New York Yankees

      The New York Yankees are in a slump.  A bad one at that.  However, they are still very much in the hunt.  With their magic number down to 3, and facing the Red Sox, there's a good chance that they will have clinched a playoff spot by the end of the weekend.  With many of the Yankees in their 30's, it's vital that they clinch by the weekend so that they can rest their starters.

The Red Sox jumped out to a quick 10-1 lead by the fifth inning, but the Yankees managed to come all the way back to the point where they put the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning, only to see Robinson Cano strikeout to end the game 10-8.

Here are some highlights:

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.

The Yankees have seemingly been stuck in the mud as of late. Despite remaining one of the best teams in all of Major League Baseball, they have unarguably had a rough September.

Following tonight's loss to the Red Sox, the Yankees have compiled a 10-12 record this September. Hand in hand with that 10-12 record are year-worst performances in pitching and hitting.

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.

Via Chad Jennings:

The big series in the standings may be the Yankees vs. the Rays, but judging by the ticket prices on StubHub, the one the fans care about is Yankees vs. Red Sox and we have a good one tonight as Andy Pettitte goes up against Josh Beckett.

There is no professional sports league in which it is tougher for a franchise to reach the postseason than Major League Baseball. Making the postseason in baseball is a true accomplishment for any team, even for the Yankees and their $206 million payroll.

The CC Sabathia vs. Felix Hernandez debate may have ended last night as Sabathia dropped a big game to the Rays, allowing seven runs over just 5.1 innings. The Yankees eventually lost 10-3 at home.

CC Sabathia has five more years to go. At least as a Yankee. For $23 million a year. Unless HE doesn't want to (given his player's option to quit after two more years).

Unless he's the team's answer to Jamie Moyer or Phil Niekro, he won't be worth $23 million in his seventh year. More to the point, he hasn't been worth $23 million in this, his SECOND year, according to FanGraphs. More like $18-$19 million year to date.