[cknox0723]

So what does all of this mean for the American League's Eastern division in 2007? Outwardly, not a whole lot, as I can't say that the division will change shape at all this year. The Yankees are the runaway favorites to win it all, let alone the division, and Boston is in the somewhat comfortable #2 position, facing a season-long dogfight with the other top runners-up for the wild card. Spitballing it, those would be Los Angeles of Anaheim, Los Angeles of Minneapolis, and Los Angeles of Seattle, but I guess we'll see for sure soon enough. Boston may or may not improve, but getting non-contributors R. Alomar and S. Spiezio out of the lineup makes it hard to put money on a decline, and 92 wins is a nice base to start out from anyway. Baltimore's solid pitching slots them in around .500, which will be plenty good for third, and much as I'd like to pick Tampa to go from 54 wins to fourth place, my heart's not really in it. Toronto's got Halladay and Delgado, and how many John VanBenschotens does it take to make up that difference? More than 25, fo' sho'. So, much as I hate to fall back on last year's standings, I can't see the AL East any other way in this universe.