AL East

To say the least, 2010 has been a season of inconsistency for A.J. Burnett. After his first start of the season, his ERA was 5.40. By his sixth start, it was 1.99. 10 starts later, it was 5.25. Now, after his 27th start, his ERA stands at 5.15, and unless he can bring that down over a full point (unlikely), it will be the highest of his career.

Perhaps you remember several years ago when rock band Green Day released their hit album American Idiot (I happen to because it was the first one I ever bought). Anyway, one of the songs was titled “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” As the title suggests, the song yearns for the supposedly dreadful month to end and for October to begin.

Well, Billie Joe Armstrong must not be a huge baseball fan, because September on the diamond is epic.

When the Blue Jays started the season, it came as a bit of a surprise that the manager Cito Gaston projected that the Jays lineup would live and die by the home run. 

Gaston suggested that his lineup was packed full of potential 20 home run hitters.

"Bautista has a chance to hit maybe 20-25 home runs because he's done it before," Gaston said. "Then, of course, you've got Hill, you've got Lind and Vernon who hit 20 home runs the year before.

Scott Brosius, '98 World Series MVP, has been out of baseball since 2001.  The three-time World Series winner now coaches baseball at his alma mater in Oregon, Linfield College, where he has put together an impressive resume.  

Over his first three seasons at the helm, Brosius compiled an outstanding 100-38 (.724) record.  The Wildcats have won two Northwest Conference Championships and two regional titles.  Linfield finished fifth in the NCAA championship tournament in 2008 and third last season.  

Under Buck Showalter, the Orioles have become a different team and it showed this afternoon as the O’s beat the Yankees 4-3. A.J. Burnett wasn’t horrible, but wasn’t good enough, as he allowed four runs over seven innings for the loss.

Here are some quick highlights:

Everyone knows by now that Derek Jeter is having the worst season of his career.

Going into tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Boston Red Sox find themselves seven and a half games behind Tampa for the wild card spot in the American League. Barring an unforeseeable collapse by the Rays, the Red Sox season is essentially over.

When September comes, teams out of the playoff race call up prospects for a taste of Major League action. I don’t think the Red Sox thought they would be one of those teams at the beginning of the season, but the reality of the situation is, they are.

Derek Jeter is a household name.

In case you didn't know, Jeter is the starting shortstop and Captain of the New York Yankees.

He has five World Series rings, four Silver Slugger Awards, and  four Golden Gloves along with countless other awards. Some of them recognized Jeter the player, others Derek the person.

Jeter is the ultimate Captain. Find me a professional athlete, fan, manager or coach that would disagree.

The New York Yankees finished third in 1959.

The Toronto Blue Jays shut Brandon Morrow down after Friday’s start due to the number of innings he had thrown.  While his season didn’t end on the brightest note (3.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K), he leaves behind a stat line that shows off all the promise we’ve heard so much about:

10 Wins
146.1 Innings
4.49 ERA
1.38 WHIP
178 Strikeouts (10.95 K/9)
66 Walks (4.06 BB/9)
.348 BABIP