Bombers sweep Sox, clinch AL East crown  —  The Yankees finally can christen their new home with Champagne after they clinched the American League East title and home field advantage in the playoffs Sunday afternoon against - of all teams - their bitter rivals, the Red Sox.

Pioneer League Top 20 Prospects  —  Top draft picks by Angels, Diamondbacks help stock list  —  The Pioneer League's season stretched to Sept. 11, making it anywhere from 10 days to two weeks longer than any other Rookie-level circuit.  The quirky schedule gave several premium 2009 draft picks …

Beckett out, Bowden in  —  The Red Sox have made a surprising last-minute pitching change, with Michael Bowden getting the start in place of Josh Beckett tonight against the Blue Jays.  —  The Globe's Tony Massarotti reports that the cause is mild back spasms.

Keeping Uribe seems obvious  —  (09-27) 21:23 PDT San Francisco — There exists a player who sounds as though he wants to be a Giant next year.  This year, he is hitting .299 in 378 at-bats.  Project his numbers over 500 at-bats and he would have 20 homers and 70 RBIs.

Fancy new stadium awaits Twins  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins' warm-up space for pinch-hitters at the Metrodome is a cross between a toolshed and a neglected restroom in a gas station.  —  There's a dirty sink and dusty paper towel dispenser.  Electrical cords hang on the wall.

Lester looking good in long toss  —  Greetings from Fenway Park.  Shaping up to be a beautiful fall evening for tonight's game against the Blue Jays.  —  Jon Lester is in the bullpen right now throwing a side session and, from our perch in the Fenway press box, he is looking pretty good.

TIGERS AND TWINS OPEN CRUCIAL SERIES AT COMERICA PARK  —  The Sports Network  —  (Sports Network) - With one week remaining in the regular season, the American League Central title remains very much up for grabs.  The picture should become a little clearer, however, when the division-leading Detroit Tigers …

Mets 4, Marlins 0: Dress-up time  —  Pat Misch shut out the Marlins on the one-year anniversary of the last time a Met blanked a team with a complete game, when Johan Santana had a shutout against Florida in the second-to-last game at Shea Stadium.  And Jeff Francoeur homered and took away a homer with a leaping catch.

Nats' MVP started at the top  —  Morgan was catalyst for offense before season-ending injury  —  Quick, who has been the Washington Nationals' MVP in 2009?  Ryan Zimmerman?  Adam Dunn?  John Lannan?  —  While there are certainly arguments to be made for any of those guys …

Leader's choice: Yanks decide ALDS setup  —  With league's best record, New York determines length  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees have clinched.  Now they must choose.  —  For the third consecutive season, by virtue of winning the All-Star Game, the American League team with the best record …

Rangers Notes: Byrd, Holland, Feliz  —  It's hard to gauge what the Texas Rangers will look to do this offseason.  There are reports that they are interested in acquiring outfielder Milton Bradley from the Cubs, who would likely eat a large chunk of the $21MM owed to him over the next two years of his contract.

Bullpen issues led to 1964 Phillies collapse  —  JACK BALDSCHUN was the Brad Lidge of a generation that still bears the psychic scars of the most infamous collapse in baseball history.  I heard Ray Didinger say on WIP Saturday that the trauma of what happened to the 1964 Phillies nearly caused …

PIRATES RALLY LATE, PREVENT DODGERS FROM CLINCHING NL WEST  —  PITTSBURGH — Right-fielder Andre Ethier misplayed Lastings Milledge's two-run single for an error that allowed the winning run to score, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for four in the ninth inning to beat the Dodgers 6-5 …