Alex Rodriguez

When the player's strike of 1994-95 ended, Major League Baseball began its 120th season of play. In the first 119 years, 50 home runs was a nearly unreachable plateau, reserved for the game's true elite: It had been done only 18 times, by 11 players. Cecil Fielder had last reached the lofty mark, in 1990. Before him, no player had smashed 50 since George Foster in 1977.

It only took six days for Joe Girardi to finally realize the Yankees needed to start winning games or they wouldn't be going to the playoffs.

Major League Baseball’s regular season is winding down and the playoff teams are getting ready for the postseason.

BetPhoenix has the latest odds for the MLB playoffs and the World Series. During the playoffs, any team can surprise and make it to the World Series, but it takes solid pitching, great hitting, and a little bit of luck to bring home the trophy.

Here is a look at the teams in the American League and their chances to win a World Series.

This past Monday, the New York Yankees unveiled the largest plaque ever displayed in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium, a seven-by-five-foot, 760-pound monument dedicated to the Yankees long-time owner, George Steinbrenner, towers over the plaques dedicated to Yankee legends Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio.

Some people believe that the monument is too large. Others believe that the plaque is appropriate.

Jose Bautista, the Blue Jays right fielder, became the 26th player in major league history to hit 50 home runs when he launched a Felix Hernandez pitch into the left field bullpen in the first inning of a 1-0 Toronto win.

It's a special number, no doubt.

The New York Yankees are not in the playoffs; their magic number remains frozen at three just for a spot in October.

Three appears to be getting bigger and growing harder to reach with each game. The Yankees need to stop playing Jekyll and Hyde since winning the first two games of their last series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

With just over a week left in the MLB season, I figured it'd be good to look at the possibilities for this postseason's match-ups.

While certain teams have much work to do in regards of locking their position in the postseason, I thought it would be fun to look into the playoffs as they sit today.

If the postseason started right this instant, the match-ups would look like this:

American League Division Series

Texas Rangers at New York Yankees

Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins

Don't tell Joe Girardi, but the Yankees haven't clinched anything yet.

The sputtering Bombers, who have lost nine of their last 13, somehow still have the best record in baseball. But their lead entering their final four-game series with the second-place Rays is just half a game, so the American League East title and homefield advantage could very well be decided this week in the Bronx.

Ending a horrid 3-6 road trip, the New York Yankees are glad to be back home.

Home or not though, starting with a 4-game series against the second-place Tampa Bay Rays, the next two weeks will challenge the Yankees in every possible way.

Last Monday, the Yankees visited the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. for one of the most anticipated series in the 2010 season.

The race has been tightly packed all season, with no team leading by more 2 1/2 games since July 26.

In the last five days, there have been three flip-flops for the division lead. With another four game set about to happen between these two teams in Yankee Stadium, you can expect the seesaw to keep on tilting.