AL East

The Yankees are about to enter a very crucial stretch in their season, playing the Rays, Jays and the hated rival Red Sox. The current series finale vs. Tampa Bay is about to get underway, and as the hero from last night Robinson Cano put it, "It feels like a playoff." It was a big win, because now the Yankees are assured to leave Tampa Bay in first place.

Today, it's CC Sabathia vs James Sheilds as the Yanks go for the series win. Personally, I think this is a huge game for the Yankees.  

New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia will square off against Tampa Bay Rays James Shields, in the third and final game of this series.

Let’s check out this matchup:

 
Tampa Bay Rays: James Shields (9-9)

James Shields is a lights-out pitcher, if you are referring to his high strikeout numbers.

In 2010 Shields has posted 122 strikeouts over 135 innings. He maintains a minimal number of walks with 31.

So what explains Shields ERA being 4.79?

Robinson Cano had another MVP performance again tonight. 

His home run in the top of ninth inning gave the New York Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Tamp Bay Rays.  And more importantly, the Yankees will maintain their AL East division lead when leaving St. Petersburg after tomorrow’s game.

What would a trade deadline be without the New York Yankees getting involved?

After kicking the tires on pitchers Cliff Lee and Dan Haren, the Yankees decided to go in a different direction on Friday by adding some offense. The Yankees on Friday acquired 1B Lance Berkman from the Houston Astros for Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes. Then they traded for OF Austin Kearns for the ever-so-popular player to be named later, or PTBNL, as all the cool kids say.

First, let’s talk about the Berkman move because that is the more significant move.

The last we heard, the Yankees were still looking to deal and were specifically looking for an infielder who would be an upgrade on Ramiro Pena and a way to help their bullpen, even if it meant acquiring a starter so they can move Phil Hughes to the pen.

Here is the latest:

The Yankees scored two runs in the first inning yesterday, but failed to tack on any more runs as they lost to the Rays 3-2 when Phil Hughes gave up a three-run homer in the sixth inning.

Here are some notes:

The 2010 trade deadline will be deemed unsucccessful for the Yankees tomorrow at 4:00 pm.

The Yankees acquired Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns on Friday, just hours before the trade deadline. Berkman will fill the Yankees void at designated hitter, and Kearns will add depth to the Yankees bench.

You can understand why the Yankees acquired Kearns. The Yankees always said they want a bench player, and Kearns can play almost every position on the field. Berkman, on the other hand, is a different story.

According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, who’s on fire today breaking two trades, the Yankees acquired outfielder Austin Kearns from the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later.