AL East

Let me begin by saying that I am a fan of Ben Zobrist. He is a switch-hitter who can play a multitude of positions and he has a great attitude. Overall, Zobrist is a solid baseball player and a great person. However, that does not mean the Rays should have given him a three-year contract extension worth up to $30 million.

The advent of sabermetrics has changed the way we look at "clutch."

"Situational hitting" is luck. "Inducing weak contact" is luck. "Performing under pressure" is luck. It's all been proven with math and logic and regression analysis.

But screw that, because it's a pennant race, and even the most logical stathead has subjective ideas about who he'd most want to see step to the plate with his favorite team's season on the line.

Tonight was a special night at Yankee Stadium as George Steinbrenner was honored before the game with a huge monument in center field and their center fielder blasted two home runs in an 8-6 victory over the Rays.

Here are some highlights:

Important Notes: The stats were last updated on September 20, 2010.  Sorry about that pitcher getting cut off.

Keep in mind, this will be in an order of the teams I think that made the cut.

Each week or two I will evaluate the top four things (two from the AL and two from the NL) coming into October ball.  This week I'll be talking about the top-four teams with the top 1-2-3 punch that will give them the best chance to win the World Series.

In one line I will say this: Anything but a World Series in the year of the loss of George M. Steinbrenner, would be a disappointment. 

The New York Mets are targeting Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and may seek to acquire the speedy outfielder this winter, according to the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo and multiple sources within the Mets organization.

Yankee fans and management had been growing uneasy recently, as the state of the starting rotation heading into the final weeks of the season has helped to create as many question as it has answered.

The prospect of heading into the post-season with a starting rotation led by CC Sabathia, followed by Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, and Javier Vazquez or Ivan Nova was enough to shake the confidence of even the most ardent supporter of the team.

Via Jim Salisbury on Twitter:

"I just spoke to Scott Boras. He is Jayson Werth‘s new representative."

Via Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated:

Joe Girardi will probably stay with the Yankees rather than go to the home state Cubs (he’s from Peoria and went to Northwestern). But if he leaves, Bobby Valentine likely would be one candidate to replace him in the Bronx.

Tonight marks the first of four games, between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx.