AL East

Is it just me, or are there any other people scratching their heads over the Yankees' personnel decisions this offseason?

This is the time of the year that the Pinstripes are supposed to re-tool for another run at another World Series crown, isn't it?

So far the Yanks have failed to sign a top-tier free agent outside of Rafael Soriano who will be paid $10 million to pitch the eighth inning in front of Mariano Rivera.

The Toronto Blue Jays pulled off a shocker of a trade today when they dealt away long time Blue Jay and severely overpaid center fielder Vernon Wells to Anaheim for catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli and right fielder Juan Rivera.

Wells had four years and $86 million remaining on his contract, and while we are not yet aware of the exact amount of that the Jays are eating, it is being reported that it will be approximately $5 million. 

The Tampa Bay Rays made some bold moves on Friday, coming to contract terms with some veteran players still trying to hang around in the big leagues.

Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos pulled off the seemingly impossible tonight when he managed to trade Vernon Wells to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera.

The baseball world seems to have gone crazy to end the week. The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. What’s truly amazing is the size of the deals: for one year of each, the Rays spent a mere $7.25 million. Both played well enough last year, and look to provide value in 2011.

After seeing the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays make their own offseason splashes this week, proceeded by the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles offseason marks happening earlier on, there isn't a more accurate statement than "the AL East is the most dominant division in baseball."

Does any other MLB fan find it weird when a team goes out and buys former superstars, seemingly anticipating that putting them back together will magically bring back the spark from seven years before?

It's happening again this year, and it's certainly not the first time that two World Series champions have played on entirely different teams together. It's just weird to have it happen in the AL East and for it to not be the Yankees doing the purchasing.

Pitchers and catchers report in 23 days and, to be expected, the pickings on the free-agent market are slim. The biggest news in the past few weeks has been reliever Rafael Soriano signing with the New York Yankees.

The 31-year-old who previously closed for the Tampa Bay Rays was given $35 million over three years to be Mariano Rivera’s set-up man—money the Yankees always seem to have at their disposal no matter how much they spend.

I saw Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz pitch for the first time on June 26, 2007, in Manchester, NH. I instantly knew that I was watching a star in the making. I could not wait to get home to report what I had seen. I told Red Sox Nation to get to the ballpark to see him pitch and declared, “You’re in for a heckuva treat!”

Attention all national pundits:  Please put all talk of the Rays shrinking back into the bottom of the AL East.  Tampa Bay Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman has a different memo for you to report:

A Third AL East Division Crown in four years.

Don't think it can happen?  The Rays lost Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Rafael Soriano and pretty much their entire bullpen, you say?  They traded away Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza, you say?