Double-Beheaded! (Game 1: Yanks 4, Rays 1 Game 2: Yanks 11, Rays 1)

I know I know I've been using brutal language to describe the Yankees' surge to the division title and, far and away, the best record in baseball. But today's double smackdown of the Rays was was brutal in and of itself, and frankly, the Yankees should be merciless, since they were somehow denied a postseason birth last year. Now it seems to be their time.

Of course, the twin MVPs for the Yankees this year, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett (video of their dominant performances here), were the keys to beating the Rays, especially in game 1, where Garza performed brilliantly for 7 innings. But baseball is a 9 inning game, and Garza is no Roy Halladay. Once he was gone, the Yankees did what they do best; blast off against weak bullpen pitching. And in the second game, Sonnanstine's second look through the Yankee lineup proved fatal, as he was ousted in the 3rd inning during a long, relentless, devastating Yankee rally. It was a rally that effectively won the game for the Yankees, and seems to have put a very big nail deep in the coffin of the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that looks so much weaker and less fortunate than the miracle group of a year ago. Jeter said at the start of the season that the Rays were the team to beat. And that's how the Yankees treated them for 18 innings/6 hours today.

AL East magic number: 16
Home field magic number: 19
Games remaining: 23