Opinion

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.

Before autumn 2007, Charlie Manuel had about the same chance of ever being Manager of the Year as Michael Vick had of ever being the Eagles' starting QB, right?

Guess a lot has changed in three years.

But can the skipper of a team that was an overwhelming World Series favorite in the preseason actually win Manager of the Year?

In the last week of the season, you will see a lot of things happening that didn’t happen over the first 25 weeks. You will see teams who have already locked up playoff berths sit their starters to make sure they are fresh for the playoffs.

Starting rotations will be jumbled as aces will be bumped a day or two to position them for specific days of playoff action. Rookies will get more playing time and vets will sit as teams out of contention look to the future.

The Diamondbacks lineup, when healthy, is fairly potent. They are right in the middle of the pack in runs scored (16th with 694 through Saturday) and fifth in home runs (175).

Their home ballpark helps to inflate power, so using a spot start pitcher against them never seems like a very good idea.

Over the final week of the season, though, things may be different.

Count yourself extremely fortunate, denizens of Yankee Universe.

Had your team not found a way to dig itself out of Mariano Rivera's mess on Sunday night, you'd be suffering through a brutally painful Monday morning.

If Robbie Cano was unable to pad his MVP resume with a game-tying RBI single off Jonathan Papel-blown in the ninth; if Juan Miranda couldn't heroically draw a bases-loaded walk off Hideki OkanIgobackto2007 in the 10th, your team's little slump would have quickly transitioned to a national story.

The Minnesota Twins have clinched the AL Central and heading into the final week of the regular season they are likely to rest key players such as Jim Thome, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer.

A first round matchup with the New York Yankees is looking more and more likely with each Yankee loss and Tampa Bay win. 

Which team gives Minnesota the best chance to advance is a discussion for another time. The main focus here is going to be what the Twins need to do in the postseason to ensure they advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2002. 

Here we go...

Part 1 of 7

With the Philadelphia Phillies standing on the precipice of a fourth consecutive postseason berth, the focus of the team and fan base is two-fold. 

First, take care of business and nail down a fourth straight NL East crown. 

Second, take a look towards the end of year championship tourney to see how the Phillies stack up and are positioned for success. 

With the great run the Orioles have had this year, they could be an above-.500 team next year. 

However, it will take a few things to make sure that happens—the biggest of which is a power hitter.

When the calendar finally reaches April of 2011, the Orioles will be back to being the team that is expected to make at least a little noise in the AL East.

In 2009, the New York Yankees treated each game with the same sense of urgency.

Winning wasn't just the team’s job, it was what each player wanted and there were no excuses. The pattern was if one Yankee player’ slumped, another teammate or multiple would pick up the slack.

It was no BS baseball, but that intensity is not lost even after four losses in a row.

Dillon Gee completed the fourth start of his career tonight. He pitched seven innings and surrendered only five hits and two runs to earn his second victory.

Through these four starts, Gee has thrown four quality starts, giving up only six runs in 27 innings of work (a 2.00 ERA). Though his first two starts were against the lowly Nationals and Pirates, the last two were against the potent Braves and Phillies.