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NEW YORK -- The Yankees clinched the American League East title with a doubleheader sweep over the desperate Rays on Wednesday. And they did so poetically: Jorge Posada (declining, benched and believed by many to be finished) drove in the go-ahead runs, and Rafael Soriano (hurt early and eventually stripped of his setup role) got the save. Together, Posada and Soriano helped the Yankees claim the bcs football rankings ir 12th division title in 16 years. And together they summarized the season of manager Joe Girardi -- the tough decisions he had to make and the undying loyalty that eventually paid off. Girardi will never get the credit he deserves, because the payroll on his team is too big and the talent on his roster is too good. But it's hard not to love the job he has done with this 2011 squad. This season, bcs football rankings he may have been the most important Yankee of all. "Joe doesn't get talked about enough," third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. "He does such a fantastic job with our team. We have a good mix of young players, we have a good, veteran core group and he does a great job with our coaching staff, the leaders of this team. He's our leader. We love Joe. We lost our seventh-inning guy, our eighth-inning guy bcs football rankings , our third baseman, our shortstop, Phil Hughes, and overall, he still managed us, always kept us under composure, and for me, he's the Manager of the Year." On the AL side, that award may go to another Joe who's managing at Yankee Stadium this week -- Maddon, whose Rays rank 29th in payroll, play in baseball's toughest division and still are playing meaningful late-September games.Truth is, there bcs football rankings 's only failure when guiding a team with a $200-plus million payroll and a world of expectations. Joe Torre was able to win AL Manager of the Year honors twice in pinstripes (in 1996 and '98), but the impact of a skipper -- especially a Yankees skipper -- will always be trumpeted by the impact of his players. Girardi will tell you that. "Players have to make plays," he said after his club wrapped bcs football rankings up a 4-2, Game 2 win over Tampa Bay. "That's the bottom line."And it's true. I mean, just think about the end of the doubleheader nightcap. If Posada doesn't come through with the bases loaded and two outs in a 2-2 game in the bottom of the eighth, Girardi is killed for going with a .238 hitter when A-Rod and Derek Jeter were waiting on the bench. And if Soriano gives up the lead in the ninth, eve bcs football rankings ryone's knocking Girardi for not using Mariano Rivera. But it's what Girardi has done throughout the season that deserves praise -- or at least some recognition. He got the most out of a starting rotation that had no clear answers after CC Sabathia. He managed a bullpen that was supposed to be the Yankees' biggest strength, but at times was their biggest weakness with injuries to Joba Chamberlain bcs football rankings , Pedro Feliciano and Soriano. He dealt with the slow start of Jeter, and questions about whether he should be moved down in the lineup or out of shortstop. Girardi stuck to his guns, and Jeter re-emerged. And with Posada, he undertook a manager's most difficult task: Telling an icon he was no longer fit to do his job. Girardi helped move Posada from behind the plate, then removed him as a starte bcs football rankings r -- all unpopular decisions that may have been fatal to whatever may be left of the Girardi-Posada relationship. But sometimes managers have to make those calls. As champagne flowed from the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium late Wednesday night, none of that seemed to matter. "It's been a tough year, but I don't look at the past," Posada said. "I look at the future, I look at the day by day, I keep mo bcs football rankings ving forward, and we have something special going on here and hopefully we can continue this ride."After the Yankees clinched a postseason spot with a Game 1 victory, Rivera said, "Nobody gave us a shot." And while that may be a little too drastic for a franchise this pristine, the fact is very few believed at the start of the year that the Yankees -- and not the Red Sox -- would wind up as the AL bcs football rankings East champs. But here they are. The Red Sox are on a slippery slope at the wrong time -- dropping 12 of 15, including Wednesday night's game to give New York the division -- while the Yankees are on the verge of wrapping up home-field advantage until the World Series. For that, a lot of credit goes to the surprising contributions of Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova, David Robertson, Russel bcs football rankings l Martin and Eric Chavez. To the star-studded performances of Sabathia, Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira, among others. And to the grace of Rivera, Jeter and Posada. But let's not forget about the manager. "People don't see from a fan standpoint, but he's been able to do a great job," Granderson said. "We all respect him, and we're all going to do what he asks us to do." bcs football rankings
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