Because of what I do for a living, I am often asked, "So, can the Orioles make the playoffs and get to the World Series?" Implicit in the question is, "Can they win the American League East or not?"
Well, the short answer is that through the first 62 games of the season, the O's are tied with Boston and still have a 2.5-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. So, sure, they can win the AL East.
But that does not necessarily complete the answer on whether they can win the World Series. It also doesn't take into account the backdoor way of getting into baseball's postseason dance -- winning a Wild Card spot.
If you'll take a close inspection of my top 10 this week, No. 4 Boston, No. 5 Toronto and No. 6 Baltimore are all neatly in a row. While I would much rather be in the top 10 than not, and think the O's have solid justification for their current spot, the fact that three teams are this good out of the same division doesn't mean they will all find a spot in the postseason.
