Who would have thought that the Yankees would have reason to feel proud about a sweep over the Devil Rays? Well, the Yankees shouldn't feel proud, just satisfied, with their performance in St. Petersberg this week. Given their struggles against the Devil Rays this season, a sweep comes as a pleasant development, but that just shows how inconsistent this Yankee club has played all year. With Boston's loss to Oakland, the Yankees trail the Red Sox by just 1.5 games in the American League East and Oakland by a game in the wild card. Should be an exciting finish.
The Yankees, of course, are fortunate that their worst year has come in a terrible year for the American League. Boston's down, Chicago, the team with the league's best record, can't get out of its own way, and Anaheim and Oakland worry few out west. The playoffs will truly be wide open, and no team is guaranteed a spot (even the White Sox are just 4.5 games up on Cleveland now). Is this good for baseball? Gothamist loves excitement, but excitement is better when its between quality teams, which don't exist this year in the American League.
Photo by Steve Nesius (AP) via Yahoo
