fans, he will opt-out of his contract and Yankees fans will find a way to blame A-Rod. He will be a coward, even though it was the fans that wanted him gone as recently as the second game of the season when he popped up in the 8th inning with the bases loaded against the Rays.
• Alex Rios is a better player when he is leading off.