Yankees' loss to Red Sox gives AL East title to Rays

BOSTON - Alex Rodriguez said this week starts with a "blank canvas." And Derek Jeter said the fact that the Yankees staggered to the regular- season finish line simply won't be relevant come Wednesday.

After getting the help they needed when the Royals beat the Rays twice and then winning the opener of their own series to take control of their destiny, the Yankees couldn't close the deal, losing two straight to the Red Sox, including yesterday's uninspired 8-4 loss at Fenway Park.

The Yankees (95-67), who went 9-17 in their final 26 games, open the postseason as the American League wild card against the Twins in Minneapolis.

"Doesn't matter," said Jeter, who went 2-for-5 to finish with a .270 average. "If we'd won every game the last couple months, it doesn't matter when you start [the playoffs]. Everybody's 0-0. It has absolutely no bearing on what happens in the playoffs."

Andy Pettitte, who figures to pitch ALDS Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 5, sounded almost defiant about how little the finish impacts the playoffs. "We're going to Minnesota and I'm excited about it," he said. "This is what you come back for, to get to the postseason, and we've got another chance. The bottom line is we're the world champs and until someone beats us, we're the world champs. We're looking forward to trying to defend this thing. It's going to be tough, nobody thought this was going to be easy. But you have to embrace it, accept the challenge."

By virtue of a tiebreaker advantage over the Yankees, the Rays clinched the AL East title when the Yankees lost yesterday, then finished one game ahead by rallying for a 3-2, 12-inning victory over the Royals.

Wins in the final two games here would have given the Yankees first place and home-field advantage in the AL playoffs.

"It would be stupid to sit here and say you don't care about how you finish," Pettitte said. "But does it matter once you get to the postseason? No. I'm living proof of that. I've seen it happen more than once. We'll get there and find out if we're going to be able to do this or not. All the questions, all the speculation is over, and we're going to find out Wednesday. I think everyone on this team is looking forward to it."

Dustin Moseley (4-4) - named yesterday's starter at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday just after Boston captured a 7-6, 10-inning victory in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader - allowed a two-run homer by J.D. Drew in the first inning, and after the Yankees tied it on Nick Swisher's 29th homer and Alex Rodriguez's RBI single, he gave up a two-run homer by Jed Lowrie in the fifth for a 4-2 Boston lead. Lowrie's second homer, a solo shot off Joba Chamberlain in the seventh, made it 8-2.

Robinson Cano's RBI single in the eighth was his 200th hit of the year and gave him 109 RBIs, 16 fewer than Rodriguez. Jeter had an RBI single in the ninth.

Joe Girardi now will huddle with general manager Brian Cashman, among others, to put the finishing touches on the 25-man postseason roster and settle on a rotation. Girardi said he'll make the rotation announcement Tuesday in Minnesota. The Yankees, who played three games in a 24-hour period here, will be completely off Monday before flying Tuesday morning.

"You'd love to win your division and have home-field advantage," Girardi said. "But the bottom line is we're in the playoffs, and once you get in, you have to play well. We're going to be one of eight teams. There's a lot of people that would trade position with us right now."