MLB: Yankees Clinch. Who’ll be Next?

Posted on | September 24, 2009 | 1 Comment

As expected for the last several weeks, the New York Yankees clinched a playoff birth in the American League. They can now start to worry about resting guys and getting their pitching rotation in order. (Well, they still need to clinch their division but they have to be happy to be in). The Yankees have to be the favorite to win it all. And clinching their division the earliest has to make them even more of a favorite.

But the Yankees do need to be careful. They don’t want to throttle things back too much for too long. If they do then they may very well find themselves having trouble picking things back up when it matters. It wouldn’t be the first time a great team suddenly faltered in the post season and looked like a totally different team. It wouldn’t be the first time a great team lost itself because they spent a couple weeks without anything to play for.

But these Yankees are very talented and they have their share of veterans on this club. So, it would be a little shocking if this team suddenly faltered in the playoffs. Plus, the Yankees do still have something to play for – clinching the AL East.

Now the question becomes: What team will clinch their division next? Well, that will probably be the St. Louis Cardinals. They are just a game away from clinching. They’re 10 games up on the Cubs with just 11 left to play. So, a win by the Cards or a loss by the Cubs will clinch the NL Central for the Cards.

And that would make the Cards the first team to win their division. And then the Cards might have to worry about losing their edge. But their manager is a master at getting the most out of his players in the playoffs.

Related posts:

1. MLB: Yankees and Red Sox Back At It
2. MLB: Yankees In First for Good?
3. MLB: Yankees Roar Back from the Break
4. MLB: Let’s Talk about the Yankees
5. MLB: Yankees on Fire

Comments