Is There Anything to Play For?
In this new day and age of wildcard races and "playoff seeding," the Yankees are one game ahead of Anaheim (and two in front of Oakland) for the #1 overall seed in the AL postseason. It's hard to express how much this doesn't matter to anyone in the clubhouse, though they will say all the right things to the press. Since the wildcard will come from the AL West and a division winner can't open the playoffs against a wildcard from its own division, the Yankees will play either Oakland or Anaheim. Fate suggests that it will be the A's, again, battling first-round pintsripe-phobia.

Are There Any Individual Incentives?
Let's see ... Bernie Williams has a chance at his second career batting title ... Jason Giambi (113) is the only Yankee with 100 RBI but Williams (97), Alfonso Soriano (95), Jorge Posada (93) and Robin Ventura (92) all have a shot ... Derek Jeter is trying to get back over .300 for the season and start a roll for the playoffs ... Soriano is just two dingers shy of the artificial 40/40 statistical bauble ... He also has a chance to break the club's single-season strikeout record, already fifth behind Roberto Kelly, Jesse Barfield, Posada in 2000 and "leader" Danny Tartabull.

What's Up With the Rotation?
David Wells was in a fight in a diner. Anyone who selected "September" in the "How long before Boomer gets in a brawl?" sweepstakes was an optimist -- and wins. Orlando Hernandez threw a punch at Posada, and though they're claiming to be friends, that probably seals Duque's ticket out of town in the off-season -- and his ticket to the bullpen for the post-season. Jeff Weaver and Andy Pettitte have been great, and Mike Mussina has improved, which bodes well for 2003. But, from the "it'll never happen" file, with apologies to a struggling Roger Clemens, a four-man playoff rotation of Mussina, Pettitte, Weaver and Wells would be best right now.

Probable Starters 9/16: OFF DAY 9/17: Hernandez @ TB (Wilson) 9/18: Wells @ TB (Zambrano) 9/19: Mussina @ TB (Brazelton) 9/20: Clemens @ DET (Beverlin)

Okay, What About Mariano Rivera?
The most dominant closer in post-season history -- say what you want about the Game 7 aberration in Arizona, the guy is 6-1 with 24 saves and an ERA of 0.80 in postseason play --threw batting practice on Thursday. This qualifies as good news because he also threw on Tuesday and admitted to no pain in his strained right shoulder. In an ideal world, Rivera would be activated late next week, pitch a couple of non-pressure innings against Tampa Bay, rack up a couple of saves against Baltimore, and be ready for Division play. In other words, expect no help the rest of the season, and hang on to Steve Karsay for postseason fantasy leagues just in case.

Any Post-Season Roster Spots Up For Grabs?
Surprisingly, yes. Joe Torre has pretty much thrown the LF job wide open down the stretch, and is giving incumbent Rondell White, fan favorite Shane Spencer and rook Juan Rivera the chance to impress him. Given Spencer's recent injuries, White's season-long ineptitude and Rivera's unbelieveable comeback from "season-ending" injury to demonstrate terrific defensive skills and a Mondesi-like arm, expect the kid to make the roster. If Spencer can show he's healthy over the next two weeks, White will probably develop a mysterious ailment an hour or so before playoff rosters are due.