On September 7, Brett Gardner was activated from the disabled list, after spending nearly a month and a half there. Since then, Gardner has appeared in a majority of games, but it is evident Girardi views Melky Cabrera as the Yankees' starting center fielder.

Now, there are very few ways to quantify the influence a manager has. One sure thing a manager can do to help his team is to have his best options on the field more frequently than lesser options. Is Melky Cabrera the Yankees' best option in center field, with Gardner on the bench?

Andrew McCutchen, Dexter Fowler, Tommy Hanson, J.A. Happ and Chris Coghlan are candidates for the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year award.

Writers nominate their picks on the final week of the regular season, and they mention who they selected in the final game of the season in Sunday's newspapers.

This writer thought Coghlan's chances were slim at best in winning that award a month ago, but as the weeks have flown by, Coghlan's play garnered attention.

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal campaigned recently on Coghlan's behalf as this year's Rookie of the Year.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning in a game that the Yankees were losing 9-3, a brawl erupted between the Blue Jays and Yankees.

After a couple of Blue Jays batters were hit early in the game, Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada and chaos erupted. 

Is this really what the Yankees need to be getting involved in at this point in the season?

New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter moved past Lou Gehrig on the Bombers all-time hits list on September 11 with a single to right field in the Bronx.

When Matt Holliday was traded this offseason, Colorado Rockies fans were not a happy bunch.

Fans and media members alike claimed the trade was proof that Rockies owners Charlie and Dick Monfront were not willing to make the necessary financial commitment to field a winning team.

Sorry, Phat Albert. 

My sincere apologies, Prince. 

It has to be said. It just has to. So, here it goes. You ready? This'll feel a whole lot better once I get this off my chest. 

Tim Lincecum could (or should) be the 2009 National League MVP. 

OK, alright, fire away. Shoot. Let's have it. Let's hear it. 

Yeah, I hear you. I do. I know Pujols is an irreparable machine of terror. I realize that he has less chinks in his armor than Vader himself. 

I get it, everyone does. 

After getting destroyed by some of the best teams in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays finally found a team they could beat—the Baltimore Orioles. They didn't make it easy, rallying from an early 4-1 deficit to pull off an 8-4 win.

David Price overcame a four run first inning to pitch seven strong innings for Tampa Bay and secure his 8th victory of the season.

Reid Brignac not only powered the offense for the Rays, but made the defensive play of the game robbing a base hit. Brignac went 4-for-4 with a home run, a single, two doubles and three RBI.

With the Giants quickly slipping out of contention, a cloud of grief is rolling into the hills of San Francisco like the city's trademark fog.

After four years of losing records and finishing towards the bottom of the anemic NL West, the Giants emerged as contenders this year when their pitching became, more often than not, good enough to compensate for their abysmal hitting.

But with a 27-27 record since the All-Star Break, the Giants have descended back to relative mediocrity. They've maintained their great pitching, with a team ERA of 3.35 over the past 30 days.

Last Monday, the Tigers enjoyed a well-deserved Labor Day like many of us: They enjoyed a day off.

They had just swept the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays for their sixth consecutive victory. The bullpen had performed terrific, while the Tigers batters found timely hitting and pushed the runners home whenever they were in scoring position.

Detroit led the AL Central Division by seven games, and the big question for the manager was how to squeeze six starting pitchers into five rotation spots.

Where's the do-over button when you need it?