New York Yankees News - September 22, 2011

If you haven't heard by now, you very well may live underneath a rock.

Late last night, the New York Yankees won their 95th game of the season and clinched the American League East thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays giving way and the Boston Red Sox continuing their unparalleled fold into oblivion. 

I find it incredible that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are back in the mix for a potential wild card berth at this point. They've tied the Rays in the standings with a record of 85-70, just 2.5 games (two in the loss column) behind the Red Sox. Obviously, if Boston or Tampa Bay ends up winning the wild card, the Yankees will play the Tigers or Rangers in the ALDS depending on whose record is worse. If the Angels win the wild card, the Yankees will play them in the ALDS. 

New York has one magic number left for the regular season: 3. A combination of three Yankee wins and/or Detroit Tiger losses gives New York home field advantage through the American League playoffs. 

For those of you that care, CC Sabathia is still looking to notch his 20th win of the season. Not that he needs to be awarded another "W" to make his season special or give him a shot at the Cy Young Award, but round numbers are excellent. He'll have one more opportunity next week. 

Links past the jump...

Morning links:

• A story I didn't see until now was that Phil Hughes received an injection of painkiller yesterday morning to help ease the pain of his back spasms. He's expected to be back and at full about one week from now. 
• ESPN's very own Rob Parker believes that the Yankees would not be division champions without the guidance of manager Joe Girardi. What do you all think?
• Thankfully, Jorge Posada was paying close attention to the game situation when he stepped to the plate yesterday evening. 

"I thought it was the bottom of the ninth, to tell the truth," ... "Then I saw Tex (Mark Teixeira) scoring from second base, and I was like, 'What's going on?'"