Was that a great reaction to McCann’s homer in yesterday’s series finale or what? Chris Archer had been unhittable and the Yankees looked totally overmatched against him for most of the game. Actually, their offense had been pretty anemic, period, during the weekend series, not helped by Ellsbury’s stomach bug, Teixeira’s missing bat and A-Rod’s late summer swoon. But thanks to McCann, who is finally proving why the Yankees paid him all that money to play in the Bronx, along with A-Rod, brought the team back to life to finish off the Rays and keep pace with the annoyingly successful Blue Jays.

This is turning into some dog fight as we head toward the finish line. If the Yankees could just string some wins together – 10 would be nice but I’ll take 5 – and overtake the Jays, I’d feel better. The division title is within reach, but the Yankees need to win games, not simply rely on the Jays to lose. They need to beat the O’s over the next few days and then really turn it up a few notches in their head-to-head contests with the Jays. The Wild Card is just too precarious a spot to be in. For me it’s the division or bust.