The Yankees played home run derby today as they topped the Royals in the final game of this four-game set, 10-4. Robbie Cano delivered a much needed grand slam while A-Rod and Swisher also homered for the Bombers. While the offensive fireworks were nice, Phil Hughes was the story of this game.

Yankee fans have been very, very critical of Mr. Hughes this season. Coming into this game, Hughes dropped four of his first five decisions and carried an ERA over seven. But today, Hughes gave the Bombers 6 2/3 innings of hard work. He threw 116 pitches, issuing one walk while striking out seven. More importantly, Hughes’ velocity was sitting around 95 MPH for the entire game. Hughes’ absent velocity has been a cause for concern, but today’s outing is hopefully a sign of things to come.

I don’t get too caught up over wins and losses for pitchers, but strong, quality starts are encouraging. With his next three starts coming against the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Royals, look for Hughes to build off of this one and forget about his ugly April.

On Tuesday, Joey Votto and the Reds agreed to historic contract extension which will pay Votto $251.5 million over the next twelve (!!) years. To put that in perspective, the 28-year-old first baseman will earn $20 million per year through 2024! What makes things even more interesting was Votto had two years remaining on his current contract. Clearly, the Reds and Votto have set a new bar for locking up franchise players. 

Entering the 2012 season, the Yankees have a franchise player of their own who is two years away from free agency. Should Votto’s new contract entice the Yankees to lock up 29-year-old Robinson Cano?

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He’s baaaack. Ok, he never really left.

CC Sabathia and the Yankees agreed to a contract extension tonight, hours before the burly lefty had declare whether he was opting out of his contract. I won’t get into the details, but the Yankees basically tacked on an addition year with a team option for another in 2017. He’s making Cliff Lee money (5-year, $122 million) and he’s staying in NY. That’s all we really care about.

The Yankees re-signed CC and picked up Swisher’s and Cano’s options this weekend. Cano’s $14 million option was more of a formality, but Swisher’s $10.25 million option was debatable. Swisher stinks in the playoffs, but he’s a good guy to have around (and he’s a World Champion). The Yankees must think he’ll outproduce that contract next year.

Overall, it was a good day for the Yanks. They don’t have to worry about any media backlash, the Phillies can’t try to get cute with CC, and the Yankee rotation will not be led by Bartolo Colon next season.

The Detroit defeated the New York Yankees 5-3 in Game #2 of the American League Divisional Series this afternoon. Miguel Cabrera provided the bulk of the offense for the Tigers with 3 RBI, and the Yankees had no answer for Max Scherzer, who allowed no runs in six innings. With the loss, the series is tied at one apiece as both teams head to Detroit for two games.

One of Those Days - Chris Trotman, Getty Images

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It only took 28 hours to complete, but the Yankees blew the Tigers out, 9-3 in Game 1 of the ALDS. After the rain chased CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander last night, Ivan Nova and Doug Fister took the ball. The two righties battled before Robinson Cano got to Fister in the fifth with an RBI double. Cano would follow up with a grand slammer an inning later, giving the Bombers a 8-1 lead. Nova proved he could handle the big stage as the Yanks take a 1-0 lead in this best of five series.

See Ya---AP Photo

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The Yankees put on their ‘Clinch Day’ caps early this afternoon with a 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees followed up that 4-2 victory with another 4-2 victory in the night cap of the double header. Robinson Cano had a big two-run double in the first game and Jorge Posada had a clutch RBI single in the night cap. With the wins, the Yankees are officially your 2011 American League Champions. More importantly, the Yankees magic number for home field advantage is 3 with seven games to go!

Those are some UGLY hats...-AP Photo

Game Notes:

Game 1

-Big props to the Yankee bullpen for this one. Phil Hughes was a late scratch with a tight back. Joe Girardi was forced to scramble to put together a piecework stream of relievers. Well, Joe pushed the right buttons as the Yankee relievers only allowed two runs to a desperate Tampa Bay team. Mo came in in the ninth to lock down his 45th save and a Yankee playoff berth. 

-Major props to Eduardo Nunez. With the Yankees trailing James Shields and the Rays 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Nunie crushed a deep home run knotting the game up. Five hitters later, Robinson Cano blasted a two-run double off the center field wall. Clutch hitting baby. It’ll win us games in October.

Game 2

Big C got the start in Game 2. Sabathia hasn’t been great since his rain delayed start against the Seattle Mariners when he flirted with a perfect game. Nonetheless, the big man came out and threw 7.1 innings of two-run ball. He didn’t get his elusive 20th win and wasn’t exactly dominant, but gave the Yanks a good start. I’m not crazy with him throwing 130 pitches a week before the playoffs start, but I guess that’s baseball, Suzyn.

Jorge Posada had the big knock in this one. With the bases load, Jorgie stepped to the dish with the bases loaded and delivered an RBI single to right field in the eighth inning. Jorge’s hit was the game winner for the Bombers.

What’s Next?: The Yanks will go for the four-game sweep tomorrow against the Rays. The Rays are still only two games behind the Red Sox in the AL Wildcard race. Boston has been stinking up the joint against the O’s this week so these games matter. Let’s just sweep away the Rays and keep getting fat off our wins. 

Thursday, 7:05PM: Jeff Niemann (11-7, 3.95 ERA) vs. Bartolo Colon (8-9, 3.81 ERA)

For the second time this season, a New York Yankee hit a milestone. Mariano Rivera recorded his 600th career save tonight as the Yanks edged the M’s, 3-2. Rivera becomes only the second player in Major League history with 600 saves. Trevor Hoffman, who retired in the off-season, has 603 saves. Mo should blow by him next week. 

As for the game, AJ Burnett had probably one of the oddest outings I’ve ever seen. His command wasn’t that sharp and he threw two wild pitches, but recorded 11 Ks en-route to his 10th win of the year. More surprisingly, ten of the eleven strikeout came on curveballs. Odd stuff. Robbie Cano smacked his 26th homer as the Yankees improve to 90-57 on the season. The Magic Number sits at 8.

Another Day at the Office--AP Photo

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The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this afternoon by a score of 6-5. The Yankees snapped a four-game losing streak as Mariano Rivera saved his 599^th career game on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. With the victory, the Yankees move to 88-57 on the season.

Never Forget - AP

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For years, we’ve been hearing about Jesus Montero’s raw power. For years, we’ve been hearing about the moon shot homeruns. For years, we’ve heard the comparisons to Miguel Cabrera. Well, Montero hit the first (and second) of many home runs to come. Robbie Cano added in a Grand Slam in the second inning as the Yanks out-muscled the O’s, 11-10. 

The First of Many

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The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays tonight by a final score of 6-4. Bartolo Colon was serviceable, but Boone Logan picked up the win and Dave Robertson picked up a two-inning save as the Yankees take a full-game lead over the Red Sox in the division. 

Career Hit #1 for Jesus - Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

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