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Rays are not just another series for Yankees

Quick ReadYankees-Rays will never be Yankees-Red Sox, but the atmosphere, at least for this series, could be similar to what surrounds games involving the archrivals.

Tampa Bay Rays' Carl Crawford is congratulated after

Photo credit: AP | Tampa Bay Rays' Carl Crawford is congratulated after scoring in the sixth inning of the Rays' 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. (July 27, 2010)

Erik Boland

Newsday columnist Erik Boland Erik Boland

Boland has been at Newsday since 2002. Boland started at

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CLEVELAND

The Yankees' approach, from the time Joe Girardi addressed the team at the start of spring training, has been to "just win series," a phrase repeated often by the manager and his players.

Therefore, the battle between the American League East's top two teams - which starts Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. - is no more important than the series that concluded last night...

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