Yesterday, for the first time in recent memory, I asked myself a soul-coughing question: Am I rooting for the Yankees to beat the Rays? To quote David Byrne of Talking Heads, “How did I get here?”

The pecking order in the American League East has been more or less undisturbed for a decade. It’s pretty much gone Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles, Devil Rays. Sure, the Red Sox have won two World Series titles in the last four years, and some of the bottom feeders have swapped musical chairs, but the Yankees won the division title every single year from 1998 to 2006, while the Red Sox finished second from 1998 to 2005. In short, no team besides New York or Boston has been a legitimate threat in the American League East since Jeffrey Maier was in grammar school. Now it’s mid May and the Yankees are in last, the Rays are in first, the Earth has tottered off its axis, and I don’t know who I’m supposed to be rooting for.

First off, I know I’m supposed to be rooting for the Red Sox, since I’m a Boston fan and that’s what fans do. But for years (lifetimes, even), the next-best thing to a Red Sox’ win has been a Yankees’ loss. It’s hard to de-program yourself from thinking that way. So yesterday, when I saw that the Rays and Scott Kazmir were beating the Yankees and Ian Kennedy, I thought, “Awesome, the Yankees are losing. The Sox aren’t even playing today, but at least the Yankees are losing.” It took me a moment to remember that the Rays were in first place (and looking damn legit this year) while the Yankees have been sniffing butts (and seem content in doing so).

As a Sox fan whose team trailed the Rays by a half game before yesterday’s action, I’ve come to the conclusion that I certainly should have been rooting for the Yankees. Not just because I want my team to be as close to first place at all times. But because I genuinely believe that the Rays are a better team than the Yankees, and thus I want them to lose as much as possible.

Earlier this season David Pinto of The Sporting News wrote a seemingly kooky article, saying the Rays had the best pitching staff in the American League East. At the time, the notion seemed quaint (and wrong). Yet right now the Rays have a better team ERA than the Red Sox or Yankees. Moreover, it’s not even close. The Rays have the third-best ERA (3.64) in the American League, trailing only Toronto and Oakland. Meanwhile, the Sox and Yankees (and all their “great” young pitchers) are toiling in the middle of the pack, with 4.25 and 4.26 ERAs, respectively. Luckily for the Red Sox, they’re hitting a Major League-leading .294 as a team, and lead the A.L. in runs scored. The Yankees, meanwhile, are hitting .258 as a team and sit in 10th place in runs scored in the junior circuit. At best, they’re an all-around average team right now.

Listen, I’m not about to throw dirt on the Yankees’ grave, because they simply have too many resources to be counted out this early in the season. That said, it looks like it’s time to adjust my thinking about the American League East. The Rays look poised for a breakout season, while the Orioles have the capability to pester and nag all year. Meanwhile, Toronto is only one game under .500 – and a half game ahead of the last-place Yankees.

I know, I know, the Yankees were dead and buried last year, too, before they summoned the will to rise off the mat, make a sick second-half run, and get embarrassed in the playoffs for the fourth straight year. But do they have that in them again? Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. One thing’s for certain, however: The next-best thing to a Red Sox’ win isn’t necessarily a Yankees’ loss. Not anymore.

Cam Martin is a Sox fan who lives in Yankee country (Fairfield County, CT). He also covers baseball for Bugs&Cranks. E-mail: cdavidmartin@yahoo.com

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