The Real American League East: Who Will Make the Playoffs?

Going back to the early parts of the season—and even as far back as spring training—nobody thought twice about giving the newly named Tampa Bay Rays a shot at winning the American League East—or even achieving the success they've had up to this point.

The MLB season is a long cumbersome 162 games spanning the dog days of summer, and nobody knows for sure if the Rays can keep up their winning ways. I wont be the first to tell you this, but like always, the Yankees and Sox will finish 1-2 in the division with the Rays as the surprise third place team.

But the Rays should not feel bad—they already have overcome expectations. If you had told me during spring training that the Rays would be in first place after the All-Star break, I would have told you that you're nuts.

I'll give the Rays some credit for sticking around but now is the time they'll be tested—and will most likely fall off, leaving the surging Yankees and Red Sox to finish in their normal spots.

But in what order will the Yankees and Red Sox finish?  It's tough to tell this year.

The Yankees have a loaded lineup that is not living up to its 1000-run capability—it's just now starting to click. Their pitching is dismal at best. With their ace, Wang, out until septemeber, they will have to make due with Pettitte, Mussina, Chamberlain, Ponson, and Rasner, pending any trades before the deadline.

The Yankees will also be missing catcher Jorge Posada, but backup catcher Jose Molina has done a fine job filling in and works well with the rotation.

The Red Sox have a strong pitching staff fronted by their ace, josh beckett, who isn't having his best season but is still a dominant front of the rotation guy. The Sox lineup isn't too bad as long as Ortiz gets healthy and stays healthy.  And as usual, there is a big question mark surrounding Manny Ramirez. Who knows when he will play or if he will give 100 percent.

The Yankees have a slightly better-than-average bullpen now with the addition of Marte. The Red Sox also have a good bullpen, but there's always the question of how to bridge the gap between the starter and Papelbon.

So who will win the division this year? It's a toss up between the Yankees and Redsox—as usual.  However, I say, when it comes down to crunch time be sure to watch out for the Yankees making the post season again, extending their streak from 1995-2008.