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I'll go more in-depth in a bit, but even though it's early May, this week's series against the Rays is a big one for the Yankees. They sit 3 1/2 games behind the Rays and Orioles in the AL East in this first season that places the ultimate premium on winning the division.

“Every game’s big at this point,” said Nick Swisher. “That’s the AL East. No matter what else happens, it’s going to boil down to the last week of the season anyway. We’ve just got to keep playing hard, get healthy, get our guys back on the field, and we think everything will take care of itself.”

The Rays are throwing their best starters at New York's lineup, James Shields, Jeff Niemann and David Price. Yankees starting pitching has shown signs of improvement and the offense

Yankees pitchers and catchers report in 20 days. Less than two months later, they begin the season at Tropicana Field against their AL East rival Rays. Major League Baseball released start times for Opening Weekend and first pitch at the Trop is 3:10 p.m. on Friday, April 6.

The following evening presents a Saturday night special with a 7:10 p.m. start time. After wrapping up their first trip to St. Pete, the Yankees travel to Baltimore for three games at Camden Yards (April 9-10-11). After an off day, it's the home opener against Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson and the L.A. Angels on Friday, April 13 at 1:05 p.m. The national television outlets were quick to notice this matchup, so FOX is airing the 4/14 game at 1 and ESPN the Sunday nighter at 8 p.m.

Click here for the full season schedule.

I sat home on Wednesday night, September 28, 2011. By the time the lights were finally turned out the popular consensus was that all fans that stayed up to watch four riveting games with major playoff implications end within 89 minutes of each other had experienced the greatest regular-season day in the history of the game.

All four games were No. 162 on the respective schedules of the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. One participant, the Orioles, was living the redemptive life of a spoiler. The other was, of course, the Yankees, who maintained the integrity of the game while also making the smart decisions in preparations for Game 1 of the ALDS Friday night in the Bronx. What made all this especially abnormal was how Red Sox fans

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jomes LF
Jesus Montero C
Eduardo Nunez 2B

Pitching: Dellin Betances (0-0, 27.00)

Desmond Jennings LF
B.J. Upton CF
Evan Longoria 3B
Matt Joyce RF
Johnny Damon DH
Ben Zobrist 2B
Casey Kotchman 1B
Kelly Shoppach C
Reid Brignac SS

Pitching: David Price (12-13, 3.35)

Here's the Red Sox lineup tonight in Baltimore:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Ryan Lavarnway C
J.D. Drew RF
Marco Scutaro SS
Carl Crawford LF
Mike Aviles 3B

Pitching: Jon Lester (15-9, 3.49)

These were the AL Wild Card standings on September 3, 2011:
Boston          84    54    .609   
Tampa Bay    75    63    .543    9

Here's where the teams stand on September 27, 2011 with two games to play in the regular season:
Tampa Bay    89    71    .556    --
Boston          89    71    .556    --

Incredibly, the Red Sox have blown the largest September lead in the history of baseball and their destiny is no longer in their hands. And going by the numbers, it may get a lot worse, with one of the few things

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Jorge Posada 1B
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez RF
Brett Gardner LF

Pitching: Hector Noesi (2-1, 4.14)

Desmond Jennings LF
B.J. Upton CF
Evan Longoria 3B
Ben Zobrist 2B
Johnny Damon DH
Matt Joyce RF
Casey Kotchman 1B
Kelly Shoppach C
Reid Brignac SS

Pitching: James Shields (15-12, 2.84)

If you’re a Yankees fan you begin your week sitting pretty and enjoying either the Red Sox’s collapse or the Rays’ frantic race to sneak into the postseason (or both). The Yankees have nothing to play for except pride and to figure out how to construct their roster for the Division Series. They end the season with three games against the Rays in St. Petersburg, where they start the series with Hector Noesi opposing James Shields and a lineup that may not include Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano, each of whom played all 14 innings of Sunday’s Game 2 loss to Boston. Joe Girardi isn’t going to field a Triple-A team these final three days, but I’m sure Red Sox Nation’s collective insides will be churning having to root for the Yankees against a Rays

Tonight (YES, 7 p.m.)
Hector Noesi (2-1, 4.14) vs. James Shields (15-12, 2.84)

Tuesday (My 9, 7 p.m.)
Bartolo Colon (8-10, 4.02) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.90)

Wednesday (YES, 7 p.m.)
TBA vs. David Price (12-13, 3.35)

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC

Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter SS
Robinson Cano DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada 1B
Andruw Jones LF
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Austin Romine C

Pitching: Hector Noesi (2-1, 4.01)

Desmond Jennings LF
B.J. Upton CF
Evan Longoria 3B
Matt Joyce RF
Johnny Damon DH
Casey Kotchman 1B
Jose Lobaton C
Elliot Johnson 2B
Reid Brignac SS

Pitching: James Shields (15-11, 2.78)