Finally Clinched

Finally! Yankees 6, Pesky Blue Jays 1 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. CC Sabathia takes it into the 9th inning, and the Yankees clinch no worse than the American League Wild Card, with 4 games to play. At the very least, we are going to the Playoffs.

If the Rays win 4 of their last 7, we'd have to win all of our last 4 to win the AL East.

If the Rays win 5 of their last 7, they win it no matter what we do.

Looks like the Rays will win it. But we could settle it in the ALCS, if both teams keep up their end of the bargain.

*

Tonight, Javier Vazquez goes for the Yankees -- for the last time ever? Please -- against Brett Cecil.

Tomorrow is a travel day. On to Boston, to close the regular season against The Scum.

Friday night, with the Sox pitching Daisuke Matsuzaka, Joe Girardi will throw Andy Pettitte.

Saturday afternoon, against Clay Buchholz, it will be A.J. Burnett. Oy.

Sunday afternoon, against John Lackey, probably Phil Hughes, just to keep him fresh.

CC will be held back for Game 1 of the Division Series, the following Wednesday or Thursday. Pettitte would then start Game 2 on 4 or 5 days' rest. This would set Hughes up as the Game 3 starter, rather than Burnett, Vazquez, Dustin Moseley or Ivan Nova.

The Yankees can still win the Division Title. At this point, though, I think I want it more than they do.

The Jeter Era Yankees simply do not understand the value of teaching opposing teams a lesson, do they? After all, in the Playoffs, this will be either the 4th time since 1996 that they play the Texas Rangers, or the 4th time since 2003 that they play the Minnesota Twins, and those teams keep coming back!