Joe Girardi

Mariano Rivera has been as consistent a player as any in professional sports. His prowess in the playoffs is simply unmatched by all challengers. While every year there seems to be a hot new closer that everyone is in love with, the New York Yankees' not-so-secret weapon has been terrorizing opposing hitters for years.

Yankees vs. Red Sox, the most storied and greatest rivalry in sports will have a little less meaning this time around because of Boston's injury-plagued season that has left them on the brink of elimination, but it still is a must win series for the Bronx Bombers.

Who’s the hottest team in MLB right now?

The answer is the New York Yankees.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is a Yankee-hater, because you either bleed pinstripes or you burn them. It is that simple.

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.

Joe Torre shockingly announced he will retire from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and hands  the reins to successor Don Mattingly today  with two weeks left in the regular season.

It's a move that caught everyone by surprise considering that the Dodgers may want to interview others such as Tim Wallach, but nevertheless Mattingly is the incoming manager while Torre is nothing but a lame duck on the West Coast.

Making his first start in nine days, Phil Hughes was dominant for four innings. Perfect actually. He wouldn’t be perfect on this night. In fact, he wouldn’t even get his team a victory, thanks to Dan Johnson.

The Rays designated hitter who spent last season playing in Japan needed two swings to carry his team to their second win in three games against the Yankees.

Fourth devastating outcome in a row for the New York Yankees, third walk-off loss, and no longer do they hold the best record in baseball.

That honor now belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays, who take a half-game lead in the AL East standings.

The Yankees just can’t seem to catch a break, as things just keep getting worse.

Monday's pitching match-up of CC Sabathia vs. David Price lived-up to all the hype. Both leading Cy Young Award candidates, who equally proved why on the mound.

With a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay, the Yankees dropped out of first place for the first time since August 3.  They've lost seven of their past eight games, three via the walk-off.  No one player has been entirely blameless during the stretch and many players have played poorly, or not at all.

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.

Via Chad Jennings:

An MRI on Brett Gardner’s right wrist showed no break or tear, but it did show considerable inflammation. Gardner got a cortisone shot and is hopeful it will do the trick within a day or two.