I'm sure the Yankees were not trying to tank that game near the end there. 
bull****. I hate the Yankees with all my heart, but Giaradi had every right to manage his team the way he saw fit. If that includes resting his players, making 18,000 pitching changes a game and playing the scrubs, then so be it. The Yankees didn't owe the Red Sox anything. And if you think about it, the Yankees kept the Red Sox alive in the hunt by taking 3 of 4 from the Rays last week. Without that, this penant race would have been over last week.
Did they get a little joy by keeping the Sox out of the playoffs? Maybe, but that doesn't mean they intentionally threw games (although I do question why Texiera didn't score from second on a clean double). The Sox have no one to blame but themselves. They assumed they'd be able to coast into the playoffs and it came back to bite them in the ass. The Rays had the will, desire and guts to fight to the bitter end, the Sox were the complete opposite. The only ones pulling their weight the last month were Ellsbury, Pedroia and Papelbon (although he blew it last night). Everyone else were a bunch of entitled prima donnas who couldn't pitch, couldn't play defense or get the big hit when needed. They deserved everything that happened to them and deserve all the criticism they're receiving now. Maybe this will light a fire under their asses and they'll play a complete ******* season next year, start to finish. The difference between the Yanks and Sox is that the Yanks play for the division and the Sox play just to make the playoffs (ie, the wild card). At least the Yanks have something to fall back back on if they falter a bit. We all saw what happened to the Sox - another third place finish (by the so called "greatest team ever").
I can't with good conscience root for another AL East team and I don't really like Texas, so I'll be rooting for Detroit in the AL and Philly in the NL.
