Around the Horn, AL East - 5/12

AL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Boston Red Sox	24	16	.600	--
Tampa Bay Rays	21	16	.568	1.5
New York Yankees	19	19	.500	4.0
Baltimore Orioles	19	19	.500	4.0
Toronto Blue Jays	17	21	.447	6.0

The Red Sox lost 2 of 3 to the Twins and have dropped 3 of 5. That being said, they still hold a 1.5 game lead over the Rays, while the Yankees sit 4 back. Kevin Youkilis is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now. He leads the team in average, home runs and RBI, and is hitting .364 in May. He's already belted 6 home runs in 11 games and has the same number of RBI he had for all of April, 11.

Manny Ramirez was limited to pinch-hitting last night because of a strained hamstring. Ramirez, who has hit just .179 in May, is still 3 home runs shy of the magic 500 mark. Manny's partner in crime, David Ortiz, is climbing out of the April doldrums that saw him hitting below .200. Big Papi is hitting .381 in May with a 1.112 OPS.

Julio Lugo is recovering from post-concussion symptoms and has not yet been cleared to resume activities. Days after Terry Francona said Jed Lowrie would stay with the club, he was sent down to the minors upon Alex Cora's return from the DL. How is Mike Timlin staying on the Red Sox roster? It has to be misplaced loyalty. The veteran right-hander has a 10.00 ERA and has allowed 19 base runners in 9 innings. Dice-K is 6-0, but has allowed 30 walks in 47.2 innings.

The Rays completed a 3-game sweep of the Angels over the weekend and got great pitching in the process. They won back-to-back 2-0 games on Friday and Saturday before out scoring the Angels 8-5 on Sunday. The Rays are now a season high 5 games over .500.

Carl Crawford is on his game right now, which means trouble for opponents. He's already had 4 stolen bases after having 7 in all of April, and 9 RBI this month compared to 13 last month. In addition to steals, he leads the team in runs scored and hits, and is second in RBI.

The Rays are winning despite the struggles of their 2007 MVP. Carlos Pena was rewarded with a big new contract after belting 46 home runs last season. He's hit a respectable 8 this season, but has just 19 RBI and is hitting only .209.

But pitching is the difference in this year's Rays. Their 3.90 team ERA is 5th best in the American League, and they're tops for least amount of hits allowed.

If you had told Orioles manager Dave Trembley is team would be at .500 after 38 games he probably would have been quite happy. The Orioles are not a good team, but they're playing better than they look on paper. The Orioles opened the month by losing 6 of 7, but bounced back this weekend, taking 3 of 4 from the Royals.

This a team at .500 despite .267 being the highest batting average of their regulars. The average belongs to Nick Markakis, who also leads the team in home runs, walks, and OPS. The Orioles young pitching staff, Daniel Cabrera, Brian Burres, Jeremy Guthrie, Garret Olson has been the key to their success thus far as well as an improved bullpen lead by closer George Sherrill.

The Blue Jays are hurting and not just because they're in last place. Injuries have bitten the Jays once again this season. Star center fielder Vernon Wells broke his wrist over the weekend and will be out 6-8 weeks. He joins P Casey Janssen (out for the year), P Jeremy Accardo, SS David Eckstein, MI John McDonald, and P Brian Wolfe on the disabled list. Wells leads the team in almost every offensive category, so its a real blow to a team already scrambling to score runs.

The Blue Jays pitching staff, the best in the AL, is the reason they're not 20 games under .500. Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan, and Jesse Litsch have done everything they can to keep their team in the game. With the bullpen depleted by injury, the Jays took the desperate measure of calling up Armando Benetiz.

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