New York Yankees

"Start spreading the newsss, Im leaving todayyy
I want to be a part of it—New york, New yorkkkk...

These vagabond shoessss, are longing to strayyyy
Right through the very heart of it—New york, New yorkkkk..." - Frank Sinatra

There is nothing quite like the sound of Mr. Sinatra. There is nothing in baseball quite like a walk-off win. There is nothing in baseball quite like the Yankees. There is nothing in baseball quite like the playoffs in New York.

It's a sight that we've seen oh so many times. One Yankee or another hitting a walk off homer in the playoffs. Then being bombarded by teammates, coaches, and media. It's a sight Yankee fans have longed for since 2003. The series against Boston which nobody will ever forget. Aaron Boone's homerun off Tim Wakefield sent to almost the same part of the yard as the one last night were the ghosts final appearance.

During Thursday night's American League Division Series game between the Anaheim Angels and Boston Red Sox, first base umpire C.B. Bucknor had an absolutely horrendous evening. He mangled two obscenely easy calls at the bag, calls that had no business being missed and resulted in erroneous baserunners for the Halos.

Luckily for Bucknor, neither gaffe materially affected the outcome.

On Friday night, the Baseball Gods were not so merciful.

Everything changed in the bottom of the third inning.

When Derek Jeter stepped to the plate with the Yankees trailing 2-0 to the Twins in Game One of the American League Division Series, a lot of questions were racing through the minds of Yankees fans.

Why has our opponent scored first for the ninth time in our last 12 playoff games? Why has Alex Rodriguez failed to pick up a hit in his last 18 postseason at-bats with runners in scoring position and past 28 with runners anywhere on base?

You have to hand it to the Yankees—they are exactly who we thought they were.

Brian Duensing didn't pitch poorly by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not difficult to surrender runs to this potent New York offense. Early on, Duensing was locked in, sprinkling his fastball in among his great breaking balls. He was getting ahead in the count and kept the ball on the ground, doing everything possible for his team.

By Ryan of The Sportmeisters

About The Minnesota Twins:

A day after clinching the AL Central in a one-game playoff, the Twins travel to the Big Apple to take on the Yankees. At 87-76, the Twins closed a seven-game deficit, going 17-4 over the final month to tie the Detroit Tigers and force the playoff before clinching the AL Central.

...Chad Gaudin.

The Yankees broke from their season long stand of having Joba Chamberlain pitch strictly as a starter, and, in the last game of the season, threw him for one inning out of the bullpen.

Joba threw strikes, his velocity was in the mid-to-high 90s, and he punctuated a seven-pitch inning with a strikeout of Fernando Perez.  Perez swung and missed on a biting slider, and then whiffed on a 95 MPH high fastball.

It was like the Joba of late 2007.

Ok, New York Yankees, you have the best record in baseball. You have 50 come-from-behind victories, you have a clubhouse full of likable players, who seem to enjoy playing with and for each other, and beginning next week what does it all mean? Absolutely nothing.

It doesn't seem like the Yankees care about anything other than winning at this point. Since clinching home field advantage for the entire postseason, they haven't lost a game and continue to look great.

However, things aren't set in stone in the American League Central. The Tigers hold a two game lead over the Twins, but the two teams face off tonight and tomorrow. According to Baseball Prospectus, Minnesota still has a 17 percent chance of winning the AL Central.

Throughout this year and years past I have, as a Yankee fan, been subject to a ton of misguided hatred towards my favorite baseball team. This usually makes me angry and argumentative. I have written countless comments in defense of the Yankees, ex-Yankee players, and Yankee ownership.

The thing that really makes me sick however, is when people attribute any illegal indiscretion with a team or as something that is to be expected from a team.