AL East

Nick Swisher is a good Yankee.

In almost four full seasons, he has a .362 on-base percentage and 101 home runs. He's a decent right fielder and has proven his worth at first base in 2012 while Mark Teixeira deals with a calf injury. He's also a clubhouse and fan favorite.

Unfortunately for Swisher, who has embraced New York, his days as a Yankee are numbered.

The New York Yankees were supposed to see a familiar face out on the mound on Tuesday night for the first time in a couple of months, but Mother Nature had other plans.

On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a two-year player development contract with the Buffalo Bisons of the International League (AAA). The players will leave Las Vegas and begin playing baseball in Buffalo as soon as next year. The contract runs through to 2014.

Headed into Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees held a one-game lead in the American League East over the Baltimore Orioles. With a 21-9 record since the beginning of August, the O’s are one of baseball’s hottest teams, especially after taking two of three games from the Yankees last weekend.

Before last night's 14-strikeout blowout by Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander, the New York Yankees took two of three games from the Seattle Mariners in the Bronx last weekend.

The Tigers' 7-2 smacking marks the Yankees' 11th loss in their last 17 games, and the Bombers are now four games deep into a 20-game stretch that continues with three more versus the Tigers.

With CC Sabathia as the ace, Hideki Kuroda as a strong No. 2 and Andy Pettitte set to come back in September, do the New York Yankees have a starting rotation good enough to make it to the World Series?

Are the Yankees too dependent on Pettitte's comeback? If he doesn't return, is Freddy Garcia a suitable replacement? Should general manager Brian Cashman have traded for a starting pitcher at the July 31 trade deadline?

The Toronto Blue Jays have had a rough 2011 season. Three of their opening day starting position players are on the DL and another one is not with the team anymore. Their pitching staff has also been depleted by injuries.

Despite this, the team has still been able to be competitive. They sit two games under .500 at 53-55 and are just five games back of the second wild card spot.

The Baltimore Orioles are having a nice surprise season right now, and, considering how many of their players are performing thus far, it's justifiable to wonder just how on Earth they're doing it.

For the Orioles, it would be greatly beneficial to have these guys break out and perform like they're capable of. It would almost be as if the O's did make a significant deadline deal to boost their team.

Here is one thing we can all agree on: CC Sabathia cannot pitch every day.

As if the Baltimore Orioles faithful were not stoked after Wei-Yin Chen’s brilliant performance against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night, Manny Machado just chimed in with his own from down on the farm.