AL East

It's time we all take a breather from worrying about the sports themselves and focus on the players involved. This article is written with the intent of recognizing that there are bigger things that we should be focusing on at this time in the world rather than sports. On 3/11/2011 an unprecedented 8.9 earthquake rocked the country of Japan. It brought devastation, injuries, life loss and widespread panic but that was only the beginning.

Asked for the millionth time about his decision to take less money and fewer years to pitch in Philadelphia instead of New York, Lee said that the age of the Yankees players was a factor.

"They're getting old," Lee said.

The Toronto Blue Jays were the league leaders in home runs in 2010, and it looks like they are starting to re-establish that trend in Spring Training.  Jose Bautista and Adam Lind hit their first home runs of spring against the New York Yankees on Friday, which helped power them to a 10-3 victory.

They joined Edwin Encarnacion and Eric Thames as Jays that have already hit one home run each, while Brett Lawrie and Rajai Davis have both hit two so far.

I don't usually get angry about player's ADP, but allow me to get something off my chest: Ricky Romero is going way too late in drafts.

The NFL took a firm shake of the magic eight ball on Friday and gave just about every waiting fan a valid answer after tossing it aside: There will be no season in 2011.

What a shock, what a surprise.  

Not really.

We expected it to happen, that picture was painted long ago.  From the undetermined outcome of last week, to the past 24 hours of humming and haring, an answer was coming, one way or another.

The Yankees farm system has been thrust into the limelight in 2011. 

This spring has been an opportunity for some of their up-and-coming stars to showcase their talents in front of their major league counterparts. 

While Yankee fans would love to see them crack the Opening Day roster, some time marinating in the minors would only benefit their development. Rushing a player to the next level can sometimes set them back physically or even mentally. 

The start of the 2011 MLB season is fast approaching, but instead of a loaded roster, the Yankees have some glaring weaknesses, especially in the pitching rotation.

Andy Pettitte has retired, which is a major blow to the pitching rotation. He was consistent in the regular season, and won more playoff games than any other pitcher in history.

Starting pitcher A.J. Burnett had a horrid 2010 season, and Javier Vasquez is now with the Florida Marlins.

Tommy John’s hopes of a bust in Cooperstown have long since died. In 2009, the BBWAA unceremoniously snuffed out his candle and sent him into MLB Purgatory with only 31 percent of the ballots. If the Veterans’ Committee does not act upon him within 15 years, he will be resigned to MLB Hell.

It is a shame too, because John is one of baseball’s nice guys. Hell, he even has a medical procedure named after him, shouldn’t that count for something?

The American League East is the best division in baseball. It really isn't close. The Red Sox are arguably the best team in baseball and the Yankees aren't too far behind. The Rays had the best record in baseball last season. The Toronto Blue Jays were over .500 and even the Orioles didn't play too poorly down the stretch.

Top pitching prospect Manny Banuelos pitched another pair of scoreless innings Wednesday evening and looked as dominating as ever while doing it.