Yanks hurting the worst in ailing AL East
Tampa Bay Rays
Two recent blows: Evan Longoria went down with a fractured wrist, and Carl Crawford is slated for hand surgery on Thursday and will be out for at least the rest of the regular season. Longoria's injury is easily the more troubling of the two. The Tampa third baseman is hitting .278 AVG/.352 OBP/.533 SLG and has been rather easily the team's most productive hitter this season (that's to say nothing of his better-than-advertised defense). In his stead, the Rays will try to make do with a mix of Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist. Zobrist is their best bet until Longoria returns, which the Rays hope will happen once the rosters expand on Sept. 1.
As for the loss of Crawford, it's less damaging than his reputation would lead you to believe. In 2008, Crawford has an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of just .719, while the average major-league left fielder his season has an OPS of .793. As you can see, that's a notable deficit. Certainly, Crawford's plus defense and base-running make up some of that ground, but this season he's been at best an average player (and that's probably being generous). Crawford, at age 27, should be in his prime, so perhaps it's time to dispense with the "future star" talk. As well, the Rays have impressive outfield depth, especially after the return of Rocco Baldelli, so they probably won't miss Crawford all that much. If the eminently sensible Raul Ibanez-to-Tampa rumors turn out to be true, then so much the better.
Sure, the Tampa offense will be diminished in Longoria's absence, but this is a team built around pitching and infield defense. Barring further injuries, they can likely survive until he returns in early September. David Price, who was just promoted to AAA-Durham, should be in line for a call-up around that same time, and he'll make the bullpen that much stronger -- provided that's where they choose to deploy him.
The Rays are almost certainly bound for the postseason, and if they can hang on until the calendar flips then they'll be going to the postseason with a division title in tow. Bet on that happening.
Boston Red Sox
The defending World Series champs are currently without the services of third baseman Mike Lowell (strained oblique), knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (shoulder), right-hander Bartolo Colon (back), and shortstop Julio Lugo (quad). Of those, Lowell's and Wakefield's absences are the most significant. Fortunately for the Red Sox, they've got the depth to withstand the injuries. Kevin Youkilis can slide over to third, and Sean Casey, who's been raking this season, can spot Youkilis at first, at least against right-handers. In the rotation, the Sox can get by with a gumbo consisting of the newly acquired Paul Byrd, the struggling Clay Buchholz, the close-to-returning Colon, and perhaps down the line the recently optioned Charlie Zink. In a related matter, Wakefield's shoulder is inflamed and not structurally damaged, and he was disabled retroactive to Aug. 7. So it's possible his absence won't be a lengthy one.
Elsewhere, the Red Sox improved in going from Lugo to youngster Jed Lowrie, and the highly useful Alex Cora is still around to fill in anywhere in the infield. Offensively, much depends upon Casey's ability to continue hitting until Lowell returns. On the other hand, perhaps a trip to the DL was just what the struggling Lowell needed (he's "hitting" .187 AVG/.253 OBP/.253 SLG since the break). Consider the Sox your AL Wild Card favorites.
New York Yankees
The Baby Boss speaks the truth: No team has been more waylaid by injuries this year than the Yanks. Hank's lamentations were no doubt set to the strains of the world's smallest violin, and injuries are to be expected when you've got such an oldish roster. Still, no one could've anticipated the extent to which the Yankees would pull up lame: Yankee players in 2008 have made 20 (!) trips to the disabled list.
Insofar as the present is concerned, they're done. Jorge Posada and Chien-ming Wang won't return this season, Hideki Matsui is still at least a week away, and Joba Chamberlain won't begin a throwing program until Friday. GM Brian Cashman papered over some of those losses by acquiring Pudge Rodriguez and Xavier Nady at the non-waiver trade deadline, but that's not going to be enough. After all, they're six games out of playoff position, and the current rotation features Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Sidney Ponson, a possibly injured Dan Giese, and, um, Hideki Irabu? Ed Whitson? Ronan Tynan? Ian Kennedy's back in Triple-A to polish his secondary pitches, and Philip Hughes still has at least one more rehab start ahead of him. So there's no immediate help there, but immediate help is precisely what they need.
Injuries and current positions considered, the Yankees' astounding run of 13 straight playoff appearances is -- and here comes an air-tight guarantee -- going to come to an end. Worse for Yankee fans is this: The aging core and lack of positional depth within the system means they're going to get steadily worse over the next half-decade or so.
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