Yankees vs. Orioles: Looking Ahead To the Remainder of the ALDS

(Patrick Semansky/AP)

By Bernadette Pasley | @LadyBatting

It should not surprise anyone that the ALDS series between the Orioles and Yankees is tied at a game apiece. These two teams know quite a bit about ties. After all, they sat tied atop the AL East for what seemed like the entire month of September. They split their last regular season series of the year. They split their 18-game season series. Even Game 1 of the ALDS was tied at 2 for four long innings on Sunday night.

Things will remain tied today, a travel day before the series resumes tomorrow night in the Bronx. All the remaining games will be at Yankee Stadium, which leads one to believe that the Yankees now have home field advantage. But, do they really? I don’t think so.

Final Regular Season MLB Power Rankings - October 4, 2012

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

The road to the World Series begins on October 5 with the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals set to face off against the team they caught from behind last season to reach the 2011 playoffs, the Atlanta Braves in the afternoon play-in game. In the night game the Texas Rangers meet the Baltimore Orioles after each team succumbed to their division competitors in the final days of the regular season.

The division series this year will run in a 2-3 format, with the lower seed hosting the first two games of the series and then the final three games will be played in the higher seed's park.

The winner of each one game playoff mentioned earlier will determine who gets to welcome the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees to their respective ballparks. In the other matchups, the San Francisco Giants will host the Cincinnati Reds, and the Oakland Athletics will travel to Detroit to face the Tigers.

As for the rest of the league this is a time to evaluate the year and begin to shape rosters for the 2013 season. So, here are the final regular season rankings. Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

MLB Power Rankings - September 24, 2012

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

Since last week's rankings went up three National League teams earned postseason berths with the Cincinnati Reds winning the NL Central, the San Francisco Giants winning the NL West and the Washington Nationals who are closing in on the NL East title, securing at least a wild card bid.

The Atlanta Braves are inching closer to a playoff appearance which alluded them in 2011 after a massive collapse. The St. Louis Cardinals, who overtook the Braves last season are being pursued closest by division rival Milwaukee Brewers after the Crew has staged a magnificent two month blitz and the Los Angeles Dodgers who haven't played all that well since May.

In the American League all spots are very much up in the air. In the AL East, New York and Baltimore are separated by one game with the Rays holding on. The same differential holds true in the AL Central between Chicago and Detroit. The Texas Rangers have had a hard time closing the Oakland A's and Los Angeles Angels out of the AL West race but still have a fairly big lead (4 games) with ten games remaining. The Yankees, Orioles, Rays, A's and Angels are all contenders for the wild card spots after the division races filter out.

So, here are the power rankings for this week. Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

Yankees Injured Pitcher Michael Pineda Arrested for DUI

Kim Klement/US PRESSWIRE

By Jim Pratt | @BigLeaguesMthly

New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was pulled over early Monday morning in Tampa, FL for suspicion of DUI after being seen driving erratically in his Nissan SUV.  

According to published reports by The New York Post, the Tampa police officer that arrested Pineda at 2:35 am wrote that he "had a fixed gaze and his eyes were bloodshot, watery and glassy" and that he “could smell a distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, and his speech was slurred".

It was also reported that Pineda’s “blood-alcohol level was found to be .128 and .125 in two separate readings, according to police records.”

The injured pitcher was eventually charged with driving under the influence of alcohol before being released on a $500 bond.

Pineda has been living in the Tampa area while recovering from season-ending surgery to repair a labrum tear in his right shoulder.

CC Sabathia Feels Good After Playing Catch, Should Return On Schedule



(Jason Szenes/New York Times)

By Jim Pratt | @BigLeaguesMthly

CC Sabathia played catch on Thursday for the first time since the injury and reported no discomfort as he left the field … “It felt really good, I didn’t feel anything in the elbow, so I am confident. I’m just looking forward to pitching next Friday.” – New York Post

Sabathia made it clear he didn’t want to go on the DL to begin with, pleading his case to manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman.

Waking up the day after throwing a complete game against the Seattle Mariners on August 3, Sabathia couldn’t touch his left shoulder withhis left hand. After an MRI revealed no structural damage, he was allowed to make his next scheduled start in the rotation. Although he threw less than 100 pitches against Detroit, Sabathia once felt soreness in the elbow.