How the East Was Won

Well, that was decisive.

Over the weekend, the New York Yankees took it upon themselves to bury the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. The 4-game series in the Bronx took the Yankees' lead from 2.5 games to 6.5 games, but the real damage was done psychologically. Coming into the series, Boston had an 8-0 series lead this season, but by halving the difference (at least numerically) between the two, the Yankees served notice that they're getting strong as the season progresses, whereas Boston seems to have peaked in early July.

Between the John Smoltz mistake to the ongoing David Ortiz saga, Boston doesn't know which was is up right now. On the other hand, New York has solidified their rotation with the recent consistent performances of Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett (periods accepted, and his start last week against Chicago notwithstanding). CC Sabathia (no periods, remember) can still by dynamic, and you have to figure it's only a matter of time before a guy of his talent figures things out. He hasn't been terrible this year, but he certainly hasn't earned the unreal contract he received in the offseason.

The teams have appeared to be going in different directions for weeks now, but the Rumble in the Bronx only confirmed that theory. Despite the fact that 50 games are left in the season, give or take, New York seems to be playing their best ball of the season, and that's a scary proposition for the rest of the league. Yes, the Anaheim Angels (I refuse to call them by their new moniker) are playing well as of late, but we all know what happens when they get in the postseason. Plus, Vladimir Guerrero looks terrible this year and they can't win a postseason series without him hitting; I don't care what Kendry Morales or Bobby Abreu are doing.

Boston needs to circle the wagons here pretty soon. If they're not careful, Texas or Tampa Bay may sneak up and grab the Wild Card spot from them. There's no chance they win the AL East (trust me), but if they let their despair of losing out to the Yankees linger too long, they're gonna mess around and miss the playoffs altogether. Texas has its fair share of pitching problems and Tampa Bay can't seem to string anything together, but as close as things are right now, Boston can't take anything for granted.

If I were a betting man, I'd choose Boston to win the Wild Card. Between Beckett, Wakefield, and Lester, they have enough pitching to get over the hump. The only problem is they might end up back in the Boogie Down come October. And if this weekend taught us anything, it's that Boston isn't quite ready to beat the Yankees there.

~~ Lank