Photo finish for the AL East?

The winner of the American League East division will not be decided until Sunday--last day of the season unless a rainout requires an extra day of regular season baseball.

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays have spent most of the season battling each other for first place as well as the best record in baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies put on a mad dash at the end to earn the best record, but home field advantage in the AL playoffs remains in play.

Though the Rays have played poorly overall in playing series against the AL's three last-place teams, the Yankees have failed to seize the opportunity--in large part because of six games against the Boston Red Sox.

About the Red Sox: I hate them almost as much as the Yankees. But credit where it's due. That team has played its way to a pretty good season despite a slew of injuries that caused many top Red Sox players to miss a ton of games. And the Red Sox have played the Yankees tough.

If the Rays beat the Royals in the last regular season game, they claim the AL East crown If the Rays lose and the Yankees win, then the Yanks get to burden their stadium with yet another division championship banner. If both teams win or both teams lose, the Rays get the title by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

What a season.


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A little more about the playoffs: The Rays, Yankees and Twins have played mediocre ball in September and early October. The Texas Rangers are playing pretty well, but OF Josh Hamilton--their best hitter--is struggling with some broken ribs.

Still, this is a tough league to handicap. The Rays have received inconsistent pitching from the starting rotation--it's anybody's guess whom skipper Joe Maddon will use as starters after David Price (I'm guessing Matt Garza, Jeff Nieman then Wade Davis). The Rays need the starting staff to come through in order to advance, and it will be much easier if somebody in the batting order gets hot. Preferably two or more.

Unfortunately, there's not much reason to expect better offense from the Rays in the playoffs. Batting averages have been pretty much pedestrian all season for the Rays except for Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria. I have to give Texas the edge to advance to the AL Championship series if the Rangers face the Rays.

The Twins have an excellent team with a foundation of solid pitching and great defense. The Twins will miss Justin Morneau in the first round of the playoffs because of injury, and they have a miserable history against the Yankees. I'd favor the Yankees if that matchup occurs.

I hope I'm wrong on both counts, and perhaps those pairings won't occur depending on how the regular season pans out.