I guess the Yankees really are that good.....

On May 5, the Baltimore Orioles stood in 1st place in the AL East with leads (in the loss column) over division rivals as follows:

Boston -3
Toronto -3
New York -7
Tampa Bay -9

May 5 is also the day Sammy Sosa went on the DL, starting a string of injuries over the next few days and weeks to O's starters including Luis Matos, Larry Bigbie, Javy Lopez, Erik Bedard, Brian Roberts and Geronimo Gil (of course, Gil doesn't really count as he only became a starter after Lopez went on the DL). Only Sosa is currently back in the lineup.

Today, the Orioles stand in 1st place in the AL East with leads (in the loss column) over division rivals as follows:

Boston -4
Toronto -6
New York -7
Tampa Bay -15

As you can see, only the New York Yankees have not lost ground during this span. I now understand why they remain the favorite of the talking heads.