My Two Cents: 5 Best April Storylines in American League East

2. Window Closing on Orioles Already?

The Baltimore Orioles have already lost a league-worst 18 games — that's not counting the 23-loss Chicago White Sox, of course, because we're ignoring their futility again. But this is head-shaking for the Orioles, who seem to be a mess right now.

This is a team that went from 52 wins in 2021, to 83 then 101 and 91 a year ago. They were supposed to be the next great thing after rebuilding perfectly. But they had two straight postseason flameouts — they were swept at home by Texas in 2023 and at home by Kansas City in 2024 — and then didn't do nearly enough to improve themselves in the offseason.

Their starting pitching has been brutal. They let ace Corbin Burnes get away in the winter, and never really replaced him. Charlie Morton, who's 41 years old going on 61, seems to be done. He's made five starts — and lost them all while building a 10.89 ERA. They yanked him from the rotation, and proceeded to lose his first game in relief. He has an 0-6 record and certainly seems finished.

Starters Dean Kremer (2-4, 7.04 ERA) and Cade Povich (1-2, 5.16 ERA) haven't been a lot better. Zach Eflin only made three starts before going on the injured list, and fill-in Kyle Gibson gave up nine earned runs in three-plus inning in an emergency start earlier this week.

Throw in the fact that All-Stars Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman and starters Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg are ALL hitting .228 or worse, and you wonder if this team can really contend this year?

Sure, it's early, but it doesn't look promising. They are just 12-18 and, thankfully, their May schedule is not daunting at all. They've got a chance to quickly turn things around, because they have two series this month with Minnesota and another with Washington and the Los Angeles, all of whom are five games under .500 entering the month.

They also play the 7-23 White Sox, and have three series against teams with winning records, but Kansas City and Milwaukee are just 16-15 and Boston is 17-15. That's workable.

Can they right the ship? They have a path, but I just don't see it. Not with that pitching. That window to chase a World Series title? It might be slamming shut.

3. Is Anthony Santander a Bust in Toronto?

The biggest money-spending news of April was in Toronto, where the Blue Jays — somewhat surprisingly — got their massive deal done with superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. His 14-year, $500 million extension keeps him in town through his 40th birthday.

That's a big deal — no pun intended — because the Jays would have and to tear it all apart otherwide. Now they can build around him, and try to become a contender again.

But when will that be? They still have a lot of holes, and they've been playing bad baseball lately, losing eight of nine before closing the month with an extra inning win vs. Boston on Wednesday. They are just 14-16, tied for third in the AL East with Tampa Bay.

The biggest disappointment so far is big free-agent signee Anthony Santander. It was a big deal prying him away from division-rival Baltimore, but he's hitting just .175 so far with only four home runs. That's very little production from someone who's on a five-year, $92.5 million contract.

During that recent losing skid, they were outscored by 42 runs in the eight losses. That's a margin of 5.4 runs per game, basically nightly blowouts.

The uncertainty with Guerrero is gone now, but there are still plenty of questions to be answered. It starts with Santander, who needs to get going.

4. Rooting Hard For Jarren Duran's Mental Health

Popular Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran deserves a lot of praise for speaking so openly about his battles with depression and suicide in the Netflix documentary "The Clubhouse: A Year With the Boston Red Sox'' that was released on April 8.

If you're a baseball fan and haven't seen it, it's must-watch TV. They did a great job of going behind the scenes with the Red Sox during the 2024 season. The most discussed part of the show was Duran talking about his mental health struggles that have included several bouts of depression and even a failed suicide attempt.

Mental health is an important subject these days, and we need to do all we can to help people in need. Duran's done that, and he's been very open about it.

But there's always that idiot somewhere, and we had one in Cleveland last Sunday who, according to those sitting around him, a fan told Duran to ''off himself,'' Duran stared him down, and fans and security were quick to deal with the situation and remove the fan from the ballpark.

I hope he's never allowed to attend a game ever again.

"When you open yourself up like that, you also open yourself up to the enemies,'' Duran said last Sunday. "But I have a good support staff around me, teammates, coaches. There were fans that were supporting me, too, so that was awesome."

Buying a ticket to a game does not give you the right to attack people that way. I hope that fool never sets foot in a stadium again.

5. Rays Still Not Comfortable in Tampa

We all knew this was going to be a year of uncertainty for the Tampa Bay Rays after Hurricane Milton destroyed their ballpark, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., last fall. They have relocated to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa for the 2025 season, but it sure doesn't feel like home yet.

Despite playing 16 of their first 19 games and home and 22 of 31, the Rays are just 9-12 in Tampa prior to Thursday's day game against the Kansas City Royals. They haven't adjusted to the ever-changing winds in the New York Yankees' spring training home, playing their first home outdoor games in 28 years.

They've been shut out at home four times already, a major-league high, and they've all come in the past two weeks. In home losses, they are hitting just .159 with runners in scoring position.

"It's a little weird, the way this park plays one day to the next day,'' Rays bench coach Rodney Linares said. "It's not a covered ballpark, so the wind plays a big part of it. We've see (Judge) hit a ball 110 that doesn't go out and then (Jose) Caballero hits one 95 and it goes out.

"I think here at home, some guys are trying to go the other way (to right field) because that's the way the ballpark plays, but they might be going away from their strengths, too. ''

The Rays are in New York this weekend, but then play 15 of their next 21 at home through May 28.