C.C. Sabathia loses no hitter in 8th, Yankees climb over .500

I have a feeling we should all get used to the American League East domination. It's the same thing every year, but I think we always hold out hope that the Yankees or Red Sox will ultimately choke, or fail to make it to the playoffs, which seems to never happen. Both teams look sharp already and Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia almost threw a no-hitter on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 10-0 Yankees victory, falling four outs short of the heroic feat.

The impressive thing about Sabathia's performance and the Yankees/Red Sox domination is that the Rays are probably good enough to win every other division in all of baseball except probably the NL East where the Phillies might be the best team in baseball.

C.C. Sabathia did not surrender a hit to a balanced Rays offense for 7 2/3 innings last night before Kelly Shoppach broke up the no-no in the 8th. Sabathia threw 111 pitches and left the game after losing the no hitter. When Sabathia throws well, and this was about as good as ever, the Yankees are pretty much unstoppable. Sabathia's performance last night puts opening day's stinker in the rear view mirror and it's full steam ahead now for the ace and the Yankees.

Sabathia lasted just 5 1/3 inning on opening day against Boston, giving up five runs and 6 hits while walking two and striking out four. Yesterday, he gave up just the one hit and two walks while striking out five.

The Yankees are now 3-2, playing in Boston and Tampay Bay, so expect this team to take off when its schedule gets a little kinder and returns to Yankee Stadium. After Sunday's game against Tampa, the Yankees start a 21 game stretch that includes six against the Angels, six against the Orioles, and three each with the White Sox, Rangers and Oakland A's. Expect the Yankees to be hitting their peak when they travel to Fenway Park May 7.

Through just five games, The Red Sox (4-1), Rays (3-2) and Yankees (3-2) are all over .500. This could be the start of a season where all three teams could potentially challenge to win 100 games. The start of the season has not disappointed for those who enjoy this ongoing AL East battle. It will be A.J. Burnett for the Yankees against Rays ace James Shields on Sunday at 1:40 Eastern in Tampa Bay.