Even had CC Sabathia pitched well last night, who knows if it would've been enough to lock down a second Cy Young Award?

The groundswell for Felix Hernandez is building. The Mariners ace fired eight more brilliant innings in a 1-0 loss earlier Thursday, dropping him to 12-12 on the year.

Last night in a 7-2 loss to Tampa Bay, Yankees manager Joe Girardi brought in relief pitcher Royce Ring, who was making his debut this season after pitching in Triple-A for most of 2010.

Ring was very effective and efficient, so should Girardi include Ring on the postseason roster?

Via Jack Curry's Twitter:

Yanks expect 11 pitchers for DS. CC, AJ, Andy, Phil, Mo, Wood, Joba, Logan, Rbrtsn r locks. Nova, Vazquez, Gaudin, Mitre fight 4 2 spots.

This is going to kill me because I am a die-hard New York Yankees fan, but in the pessimistic would that I live in, I can see the Yankees blowing it with ten games remaining and two big series coming up with their arch rival Boston Red Sox.

At age 34, Lance Berkman has started to feel his age this season as he has dealt with a few nagging injuries that have dragged his numbers down. His season in Houston was up and down and the first two weeks in the Bronx were just ugly.

Berkman went on the DL in the middle of August, and before he came off the DL he started working with Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long in order to hit the ground running as soon as he was activated.

The New York Yankees lost the third game to the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night, with a final score of 7-2.

The Yankees lead this four-game set, 2-1, with a goal to win the final and take the series.

The Rays' best, and only shot is to spilt the series, creeping up on the AL East leading Yankees to just a half-game.

Clearly with nine games remaining after this series wraps up, nothing is set in stone in the AL East.

Top Five Stories From Yesterday

1. The Phillies sweep the Braves out of Philadelphia, increasing their lead in the NL East to six games and reducing their magic number to four.

2. The Padres retake the lead in the NL West after they defeat the Dodgers, and the Giants lose to the Cubs.

3. The Rays get back to within 1.5 games of the Yankees after winning the third game of their big four-game series.

The rain knocked A.J. Burnett out of the game and the Yankees B-squad bullpen let them down as they lost at home 7-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays to drop to just 1.5 games up in first place.

Here are some highlights:

The 2010 Cy Young conversation had been a fascinating debate. It had raised questions about how to determine if a pitcher is successful, and the value of certain statistics. 

But, unlike other years, the 2010 debate has recently become quite a silly argument as the season comes to a close.

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.