With interleague play having concluded for the year, we’ve now reached that critical time each season when the AL East teams must beat up on each other in order to gain supremacy in one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. All three of the front-runners are in search of that one key ingredient that will put them a notch above the rest. This year, that key ingredient could be in Seattle.
At the beginning of this season, it looked as though Tampa Bay was going to run away with the East, but since mid-May, the Rays’ dominance has tapered significantly. On May 29, the Rays had a 4 1/2-game lead in the division, which was nonexistent just a couple of weeks later.
Since June 13, the Rays have failed to regain their footing at the top of the East. In stepped the New York Yankees.
The Rays’ sudden dropoff meant the Yankees and the Red Sox found themselves enmeshed in a more traditional battle atop the AL East, with the Yankees holding the slight one-game edge. The reason? There are a few: Robinson Cano, consistency and pitching.
And while the Red Sox try to stay on course in the midst of potentially devastating injuries to Dustin Pedroia and Victor Martinez, the Yankees could solidify their position in first place by acquiring perhaps the most valuable pitching commodity on the market right now.
Cliff Lee is one of two pitchers — the other being Roy Oswalt – whose name has been circulating on the trade circuit for weeks now. New York, however, is best suited to pick up Lee, not only because it would prevent one of its division foes from making the move, but also because it could give the Yankees what would undoubtedly be the best rotation in baseball.
Right now, the Yankees’ pitching staff ranks sixth in the league in ERA (4.01), first in hits and third in runs. There’s room for improvement (as there always is), even with CC Sabathia (9-3, 3.49 ERA) and an aging Andy Pettitte (9-2, 2.72 ERA) leading the charge. After an impressive 2009 season when he went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA, A.J. Burnett is struggling for New York.
That’s where Lee comes in.
Earlier this week, the left-handed Lee pitched his third consecutive complete game — against New York, no less. After struggling with injuries to begin the season, he’s solidified himself as a top commodity on the trade market for a Seattle team that hasn’t panned out (33-44, fourth place in the AL West), going 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA.
Lee is well aware of the trade rumors, and although he won’t tip his hand as far as where he wants to end up by July 31, he has some ideas.
"Obviously, I do have preferences, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you who I'd like to go to," Lee told ESPN.com after his win over New York this week. "I'm not going to consume time talking about it, worrying about it."
Lee may not be worried right now, but if he does end up wearing pinstripes by the beginning of August, the rest of the AL East will have plenty to be concerned about.