AL East

The Yankees have owned the Orioles this season, beating them in 10 of the 12 times the two teams have faced each other, but Baltimore has been a different team since hiring former Yankees manager Buck Showalter. So this week’s three game series will not be as easy as the head-to-head record would make it seem.

Here are some notes:

At the end of Sunday’s play, the New York Yankees have a 2.5 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yanks and the Rays are most definitely going to the playoffs; the only question is which team wins the American League East. The two teams play each other for seven epic games in the next two weeks. However, the Yankees have a chance to pad their lead before they arrive in St. Petersburg for three games.

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain has been one of the most overrated prospects over the past couple of years.

He all made us say "wow" when he came out of nowhere in the 2007 season, pitching the year with a ridiculous ERA of 0.38.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman didn't know what to do with him except to keep his innings limit. 

Yesterday, Josh Hamilton ran into a wall chasing down a fly ball.  Today, it was confirmed that he would be out indefinitely. So what does that mean for the other MVP hopefuls like Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, and possibly even CC Sabathia?

The Yankees got Alex Rodriguez back today, but his 2-for-5 day wasn’t enough to overcome Phil Hughes' poor start as the Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3, ending their winning streak at eight games.

The Yankees have Phil Hughes on the mound this afternoon as they go for the sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, and their ninth consecutive victory overall.

Here are some notes:

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has tweeted some speculation that the Chicago White Sox' Paul Konerko may be a fit at Fenway in 2011. Frankly, the idea that Theo Epstein would sign Chicago's overachieving 34-year-old first baseman is laughable.

The Yankees won their eighth consecutive game today against the Toronto Blue Jays, and are the hottest team in baseball as the stretch run begins.

Javy Vazquez was less than stellar in his return to the starting rotation today, giving up five runs in four and two thirds innings pitched, the Blue Jays also slugged two home runs.

The Yankees have won their 8th game in a row, overcoming a poor performance from Javier Vazquez, who was pulled in the 5th inning, to beat the Blue Jays 7-5.

Here is a quick recap: