AL East Update

Starting this week I'm going to start doing daily updates from around Major League Baseball with each day focusing on a different division. Mondays will be the AL East, Tuesdays the AL Central, Wednesdays the AL West, Thursdays the NL East, Fridays the NL Central and Saturdays the NL West. So without further ado, let's kick things off with the AL East.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Who's Hot: Catcher Jake Fox who split last season between Oakland and Baltimore is hitting .438 (7/16) this spring with a team high 3 homeruns and 5 runs batted in. Free agent signing Vladimir Guerrero also has 5 rbis in his first spring with the O's and is hitting .417 (5/12) after hitting .300 with 29 homers and 115 rbis for Texas in 2010. Nick Markakis has a pair of homeruns and is hitting .400 (4/10) and Matt Wieters is hitting .455 (5/11).

Who's Not: Shortstop Nick Green, who has played for 7 different major league franchises since 2004 is looking to make the Orioles his 8th major league club but is off to a slow start going 0 for 10 with 6 strikeouts to start the spring. Third Baseman Mark Reynolds hit 121 homeruns in 4 years with Arizona before coming to Baltimore this offseason, but is off to a rough start as well this spring hitting just .154 (2/13) with no extra base hits and 5 strikeouts.

Of Note: Derrick Lee still hasn't suited up for the Orioles this spring due to a injury to his right wrist. As of yet there's no timetable for his return. With the additions of Lee, Guerrero, Reynolds, and J.J. Hardy combined with what the Orioles already had in place in Markakis, Adam Jones, Wieters and Brian Roberts, Baltimore is hopeful that they will have a lineup that can contend in the AL East this year.



BOSTON REDSOX

Who's Hot: 21 year old second baseman Oscar Tejeda is hitting .500 (8/16) and is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 6. Tejada hit .307 with Salem (HiA) last season and was a Carolina League mid and postseason all-star. Josh Reddick also has 6 RBIs and leads the team with 2 homeruns this spring. Clay Buchholz has thrown 5 shutout innings in his 2 spring appearances allowing just 1 hit. Former Cub Rich Hill has 4 shutout innings this spring, while ex-Yankee Alfredo Aceves has 5 innings without an earned run.

Who's Not: Daisuke Matsuzaka has allowed 8 runs and 7 hits in hits 5 innings of work this spring and newcomer Carl Crawford is off to a slow start hitting just .200 (3/15) in his first five games with no extra base hits. Kevin Youkilis (2/13) and J.D. Drew (2/10) are also yet to hit their stride.

Of Note: Prized offseason acquisition Adrian Gonzalez is hopeful that he'll make his Redsox debut this week following his recovery from right shoulder surgery. Gonzalez has already started taking batting practice but the Redsox are monitoring his progress on a day-to-day basis before they greenlight him for live action.




NEW YORK YANKEES

Who's Hot: Firstbase Prospect Jorge Vazquez leads the Yankees in virtually every offensive category through 7 games this spring with 7 hits 2 homeruns and 5 rbis while hitting .583. Vazquez spent the 2010 season between AA Trenton and AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre hitting .284 with 18 homeruns and 68 rbis. Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira have also started out strong combining for 7 doubles, a triple and a homerun in their first 26 at-bats while both are hitting .462 (6/13). Ivan Nova, competing for a spot in the Yankees rotation, has tossed 5 scoreless innings so far this spring.

Who's Not: Infielder Ramiro Pena has started out the spring hitless in his first 13 at bats while outfielder Colin Curtis has gone hitless in his first 9. Jorge Posada (1/12) is also a bit sluggish out of the gates. C.C. Sabathia has an ERA of 9.64 allowing 8 hits over 4 2/3 innings in his first two spring starts.

Of Note: Bartolo Colon, who hasn't appeared in more than 20 games in a season since 2005, and didn't pitch at all in the majors last season, has logged 5 innings in 2 spring starts and given up just 1 run and 4 hits. The last time he made more than 20 starts in a season he won 21 games for the Angels in 2005. Colon will turn 38 this season, but if he can contribute, he'll be a nice addition to the Yankees staff.



TAMPA BAY RAYS

Who's Hot: Second Baseman Felipe Lopez has a team-high 8 hits this spring and is hitting .500 in his first season with Tampa Bay. Manny Ramirez is also off to a solid start in his new surroundings batting .429 (6/14) thus far. Catcher Robinson Chirinos has a team high 5 rbis and is hitting .250 (3/12). Chirinos hit .326 with 18 homeruns and 74 rbis between AA and AAA in 2010.

Who's Not: Andy Sonnanstine has allowed 10 runs in just 4 innings while losing his first 2 starts this spring. Johnny Damon is batting just .182 (2/11) and shortstop Ray Olmedo is just 1 for his first 11.

Of Note: Tampa Bay enters 2011 without a number of their key cogs from the 2010 season. Gone are Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza and most of their bullpen from last year. The Rays are hopeful that newcomers Damon and Ramirez can recapture their lost youth and help bring along the next generation of Rays youngsters to compete in the East this year.



TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Who's Hot: Yunel Escobar is off to a strong start in his first full season as a member of the Blue Jays hitting .471 (8/17) in his first 5 spring games. Jesse Litsch has 5 shutout innings in his first 2 appearances this spring. Brandon morrow tossed 3 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts in his spring 2011 debut.

Who's Not: Octavio Dotel has allowed 5 runs and 7 hits in his first two innings of work this spring. J.P. Arencibia is just 1 for 18 in his first 7 games with 7 strikeouts. Corey Patterson (3/19) and Edwin Encarnacion (3/20) have also struggled out of the gates.

Of Note: With Vernon Wells no longer a Blue Jay, the Jays will be relying heavily on the hopes that Jose Bautista's breakout 54 homer 2010 season was not a fluke. Bautista is hitting .357 (5/14) with a pair of doubles so far this spring.