And, New York did it. In what might be the most bizarre 9th inning comeback ever…when you look at who did what…and the nature of the first and last hit of the inning.

This makes 50 come from behind wins this season for the Yankees and 15 walk-off wins to boot. What a magical season, huh?

 Year Lg Team              Number Players Matching
+----+--+---------------------------------+------+------------------------+
 2003 AL Boston Red Sox    6 Garciaparra/Ramirez/Millar/Varitek/Nixon/Ortiz
 2005 AL Texas Rangers     5 Teixeira/Blalock/Soriano/Mench/Dellucci
 2002 AL Chicago White Sox 5 Ordonez/Konerko/Thomas/Lee/Valentin
 2000 AL Anaheim Angels    5 Vaughn/Glaus/Anderson/Salmon/Erstad
 1997 NL Colorado Rockies  5 Castilla/Galarraga/Walker/Bichette/Burks
 1996 AL Baltimore Orioles 5 Ripken/Palmeiro/Bonilla/Anderson/Hoiles
 1977 AL Boston Red Sox    5 Rice/Hobson/Scott/Fisk/Yastrzemski
 1956 NL Cincinnati Reds   5 Robinson/Bell/Post/Kluszewski/Bailey

If Jimmy Rollins gets super hot this last week of the season, the 2009 Phillies can also join this club – as Rollins has 21 taters…and Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley, and Raul Ibanez all have 25+ now.

If Johnny Damon can hit one more homerun this season, it would give the Yankees 6 players with 25+ homeruns this year. And, if Jorge Posada can hit 3 more homeruns this year, the Yankees will become the first team in baseball history with 7 players with 25+ homeruns in the same season.

By the way, none of the 8 teams to make this 5+/25+ list before the Yankees this year have managed to reach the World Series in the season they turned the trick.

I’ll be honest…I’m a little worried about the Yankees offense right now. In their last 12 games, including this contest, they’ve scored 54 runs. But, 10 of those 54 runs came in one game where they beat up some pitcher by the name of Douglas Wildes Fister. Take that contest out and they’ve only scored 44 runs in their last 11 games. New York will have to score more runs than that in October to have some hope of getting past the ALDS.

But, in any event, right now, there’s only one question that’s really important in Yankeeland: Twins or Tigers? And, that’s because the Yankees have wrapped up the regular season, now, and the next step is who will they play in the ALDS.

CC was the man in this one. Enough so that one may be willing to turn a blind eye towards the Yankees bats going limp today with runners on base…

So, the Yankees have shown us this week that they can beat the Angels and the Red Sox, right now, today, as the ballclubs stand at this moment…

…does this mean, assuming the Tigers or Twins don’t upset the apple chart in the ALDS, that it’s smooth sailing to the Fall Classic for General Joe’s Boys? Time will tell…

That was sum’dee-pee to end it, eh?

You know, a case could be made that this game was Alex Rodriguez’ 3rd or 4th best regular season game, ever, with the bat, as a member of the New York Yankees.

And, without question, this was Joba Chamberlain’s 4th best start of the season – and his best one since July 29th.

It’s all good in Yankeeland right now…yup…it’s sweet.

Well, this about does it – now, with this win, the A.L. East is a done deal…there’s no way the Red Sox will be passing the Yankees – even if Boston does win their next five games in a row…which I doubt will happen.

Hey, how about Ian Kennedy? Things got a little tense there in the eighth…and, personally, I thought he was toast. But, Girardi stuck with him, and, Kennedy worked it out. General Joe knows more than I do, obviously.

But, what’s with Mo? Is it just me, or, has he been un-Rivera like on this West Coast swing? I hope it’s not an issue.

Lastly, yes, this is back-to-back good starts for A.J. Burnett! Well, here’s two words for you: Jose Molina. The Panda has caught both of these games for Burnett. That’s not going to happen in the post-season, will it?

And, more importantly, thank you Zack Greinke! (The Red Sox are not exactly the same team on the road, as they are at Fenway, are they?)

So, the Yankees are in the post-season. And, thanks to this win for New York and Boston’s loss to the Royals, it’s looking somewhat more safe that the Yankees will win the A.L. East – and will not have to face the Angels in the ALDS…which they probably would have…if Boston had passed them and New York was the wildcard.

Now, on to the game…

Am I the only one seeing a pattern with Chad Gaudin in his starts? He’s good, when he’s good, for four or five innings, and, when he’s done…he’s done…there’s nothing left in the tank. Still, if managed properly…that’s better than what Joba Chamberlain’s been doing.

Oh, and, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the Yankees almost lost this one – after having a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the 5th inning. Alfredo Aceves was not pretty in the 6th inning and the whole Yankees team looked ugly in the 8th inning. Sure, the A’s had beaten the Rangers about that time…but, still…you want to see the team focus better, no?

It will be interesting to see if the Yankees, and the Red Sox as well, now bother to show up for the series in the Bronx this weekend.

Don’t get me wrong, the Yankees are going to make the post-season this year. They will win one game out of their next 11 contests – or, the Texas Rangers will lose one game out of their next 13 contests. And, once that happens, New York will clinch a play-off spot.

But, should Boston pass New York in the A.L. East standings, before the season is over, it’s going to leave a mental scar on the team. The Yankees were 6.5 games out of first on May 12th. They fought their way into first place and had a 9 game lead as recent as September 9th. New York has spent the last 77 calendar days in first place. To choke it up, at the end of the year, and back-in to the post-season via the Wildcard is going to leave a mark, for sure, if it happens…

At least Andy Pettitte looked good, overall, in this game. I wonder if he took a shot last week? And, I wonder how he’ll do his next time out? Fingers crossed!

By the way, the Yankees are 5-18 at Angels Stadium in the last five seasons. And, Chad Gaudin and A.J. Burnett start the next two games there for the Yankees. Do I hear five and twenty?

At this point, I’m not even sure if I would hire him to be my latex salesman, much less have him pitch for me, in the post-season, in any capacity…

You know, two weeks ago, I wrote: “Yanks October Hopes: CC & Andy And Pray For Rain?” Well, Burnett and Chamberlain still have not won over my confidence yet…

Sure, I know that A.J. went seven allowing one run on Friday…but that was against the M’s, the next to worst offensive team in the league, in a pitcher’s park…

And, now, with Pettitte’s somewhat sore shoulder, well, the Yankees starting rotation is not looking all that great, is it?

The good news? The Yankees are making the post-season…in some shape and/or form. It’s a lock. New York may not win the East…don’t look now, but, the Red Sox are just four games back in the loss column…but, they’re in the big dance…no question.

The only question is how long will they last…given the issues with Burnett, Pettitte and Chamberlain? Hopefully, it will work out…but, I think Yankees fans should start bracing themselves for something less than desired, in terms of an outcome, too…as two bad starts (or more) from your starters in an LDS is usually a kiss of death.