For the first time since June 17th, the Yankees slipped ahead of the Red Sox to take first-place in the AL East.
There are stretches when all the world seems pinstriped, and the Yankees are in one now. They moved into first place in the American League East last night by beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1, finding an invigorating way to cap three blissful days.
After a victory Sunday, the Yankees announced a trade for a right fielder, Bobby Abreu, and a starting pitcher, Cory Lidle. The next day, they traded for a first baseman-outfielder, Craig Wilson.
Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox made no significant trades while losing their team captain, catcher Jason Varitek, to a knee injury that requires surgery. With the Yankees? victory and the Red Sox? loss to Cleveland last night, the Yankees took over a percentage-points lead in the division. They had not been in first place since June 17.
?The only thing it means is we don?t have to worry about other teams,? Derek Jeter said. ?Now, if we play better than the rest of the division, we?ll win it. If you?re chasing people, you need help. Now we pretty much start over and see what happens.?
This hasn’t been an easy season for the Yankees. The loss of Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield to injuries has definitely hurt, but they’ve stayed in the hunt and, since the All-Star Break, have been on something of a run. If they can keep this up for another two months or so, they just might make it to October again.
