AL East Round Up: Happy Returns Edition

Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to this week’s AL East Round Up. This week, we look at the many returns that took place in the AL East. There is lots to talk about with players returning to the lineup from the DL, players returning to the

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grab attention, others returning to form and certain teams returning to their usual place in the standings.  Let’s do this!

Standings:

New York Yankees-  16-13
Baltimore Orioles- 15-13 (0.5 GB)
Boston Red Sox- 15-16 (2.0 GB)
Tampa Bay Rays- 14-14 (3.0 GB)
Toronto Blue Jays- 13-17 (3.5 GB)

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees:

The Yankees currently sit in first place. While first place is still first place, in this case, it is not exactly cause for bragging. At just 16-13, the Yankees are hardly running away with the division. In fact, there are only 3.5 games separating them from the last place Toronto Blue Jays.

The past week has seen Robinson Cano come back to NY for a series, Michael Pineda discovering the injury bug and slow starts continuing for the Brians (McCann and Roberts).

After signing an obscene, Yankee type contract (one which the Yankees were not willing to pay, oddly) with the Seattle Mariners, Robinson Cano made his first appearance at Yankee Stadium this week. In his first at bat, Cano came to the plate amongst a chorus of boos. Being that it was a bit of a rainy night, the crowd at Yankee Stadium was rather sparse. I can only imagine what it would have sounded like with the normal full stadium.

Apparently, Michael Pineda will miss more time than his 10 game suspension for his fake neck (pinetar) tattoo. According to Bryan Hoch at MLB.com Pineda will miss 3-4 weeks with a mild back strain. In a simulated game, Pineda only threw one inning before shutting it down due to the pain. I’m no doctor, but my initial assessment is that perhaps Pineda strained his back while trying to wash off pine tar from his neck. The required strenuous motion of washing off pinetar will put undue strain on anyone’s back. There is no report confirming this, though. Just a hunch.

The Brians are struggling for the Yankees so far this season. Brian McCann has only managed 23 hits in 2014. 4 of them have been HR, but I’m sure the Yankees were hoping for more than that from a 5yr/$85M contract. McCann is slashing .228/.264/.376 Despite having a number of big names around him, surely the Yankees thought McCann would provide an offensive boost. So far, he’s not bee delivering. For comparison, Dioner Navarro (who signed with the Blue Jays for 2yr/$8M- 3yr/$77M less) is slashing .301/.337/.376. Just saying.

Brian Roberts is also off to a slow start. In a Spencer Fordin piece at MLB.com, we learn that Joe Girardi has faith in Roberts even though he is off to a .235/.320/.294 start. The Yankees were probably hoping that Roberts would provide at least a part of what they lost when Cano left for a fraction of the price. Well, they’re getting a fraction alright….

*A celebratory Brett Lawrie high five to Joe Girardi as he reached the 1000 game mark as manager of the Yankees.

Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Baltimore Orioles

The O’s are 6-4 over their last 10 games. It would appear that the series against the Blue Jays a while ago has woken them up. You’re Welcome! Perhaps the biggest news is that the Orioles got their superstar, Manny Machado back! Chris Davis is making progress in his attempt to return to the lineup. As well, Steve Pearce may actually be a bit of a metaphor for the Orioles season.

To say that the Orioles may have gotten a boost by the return of Manny Machado is an understatement. He’s a Gold Glove caliber third baseman and can be an offensive force…and he’s just 21! Since his return, he’s only managed 13 at bats and 1 hit. While it’ll take time to get in top game shape at the plate, Machado’s presence alone is enough to help the team.

According to Brittany Ghiroli at MLB.com Davis is making progress in trying to return from his oblique injury. He’s received PRP injections (platelet rich plasma) and has been working with trainers. He is eligible to come off the DL on May 11. When he does come back, this offense may just be able to overtake the AL East on its own.

