The baseball season is winding down and it looks like the Yanks are gearing up for the postseason.

Phil Hughes gave the Yanks six gutty innings, Jorge Posada blasted his 20th homer of the season and Jason Giambi delivered the death knell with a grand slam in the fifth as the Bombers crushed the Blue Jays 9-2 in Toronto.  The Yankees increased their winning streak to half a dozen and lead the Tigers by four games in the wild card chase.

It looked like New York was going to gain ground on the Red Sox in the AL East, but the Devil Rays blew an early 8-1 lead and now trail Boston 16-9 as I scribble this.  I guess the D-Rays aren't in last place for nothing.  Baring a miracle, the deficit in the East will remain at five games.

The Good:

Jason Giambi.  The Giambino was marred in a horrific slump when he stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth.  With one swing of the bat, he broke out of his rut and turned a tenuous 4-2 Yankee lead into a comfortable 8-2 advantage.  Jay Jay bopped a 3-2 pitch the other way for his lucky 13th home run of the season.  Jay also made the start at first base with no ill effects.  Nice.  Giambi finished 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 runs scored and 4 RBIs.

Jorge Posada.  Posada continued his incredible season with two more hits including his 20th dinger of the season.  His solo shot in the third came after the Jays cut the Yankee lead to 3-2 in the second inning.  It's Jorgie's seventh season with at least 20 homers and he still has an outside chance to drive in 100 runs for the second time in his career.  Not bad for 36-year-old catcher who plays nearly every day.  You would think it was his walk year or something.  Oh, yeah.  Posada finished 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 3 runs scored and an RBI.

Phil Hughes.  It looked bleak for Hughes at the beginning of this one.  He wiggled out of a bases loaded jam in the first and then was helped out by tremendous defense from Cabrera and Damon in the second (the defense hurt him later in the inning when Melky's throwing error allowed a run to score), but the kid regrouped and picked up his third win of the season.  Hughes still missed spots throughout the night, but his fastball had pop and he retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced (the only runner he didn't retire reached on an A-Rod error).  Call it a grind out victory for the rookie.  Hughes' second straight victory went something like this: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 earned), 3 BB, 1 K.

The Bad:

Hideki Matsui.  Godzilla is in the midst of a 2 for 31 skid and looked terrible in three of his four at-bats on Tuesday night.  Matsui is bailing on almost every pitch and was especially frustrated after popping out to third with the bases loaded in the sixth.  Still, Hideki picked up a sac fly in his last at-bat and has been a streaky hitter in his stint in pinstripes.  He'll break out of it.  This weekend series against the Red Sox would be a good time.  Matsui finished 0 for 4 with an RBI and left seven runners on base. 

The Ugly:

Rogers Centre/Skydome.  Remember when the Blue Jays used to play in front of a packed house every night?  Yeah, those days seem long gone now.  The attendance for Tuesday night's game in Toronto was announced at 30,472, but a quick look around the stadium would tell you that those numbers were inflated.  The dwindling attendance at Rogers Centre isn't anything new, but I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the days when a Blue Jays-Yankees match-up was a big deal.  Now, when the ballpark is packed it's mostly filled with Yankee fans who made the trip up north.  There's nothing wrong with that, but I feel like pining for days of yesteryear.

Joe Torre will place the ball in Mike Mussina's shoe for the middle game of the series on Wednesday night.  It will be The Moose's first start since his three inning debacle against the Tigers on Aug. 27 (3 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 0 K).  Mussina did make his first regular season relief appearance last week against Seattle and he pitched marginally better -- marginally (3.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K).  The Jays will send Dustin McGowan and his 10-8, 3.90 vitals to the hill.  McGowan has pitched well so far in September (2-0, 1.69 ERA) and is 2-0 against the Yanks this season.

Kinda like the immovable object versus the irresistible force on Wednesday.