Opinion

Three weeks ago, all three of the teams listed in the headline were in first place. A couple of them were in somewhat commanding position. The Texas Rangers had an eight-game lead at one point, the San Diego Padres had a lead of six-and-a-half games, while the Atlanta Braves had a three-game lead.

But all three teams have struggled at some point over these last three weeks.

Before the Yankees' painful 1-0 loss to the Rays in 11 innings on Monday night, Manager Joe Girardi told MLB.com that "the division is important because everyone wants their home fans behind them as long as you can. We had it last year and it worked out very well for us. It's important to us."

He was obviously not telling the truth.

At the All-Star break there were questions surrounding the Minnesota Twins line-up.  They didn't have an every day third basemen who could contribute offensively.  Justin Morneau had just suffered a concussion one week prior and it was unknown when he might return, if at all.

The Yankees have been bad lately, but they’re still in first place because the Tampa Bay Rays have also been struggling.

That lead is down to just half a game though, and it will be put to the test over the next three days as the two AL East juggernauts go head-to-head.

Andres Torres, the center fielder and lead-off hitter, is the most irreplaceable member of the San Francisco Giants' lineup.

The Giants have to replace him, though, because he's out for the remainder of the regular season following surgery on his appendix.

The Washington Nationals have 19 games remaining in the 2010 season.  If they win three of them, they will avoid losing 100 games for the third straight season.  It's little solace for Nats fans that harbored illusions of a wild-card berth when the team got off to a 20-15 start.

As fantasy leagues wind down and head into playoff mode, most owners generally have similar goals in mind at this juncture.

Some owners are right smack in the middle of a battle for playoff position while others are looking forward to next season and the opportunity to start over. What you can expect to find in this week’s edition is a smattering of young players trying to impress their club and hopefully cement a spot on next year’s big league team.

By the grace of God, the Reds won the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, instead of losing it 2-1.

Out of 16 pitchers on the roster, is Coco Cordero the only one who can be entrusted to close a game?

 If so, we should just hand the Central Division trophy over to the Cardinals right now.

As of September 12th, the Yankees are 87-56, a half game up on the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. The division will be at stake with the crucial upcoming Rays series in St. Petersburg.

With the Trenton Thunder's 8-1 win Friday night in New Hampshire, the Yankees Double-A affiliate advanced to the Eastern League finals for the third time in the last four seasons.

With absolutely stunning pitching, the Thunder's starters and relievers held the Fisher Cats to ONE run in 30 innings over the three games.