AL Feast Week 10: Perpetually Injured Curtis Granderson Edition (26/05/2013)

That ain’t so Grand.
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsHere at Jays Journal we like to keep you up to date with breaking news, statistical analysis and opinion pieces on the players, staff and front office of the Toronto Blue Jays. But in the sports world the steps your opponents take on their team have an effect on your team, for better or for worse. That’s why we bring you a weekly feature where we look back on what took place among the other 4 AL East teams. It’s the AL Feast: Week 10!

New York Yankees

–Curtis Granderson just can’t catch a break. After returning to the majors to play only 8 games this season, Granderson is headed back to the Disabled List; this time with a broken knuckle. According to USA Today, Granderson was hit by a Cesar Ramos pitch during Friday’s game and is expected to be out at least a month. He was also hit by a J.A. Happ pitch during Spring Training, which resulted in the lengthy DL stint.
–David Huff has been claimed by the Yankees from the Indians. NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk  reveals that, since Huff is out of minor league options, he’ll have to be put on the 25-man roster or be exposed to waivers.

Tampa Bay Rays

–David Hill of Rays Colored Glasses asks if the Rays should keep trusting Fernando Rodney to close games going forward. Even though Joel Peralta looks to be the only reliever worth his weight so far this early season, Maddon says that Rodney will close all season. They seem to believe in the one semi-historic season version of Rodney rather than the sum of his entire career outside of it.
-Just like any notable ex-Blue Jay, Yunel Escobar has had some success against his former team this season. During this past week’s play he homered at the Rogers Centre, then celebrated by flashing a “safe” sign as he crossed home plate. According to the National Post, Maddon saw him do nothing wrong. John Lott recaps the incident, while looking into other incidents of Jays fans bringing out the boo-birds against former Blue Jays players.

Baltimore Orioles

-If you’ve been following the Blue Jays this week, you would have known that Sean Nolin was called up to the majors to debut against the Orioles on Friday. The previous game was the time for Kevin Gausman to shine, as he made his MLB debut on Thursday. The Baltimore Sun did a Q&A with the young Orioles prospect to get in depth about just what was going through his mind.
–Pedro Strop is headed to the DL, according to ESPN. He has a strained lower back and is eligible to return to the majors on June 8 at the earliest.

Boston Red Sox

–Mike Carp has performed well for the Red Sox when coming off the bench this season, and NESN uses this knowledge to justify the decision to cut Lyle Overbay during Spring Training. It’s more of a, “whatever helps you sleep at night” piece than anything, but Carp’s ability to play the outfield did give him more flexibility than Overbay had to offer.
-When you’re winning games, you’re allowed to have fun. Such is the case for both the Indians and the Red Sox, as former Red Sox manager Terry Francona (now of the Indians) got into a wrasslin’ match with Red Sox broadcaster Dan Orsillo before Friday night’s game. There’s video of it over at Hardball Talk.

Weekly AL East Standings (Overall Standings)

Boston 4-3 (30-20)

Baltimore 4-3 (27-22)

New York 3-2 (30-18)

Toronto 3-3 (20-29)

Tampa Bay 2-4 (24-24)

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