American East Wide Open Top to Bottom Entering Second Half

The All-Star Break has arrived. Major League Baseball will have its midsummer classic on Tuesday between the American League and National League, while the vast majority of players enjoy four full days of rest.

The official second half of the season albeit only 74 or 75 games for each team, starts on Friday. The American League East remains a crapshoot after the first half of the season with just 6 ½ games separating first and last place.

The New York Yankees lead the division by 3 ½ games over second place Tampa Bay, 4 over third place Baltimore, 4 ½ over fourth place Toronto and 6 ½ over last place Boston.

At 42-47, the Red Sox are not doing very well, but on the other hand, they are not all that bad. Boston is 6 ½ behind the Yankees, but just 3 back of second place Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox started 28-39 but have now won 14 of their past 22 games to inch closer to the top of the AL East and a possible wildcard spot.

New York with just 48 wins is leading the division but that puts them on a pace of just 88 wins and someone in the East should out do that during the second half. Boston would have to play incredible ball to overcome that, but Baltimore or Tampa Bay will give the Yankees a good run for their money.

The division could come down to a team picking up one or two top players before the trade deadline to shore up their pitching rotation or batting order for the stretch run.

Tampa Bay lost 9 of 10 games prior to the break but at that time was still .500 at 43-43 and at the break, they are 46-45. Tampa Bay will likely be the Yankees biggest rival during the second half.

You cannot rule out the Toronto Blue Jays as they have some of the best offense in the league. The Blue Jays pitching might be suspect, but they certainly can hit a ton. Josh Donaldson has 21 home runs and 60 RBIs at the break, and will bat second in the All-Star game.

If Toronto were to trade for one or two solid starting pitchers, the Blue Jays could become the instant favorite to win the East, as their offense is already the top in the league.

With over 70 games to be played, the AL East is wide open with any team capable of going on a tear and taking the title.