Steve Pearce is an interesting story. He was designated for assignment, released, claimed by another team, which he rejected only to sign with the Orioles again. According to MLBTR.com, the team to claim him was none other than the Blue Jays. Perhaps Pearce decided to take advantage of the injury to Davis and stay with the Orioles. Regardless of the thought behind the moves, his situation may actually be a bit of a metaphor for the O’s season. He was forced into a situation where he was passed up, another team decided to take a chance on him and the O’s changed their mind. I think this just shows that we’re all judging the O’s to be good, but not good enough. We’re passing over them. They are going to keep fighting and probably continue to climb the AL East standings.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are battling through injuries to try and stay in the hunt for the AL East title. Sitting 3 games out of first is not a cause for concern. They’ve been helped out by performances by Grant Balfour, Ryan Hanigan and Erik Bedard…that’s right.

After blowing a save opportunity against the White Sox, Joe Maddon called on Balfour to close out BOTH games of their doubleheader against the Red Sox on Thursday. And he did. According to Bill Chastain at MLB.com, He became the first pitcher in Rays history to record saves in both games of a doubleheader. So, I’ll give the Aussie a celebratory Brett Lawrie high five for that! What is more interesting is that Joe Maddon came to the mound and Balfour actually argued and changed Maddon’s mind.  Balfour was left in to face David Ortiz. The Aussie was right. You don’t see many players arguing (and winning) against a manager. You can check out his 2 saves here.

Chastain also tells us that Ryan Hanigan has set the record for RBI’s by a Rays’ catcher in April. Among AL East catchers, only Matt Wieters has more RBI than Hanigan. I’m not so sure that the Rays brought him on to carry the offense, but such a contribution in a month of disappointing news for the Rays, is surely a highlight.

Canadian, Erik Bedard is making another return to the major leagues. He sits at 0-1 with an ERA of 5.52. In 4 games, Bedard has allowed 9 ER, walking 10 and striking out 10 to the surprise of no one. When Erik Bedard is making an extended amount of starts for your team, you know there are problems. Yet, on Tuesday, he held the Red Sox to just one run over 5 innings only to have the bullpen lose the game. Bedard will look to improve on his number of innings pitched while putting up more zeroes against an equally potent lineup in the form of the New York Yankees on Sunday.

Toronto Blue Jays

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Ugh. There aren’t as many “happy” returns for the Blue Jays as the title of this post would suggest. Jose Bautista made his return to Pittsburgh, Brett Lawrie returned to 2nd base, Brandon Morrow returned to the DL and the Blue Jays returned to last place in the AL East. Like I said, ugh.

After being traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jose Bautista became the face of the Blue Jays, led the world in homeruns for two seasons and generally became one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Given that the Pirates essentially gave up on him, I was interested in seeing if Bautista would return with a chip on his shoulder. In the first two games, he has 4 hits including a double and a homerun. Check it out. I like when Bautista plays with a bit of a chip. His focus just appears more intense, more determined.

Playing in a National League park, John Gibbons moved Brett Lawrie to 2nd base. Lawire played 2nd in the minor leagues. He also made 6 starts there last year. Considering Lawrie’s pure athleticism, I am convinced he can play anywhere. I have already said he’ll win a Gold Glove at third this year. Here’s how he did.

Yesterday, I posted that Brandon Morrow was heading to the DL. Early reports were not as detailed as they are now. Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com tells us that Morrow will be out for about 2 months (!) dealing with a torn tendon sheath in his right index finger. The “best case” scenario is that Morrow comes back in July. The “worst case” is that he needs surgery and will miss the rest of the season. This news will not come as a surprise to anyone. Having said that, it does not soften the frustration of Blue Jays fans. The ‘Fabrege Pitcher’ (expensive, valuable arm, easily broken) has not pitched a full season (at least 30 starts) since 2011. Like I said, ugh.

The story of the bullpen’s seeming inability to hold a lead has been discussed on Twitter and other outlets so much that I’m not going to outline it here. I will point out that all of the above has resulted in a not so happy return to last place for the Blue Jays. Fans shouldn’t get too far out on that ledge yet. The Jays are only 3.5 games out of first place. That number is not so large that it can’t be made up in 5 months. There are 4 other teams they need to leap from, though. Perhaps this 3.5 game deficit seems so bleak because of the way the games have slipped away. It can be demoralizing. A good month of May will help.

Fans can look forward to the much anticipated call up of Marcus Stroman. I know I am!