AL East

A mere four days ago, Red Sox Nation was bursting at the seams with anticipation as the new baseball season was about to get underway in Arlington, Texas. Visions of a hundred-win season and a World Series championship danced in the heads of Sox fans everywhere.

I have to preface this by saying, I know it's almost impossible to make any real substantive evaluations based on four games. But there is a lot of optimism in Baltimore right now and I want to write about something, so here we go.

The New York Yankees bullpen has received limitless hype and praise early in the season, and they are already being dubbed as the best in MLB—as well as the best in NY since 1996.

While the group has accomplished nothing to this point, this does not mean that a proper nickname should not be added to the front of the hype machine.

It took mere hours for “Miami Thrice” to be created, and “The Fab Five” represents a team that never won a championship in its short time together.

The best pitcher in New York Yankees history was Whitey Ford. The Yankees' little gamecock won 236 games during his illustrious career.

Andy Pettitte finished his career with 240 wins. Pettitte will always be identified as a Yankee, but the three seasons he spent with the Houston Astros cost him the chance to pass Ford as the Yankees' all-time leader in wins.

The term "fantasy sleeper" is rather stupid at this point. 

There is so much written, so many forums and so much media, no one is a sleeper. 

You think Gio Gonzalez is a sleeper this season? He's not. Everyone knows who he is. They might not like him as much as you do, meaning you will be able to draft him late, but he is not being slept on.

The fourth game of the Pinstripes' young season showcased the much-talked-about sophomore stud Ivan Nova vs the less-and-less talked about Scott Baker and the Twins. Six innings and 84 pitches later (50 for strikes) was plenty for Nova to earn his second career win and first of the 2011 season.

It was the spring on 1996, and the New York Yankees had just had their hearts broken in the 1995 ALDS at the hands of the Seattle Mariners.

This article will tell a tale of how those same Mariners nearly broke the Yankees hearts in a much more profound and crippling way.

While preparing for the season, they got word of some bad news regarding infielder Tony Fernandez—who broke his elbow while filling in at second base for the already injured Pat Kelly.

The "Texas Red Sox Massacre" of this past weekend was not the opening series that Red Sox fans had dreamed about since December. Buchholz surrendered almost half as many home runs as he did all of last season, Lester made it clear that he knows which month this is and Lackey's ERA is now sitting just north of 22. The bullpen wasn't much better, as every reliever pitched and only Reyes, Albers, and Jenks failed to surrender a run. Still, serious concerns at this point are unnecessary- the team is bound to win at least a game before the season is out.

Although the Red Sox began the 2011 season with an embarrassing three-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers, the Sox still have plenty of time to validate the media’s enormous expectations and secure a playoff spot.

However, in order to emerge victorious from a competitive American League East, the Sox must step back from the spotlight and focus on winning each individual game.

Man, has it been sweet to be a Baltimore Orioles fan these past four days.

I grew out a goatee in honor of the O's facial hair policy being changed for the start of the season, and now, I'm afraid to shave it off tomorrow like I originally planned on doing.

They've been on such a roll, I can't recall a time when I had more fun rooting for this team, save the last two months of the 2010 season.

I love this. Tomorrow's off day is going to kill me.