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Divisional Makeup
The AL (American League) East has operated under the same configuration since the 1998 season. In that year the Detroit Tigers moved out of the division to allow the expansion Tampa Rays in. The division itself now consists of, in alphabetical order, the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Rays (formerly the Devil Rays) and the Toronto Blue Jays.
History
The East has been one of the most productive divisions in all of baseball, winning 5 World Series Championships over the past 11 seasons. It has also produced 7 of the 11 Wild Card playoff teams during this span. As for the inter-division results themselves, the New York Yankees have won the division 9 times (3 World Series), followed by the Boston Red Sox (2 World Series). The only other team to win the division during this span has been the Tampa Rays. The two other divisional teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles have not won the division since the 1998 reconfiguration, although Baltimore did win the division in 1997.
Competition
This division is unique within the majors as two of the top payroll clubs, the Yankees and the Red Sox usually rule. With their deep pockets they are able to construct ball clubs that can compete each and every year. The other teams in the division don't have this luxury. For these remaining teams (Baltimore, Tampa, & Toronto) to compete they need to use a "restock" philosophy, which is essentially building teams for one or two year runs and then trading out the personnel when it becomes to costly to maintain.
In a nutshell this is the AL East. In 2008 the Tampa Rays were able to win the division with a young, low cost core. The Rays should be able to compete for at least two more seasons at a reasonable cost, turning the AL East into a three team powerhouse along with the free spending Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
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