Watching Early AL East Games Dilemma

Apr. 4, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; Home plate umpire Mike Dimura calls out Boston Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino (18) at the plate as New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli (29) shows the ball during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY SportsThe AL East has been considered the hardest division in baseball for a long time. In a way that’s only partly true because the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were the 2 best teams in baseball. At the same time it was kind of hard to call the AL East the hardest division in baseball because the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles were both horrible and the Toronto Blue Jays were mediocre.

The Tampa Bay Rays have established themselves as one of the best teams in baseball since 2008. The Orioles made the playoffs in 2012. The Blue Jays are now considered “World Series favorites” in 2013 because of their busy offseason.

The Yankees and Red Sox aren’t the powerhouses they once were but there still very good teams capable of winning the division. It’s just that the 3 other teams have now joined the party.

It’s been agreed upon by many baseball writers and media that the AL East is so tight in 2013 that the difference between 1st and 5th place could be 5 games. And that any one of the teams could finish anywhere between 1st and 5th so there’s no clear cut favorite.

With injuries and players bound to underperform it’s hard to imagine it actually ending that way but as of right now it’s definitely a possibility.

It’s because every team in the AL East is a threat to the Blue Jays that it’s hard to watch 2 other AL East teams play each other because who the heck do you cheer for?!?!

Sure you could not cheer for either team and just enjoy the game but that takes away half the fun of watching sports.

It used to be that when you watch the Orioles playing the Yankees early in the season you’d always cheer for the Orioles because if the Jays were going to be in contention there was a 80 times better chance that they’d be fighting the Yankees in September for a playoff spot.

Now when 2 AL East teams play each other you just have to watch for the sake of watching, at least early on in the season.

Or there’s the dilemma of if you actually think one AL East team is more of a threat than the other.

For example if you think the Rays are more of a threat to the Jays this season than the Red Sox you could cheer for the Red Sox when the 2 teams play each other. But what if it ends up being the other way around in September and the Red Sox are more of a threat than the Rays? That means you were cheering for the wrong teams in the early going and it’s going to feel bad if you felt you’re cheering helped will the wrong team to win. (At least if you’re superstitious).

The AL East looks like it’s going to be the most competitive division in baseball this season. It’s also going to be the most frustrating to navigate your cheering around.