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The Yankees have dropped two in a row in walk-off style against the Texas Rangers and things won’t get any easier today as they face Cliff Lee. Making things worse, the Tampa Bay Rays are within striking distance, just a half-game back, of first place. So there is a lot on the line this afternoon.

Picture this: a game lasts over four hours, uses 41 players, features 374 pitches, has two blown saves, and ends in a walk-off hit by pitch—by Mariano Rivera.

Welcome to Yankees-Rangers, September 11 (and part of 12), 2010

Sports Irreverence and More from The Other Tip of the Goldberg

Maybe it’s because of the rain that fell this morning—I haven’t seen any rain for about eight years, and it has me a little confused.

The rain also washed away my pickup softball game this morning, giving me a little more time on my hands to think about the pressing issues of the day.

This weekend’s series is a possible playoff preview and that could be bad news for the Yankees as it ap

Despite the struggles of the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout the 2010 season, two teams in their farm system, the Ogden Raptors and the Great Lakes Loons, recently completed record-breaking years and continue to battle in the playoffs in their respective leagues.

After watching teammate Mike Pelfrey rebound with a solid effort against the Phillies yesterday, Jon Niese will try to do the same today.

The rookie left-hander has had three straight bad starts after four straight outstanding ones of allowing one earned run in each.

During his recent slump, the Mets have brought up the subject of limiting his innings, but decided to let him roll. They did push him back a day after his most recent outing, when he allowed five runs in six innings against the Cubs.

The Colorado Rockies continued their climb to the top of the standings on Saturday night, but it didn't come the way most probably thought it would. The result, however, is the same for the Rockies, who came from behind in the late innings to win 2-1.

Saturday's game was characterized by dominant pitching and poor umpiring behind the plate. Madison Bumgarner pitched a beautiful game, allowing only one earned run on three hits through seven innings. The lone blemish was a third inning solo shot off of the bat of Yorvit Torrealba. Bumgarner only needed 79 pitches to get through seven innings, as he pitched extremely efficiently.

As we head into the last three weeks or so of the MLB season, it's pretty clear which players have had the biggest breakout seasons in 2010.

This list consists of guys who weren't really thought of as being star players prior to this year but really proved it this year.

"It's not something I'm going to push at this point," Jay Bruce said Friday about his strained oblique. "I've taken the process this far. I'm going to see it through. When I come back, I want to be 100 percent ready to come back—not 90 percent, not 80 percent."

Read that real carefully.

Look at the calender, too. It points to September, and it has been a very productive year for the team, but by this point, no one is 100 percent.