American League East Twister

We've all heard more than our fair share of chatter and jabber about the powerhouse division AL East.  The division for many years has been known for the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, but more recently a third team has joined into the mix.  The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays were told again and again that they would never hold on to their Cinderella season to win the division.  Not only did they do that, they made the World Series beating Boston in the ALCS, effectively turning the division near upside down.  For many years, the AL Wild Card has been dominated by the East; in fact, the East has taken the Wild Card 11 times out of the 15 years in the spot's existence, with the Orioles taking one, the Yankees taking three, and the Red Sox taking seven.  The Rays, on the other hand, have never qualified for the Wild Card.  Before 2008, they had never made the playoffs.  They had never even won more than 70 games, and finished all but one of the franchise's first ten years of existence.  Tampa Bay could this year though, and it would certainly mark a trend.  This will mark the third year in a row in which two of the three teams of Boston, New York, and Tampa Bay will qualify for the playoffs, with each team qualifying twice.  At the moment, it looks like Boston will be the odd team out this year with a good record but they continue to stay about five games back.  The twister looks like this:

2008: Tampa Bay, Boston
2009: New York, Boston
2010: New York, Tampa Bay?

This kind of a trio is unheard of in a division, and none other like it can be found in the 15 years of the wild card's existence which allows this to happen.  Here's a look at how each team has found the success to be a part of the trio:

Yankees: It's not just all about the money.  Close, though.  The late George Steinbrenner, 'The Boss', would do anything to win and had the money to make things happen.  The Yankees have had the highest payroll in baseball for the majority of the free agency era.  The mix that has allowed them to win championships like they did in the late 90s and 2009 requires homegrown talent, too.  Players like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Paul O'Neill, and Mariano Rivera where vital to the early championships, while Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes where important to the 2009 team.  With the power the Yankees have and the idea of playing in the Bronx so lucrative to most players, the Bronx Bombers should have no problem retaining their success like they have for the last 15 years.  

Rays: The franchise had reason for excitement early in their existence just because there was major league ball in Tampa for the first time, and because Wade Boggs jumped on the bandwagon and recorded his 3,000th hit there.  The rest was not pretty through 2007.  Three number one picks went their way in that time, picking Josh Hamilton, Delmon Young, and David Price.  Hamilton ended up out of baseball because of drug addictions, and Young wasn't able to provide much relief to an organization that had no pitching before he was traded to Minnesota.  Finally the years of restarting an organization paid off, and behind a young core of Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, and David Price they made shocked the northeastern biased ESPN by winning the division.  Being one of the smallest market teams in baseball, the Rays won't be able to sign all of their talent to long deals but their tremendous scouting and development should keep funneling prospects through the system to potentially build future teams.  The Rays' payroll ranks just 21st.

Red Sox: Seemingly always in a bidding war with New York, the Red Sox have more limitations financially than the Yankees but still are always trying to sign big talent, especially international stars.  The Red Sox have the second highest payroll in baseball.  The Red Sox have also got a great scouting department, meaning all three teams are great at that.  Acquisitions like Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, and Curt Schilling have certainly added their part in the past, but just as important has been the development of players like Jason Varitek, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia were necessary to win two championships in four years.  If the Red Sox can sustain good scouting then the big payroll won't be necessary.  With the core they have now, there's little reason to believe the Red Sox will be a sub-.500 team in the near future.

Basically, these teams are deadlocked.  The Yankees have the ultimate buying power.  The Rays have the ultimate player development.  The Red Sox have a mix of both.  And for three teams that have combined to appear in 10 of the last 14 World Series, the battle might not be over for a while.