AL East Wide Open Entering Second Half, Yankees Favored to Win

Major League Baseball starts its second half of the season on Friday following four days off for the midsummer classic – the All-Star Game. The American League disposed of the National League 6-3 in the game and will have the home field advantage during the World Series in October.

The closest divisional race starting the second half of the season is the AL East. Just six and a half games are what separate first from last in the division, which is the fewest at the time of an All-Star break since wildcards came into play in MLB.

The team that was leading the division at the All-Star break has gone on to win the division the last three season.

The big surprise thus far in the AL East is the Boston Red Sox. They currently are in last place in the division and had been considered one of the favorites to win the division after making a number of offseason acquisitions. Collectively the division is 225-222 or .503 at the break, which is not that good.

For a number of seasons the AL East has been considered one of the toughest divisions in all of baseball, but that has not been the case this season. The division will likely send only the division winner to the postseason with a wildcard a long shot this season.

Every team in the division has its flaws and anyone of the five teams could take the lead down the stretch and walk away with the division title.

The New York Yankees are not that good of a team, but lead the East at 48-40. They might not be that strong of a team, but they are the least flawed of any of the five AL East ball clubs.

The starting rotation has had a difficult time since, well Opening Day. A-Rod has proven to be the big spark that had carried the offense, but everyone is waiting for him to cool off and then what will happen.

Tampa Bay has pitching but cannot hit their weight. The Baltimore Orioles do not have a complete lineup that is capable of winning the big game, especially on the mound.

Toronto can hit and has hit better than almost every team in baseball and on a consistent basis, but pitching is their downfall. Boston has played better of late but their inconsistent offense coupled with a volatile rotation on the mound, spells trouble.

It looks like the Yankees will wind up on top, as they have the overall experience, and mix of pitching and hitting that will likely earn them the AL East title.

However, if A-Rod cools off too early in the second half and that could happen at his age, the Yankees will struggle with runs and could wind up giving up the top spot.