T Minus 9: Yanks Win, O's Split

I had just one small request yesterday for the Toronto Blue Jays: That they take one game in their doubleheader against the Orioles. Request granted. Had they not done that, and had the Yankees lost last night, the Orioles would be in sole possession of first place this morning. But the Yankees lead by 1.5 games, so all  is well in Yankees Universe right now.

Right now. Things could be drastically different by the time the Yankees land in Toronto later this week. As I  said in my previous post, this is Armageddon. 

Can the Yankees survive Armageddon? After what Nick Swisher said last night, I'm beginning to think they can. According to the LoHud Yankees Blog, a confident Swisher said:

"In this locker room, coming down the stretch, there’s no stress. We’ve got the leaders and the veterans who have been there before, and we look to them for guidance.”

Those leaders and veterans include Andy Pettitte, who overcame some early-game shakiness to put together  his second straight scoreless outing; Derek Jeter, who extended his hitting streak to 18 games; Raul Ibanez, who hit yet another home run; and Ichiro Suzuki, named AL Player Of The Week yesterday. 

Nine games to go. Phil Hughes takes the baton tonight. Hopefully he can pass it along without dropping it. Go Yankees and, well, go Blue Jays.