AL East

Mike Lowell will be honored tonight by the Boston Red Sox with "Thanks, Mike Night", as we say goodbye to the consummate professional after 13 remarkable seasons. Lowell has announced that he will retire at the end of this season.

It's been a tumultuous year for the once slick-fielding third baseman. Lowell has been on the verge of being granted his outright release multiple times throughout the season, and has had to endure being relegated to the bench for the first time in his career.

After making my pick for the American League Cy Young, which was an easy decision on my part, I move on to the American League Most Valuable Player, which is a bit more difficult to choose.

Though the 2010 season in Major League Baseball has not quite ended, most fans have an idea of who they think deserves awards to symbolize their excellence this year.

Some votes should be extremely close, while others may not be as close as expected.

Here are my predictions for the 2010 MLB Postseason Awards for debate and perhaps even ridicule by all the experts out there.

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Even though last night's Orioles game against the Detroit Tigers was washed out by the blanketing rain that flooded much of the Mid-Atlantic, the sun was still shining at Camden Yards. That sun stands for the feeling that the Orioles have created around Baltimore.

This season marks the 13th consecutive losing season for the O's, but the team's recent resurgence under manager Buck Showalter has the city feeling that it might not have to endure a 14th.

With three games remaining in the regular season, the New York Yankees likely need to sweep the Boston Red Sox in order to win the American League East. That’s not officially the case, it just seems like it will be needed.

The Tampa Bay Rays lost last night which puts them in a tie with the Yankees. Both teams have three games left to play, but the Yankees need  a better overall record as the Rays would come out ahead in the event of a tie because they have a better head-to-head record.

Here are some notes:

Full disclosure: I wasn't really feeling the playoff-clinching celebration on Tuesday night.

I know, I know. It's a long season. Making the postseason is an achievement, and the players deserve to blow off some steam. I get that. But there's a part of me—okay, all of me—that was rubbed the wrong way by how satisfied the team seemed with itself.

The New York Yankees are postseason-bound, but how far they make it is another story.

In 2009 the Yankees had a three-headed monster in CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and A.J. Burnett. This allowed skipper Joe Girardi to use a three-man rotation in the postseason, and the results speak for themselves.

Currently, the same group is still in pinstripes but unfortunately is not as reliable.

Let’s look at the three amigos individually.

A solid ace is the most important part of any postseason rotation. In 2001, the Mariners were clearly the most talented team in the league, having won a record 116 games.

But they ran into the Yankees' Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina and lost in a mere five games. Whatever team's pitching proves most consistent will be the team that wins the World Series.

While the Padres are still mathematically in the race, their loss tonight has given them a nearly impossible task...and for that reason, their pitching has been left off this list.

The end of an era is coming...again.

The Blue Jays had their final home game on Wednesday night and had a ceremony honoring Cito Gaston since he will be retiring this year.

With close to 900 wins under his belt with the Blue Jays, Gaston is the most successful manager in the franchise's history.