Yanks clinch 9th straight AL East title
 

The New York Yankees won their ninth straight American League East division title Wednesday night. The Yankees lost 3-2 loss to theToronto Blue Jays but clinched the division title when the second-place Boston Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins 8-2.

The Yankees were still spraying champagne all over the clubhouse and dousing each other with beer when Derek Jeter, wiping the sting from his eyes, made sure to mention the big picture. "They should enjoy it, but also they should realize that the season's just getting started," Jeter said.

In other words, when you play in pinstripes, division championships are expected. True success is measured only in World Series rings.

The Bronx Bombers began the day needing one win or a Red Sox loss to clinch. Blue Jays reliever B.J. Ryan quickly closed out the Yankees in the ninth inning, but Boston's game went final about 30 minutes later, setting off a raucous celebration in New York's normally composed clubhouse.

"The celebration is lasting a little longer, that's the biggest thing that's stood out so far," said Jeter, who was drenched in bubbly by a swarm of teammates. "You can talk about this payroll and that payroll, it's still difficult to win. Winning year after year says a lot about our organization."

The Yankees became the second team to qualify for the playoffs this season after the crosstown Mets wrapped up their first NL East title since 1988 on Monday night.

To do it, the Yankees had to endure a trying season and overcome major injuries to Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield and Robinson Cano.

"It didn't look good at the beginning, but these guys persevered," said Sheffield, who came off the disabled list Tuesday.

And maybe that's why manager Joe Torre, outfielder Bernie Williams and the rest of the bunch partied like first-time winners Wednesday night.

"I've done it before but it never gets old," Torre said.

In other AL games, it was: Detroit 6, Chicago 2; Oakland 4, Cleveland 3; Los Angeles 3, Kansas City 0; Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 2; and Seattle 6, Texas 3.

The race between the Red Sox and Yankees was close much of the season until New York swept a five-game series at Fenway Park from Aug. 18-21, increasing its lead to 6 1/2 games over Boston.

New York's lineup got a big boost when the team acquired Bobby Abreu in a trade with Philadelphia on July 30, while Boston was hurt by a rash of injuries and illnesses this summer. David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, Curt Schilling, Jon Lester and Trot Nixon were among the key players who missed extensive time.

"It ended the way it was supposed to end. They played a lot better than us over the course of the season," Schilling said in Boston. "I don't think we opened the door for them as much as they kicked it in."

Last season, the Yankees clinched the AL East title with a win in Boston on the penultimate day of the regular season. But the Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Angels.

"We can't leave nothing on the table this time," Sheffield said. "This is the year."