- The Yankeesclinched their first American League East crown since 2006with a 4-2 win over the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon. The Bombers reached the 100-win mark for the first time since 2004 with the three-game sweep of their archrivals. With Sunday’s win, the Yankees have assured themselves of home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Postsays the Mets front office shouldn’t take the Pollyanna approachwith promising showings by Jeff Francoeur, Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan, Dan Murphy and Josh Thole. He argues that the Mets would be better served to go after Rod Barajas/Bengie Molina/Miguel Olivo at catcher: Nick Johnson/Russell Branyan/Adam LaRoche at first base: and Bobby Abreu/Mark DeRosa/Jermaine Dye in left field. The acquisitions would likely keep them near the estimated $15 million budget Omar Minaya will have to work with during the offseason.
- Kevin Fagan of the San Francisco Chroniclepenned a fantastic piece on Giants’ prospect Angel Villalona. The 19-year-old first base prodigy is being held without bail in his native Dominican Republic for the shooting death of a 25-year-old convenience store worker. Some, including the co-owner of the disco bar where the shooting took place, believe that Villalona is being singled out because of his notoriety in the community. The trial, scheduled to begin in two months, could result in a prison sentence of 20 years.
- According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune,some ‘baseball people’ believe the White Sox may have interest in Carlos Zambrano, possibly in exchange for the recently-acquired Jake Peavy. It’s a curious suggestion, since Peavy has looked great over his first two starts with the White Sox, allowing three runs over 12 innings. But it might be worth it, just to see Zambrano and Ozzie Guillen in the same locker room.
- And finally, who is that masked man? (Pssst...it’s Omir Santos)