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NEW YORK -- The end came quietly for this years New York Yankees. No celebrations. No titles. No October baseball. Curtis Granderson was batting in the eighth inning Wednesday night when the Cleveland Indians completed a 7-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. And with that, the Yankees were mathematically eliminated from post-season contention in the middle of the seasons final week, even before they finished an 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. New York failed to make the post-season for the first time since 2008 and for only the second time in 19 years. Mariano Rivera will be in the bullpen Thursday night for his final game at Yankee Stadium -- hell be there in a regular season game with nothing at stake for New York, rather than on the post-season stage where he solidified his credentials as the greatest relief pitcher ever. "Ill be there for the fans. They deserve it," the 43-year-old said. "But it dont mean anything. Im not used to pitching for something that doesnt mean anything. I wanted to pitch for something that means something." Evan Longoria homered twice as the Rays won their sixth straight and lowered their magic number over Texas to three for clinching an AL wild-card berth. Slowed by age and hobbled by injury, the Yankees (82-76) failed to claim one of the 10 playoffs berths despite baseballs highest opening-day payroll at $230 million. "Its extremely disappointing, and back to the drawing board," manager Joe Girardi said. "It hurts." Since starting the latest run of success in 1995, New York had missed the playoffs only in 2008 -- when the team bid goodbye to old Yankee Stadium. This time, the Yankees are saying so long to Rivera and Andy Pettitte, who are retiring when the season ends Sunday. New York trailed by just one game for the second wild-card berth earlier this month before a series opener at Boston on Friday the 13th. But the Yankees have lost eight of 11, including three in a row. Before a quiet crowd of 37,260, they were eliminated from contention for a playoff berth on their own field for the first time since 1991. "Its a really sad feeling," said Robinson Cano, the All-Star second baseman who figures to secure a nine-figure contract this off-season. "The fun part of this game is playoffs. Im really sad right now, and its going to stick in my head, in my mind, until next season." Phil Hughes (4-14) allowed three runs and seven hits in two innings-plus, walking slowly to the dugout and looking up to the stands when he was removed from what likely was his final start with the Yankees. "Just a tough way to end things here -- not making the post-season," Hughes said. A key part of the Yankees 2009 title team as a reliever, Hughes went 0-7 with a 6.09 ERA in 13 starts since beating Minnesota on July 2. He is eligible for free agency after the World Series. "A lot of good times. A lot of bad times, I guess," he said. "Thats the way life is sometimes." Reliever Joba Chamberlain, also eligible for free agency, didnt even wait for mathematical elimination to prepare for his departure. Before batting practice, he started putting his locker belongings into a large box. New York started the season 30-18 and was in first place on the morning of May 26, but the solid start was not enough to overcome injuries to four All-Star regulars: shortstop Derek Jeter, third baseman Alex Rodriguez, first baseman Mark Teixeira and Granderson. Sidelined by the ankle he broke in last years AL championship series opener, Jeter didnt make his season debut until right before the All-Star break and wound up playing just 17 games because of recurring leg injuries. Teixeira, who injured a hand while with the U.S. team at World Baseball Classic in March, played in just 15 games and needed season-ending surgery. Rodriguez, coming back from hip surgery, and Granderson, the centre fielder who broke a forearm and pinkie when hit by pitches, each played about one-third of the season. In all, the Yankees have had a major league-leading 28 stints on the disabled list by 21 different players, according to STATS, and have missed 1,461 days -- more than four years worth. New Yorks home runs dropped from a team-record 245 last year to 143 this season -- on pace to be the Yankees fewest in a non-strike season since 1989. The departure of free agents Raul Ibanez, Nick Swisher, Russell Martin and Eric Chavez contributed to the power outage. "At times wed play good enough, but we just havent been consistent enough," said sparkplug outfielder Brett Gardner, out since straining his ribcage on Sept. 12. As for the Rays, Longoria drove in four runs and David Price (9-8) ended a five-start winless streak, one shy of his career worst. Price allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Longoria hit a three-run homer in the sixth off David Huff, and David DeJesus hit his second of the season on the next pitch. Longoria homered in the ninth off Preston Claiborne, his 31st of the season and ninth in 18 games this year against the Yankees. After it was over, the usually positive but now sombre Girardi thought back to the promise of the September series at Fenway Park, when New York was coming off three straight wins at Baltimore. "We were right there," he said. He kept believing until he saw the final score in Cleveland. "Today," he concluded, "was probably a reality check for me." NOTES: Somewhat appropriately on the day New York was eliminated, it was Charlie Brown bobblehead night. ... The Yankees put LHP CC Sabathia on the 15-day DL retroactive to Saturday and activated DH Travis Hafner, who had been sidelined since late July with a rotator cuff strain. ... 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Cheap Jerseys USA . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat.TORONTO – They didnt draw it up exactly like that, but it was a victory no less. In beating Mike Smith in the final round of the shootout, Joffrey Lupul gave the Maple Leafs two points they so desperately needed. With five losses in the previous six games (and 11 in the previous 15), the ship in Toronto was (and still remains) in danger of veering noisily off track, but with a victory on Thursday night, the positive vibes certainly perked up. "It starts with one," said Lupul, following the 2-1 win over Phoenix. "We had a pretty good effort tonight. Maybe we werent our sharpest, but we fought hard and we battled and we got two points. Now you take some positives from it, come to the rink tomorrow feeling a little bit better about ourselves than we did today. We just start building positively." What they would like and certainly need to build toward is some level of consistency. The Leafs have dotted a good effort here with a good effort there, only to have subpar, dispiriting performances in the middle. A strong performance against the Kings was followed with a dud in St. Louis. A mesmerizing upset of the Blackhawks was followed by two disappointing efforts against the Penguins and Panthers. "Weve had various challenges and the latest challenge is winning hockey games," Randy Carlyle said before Thursdays victory. "But weve done some good things in there so lets not just focus on the negatives and the biggest negative is we havent played well enough to win and thats going to have to change. Were going to have to continue to find a way to develop more consistency and make less mistakes than the opposition or the team were playing against." Buoyed by a rare goal from their fourth line – Troy Bodie – the Leafs were level, if not ahead of the Coyotes for the opening half of Thursdays game. They kept the action mostly to the perimeter in the defensive zone, limited chances in the so-called critical areas and demonstrated the workmanlike effort that was missing two nights earlier. Phoenix rallied late in the second and into the third and may have snatched victory entirely – tying the score in the final five minutes on a goal from Martin Hanzal – if not for the 34 saves of James Reimer. It was the kind of effort, amid an increasingly worrying slump, that the Leafs needed. "Youre always looking for somebody to step up for you and obviously our goaltending has been one of our strongest suits," said Carlyle. "Both guys have really given us A-level quality goaltending all year and tonight was just another example of James Reimer stepping up. Were very, very fortunate to have him." Reimer was blunt after Tuesdays 3-1 loss to Florida, stating that the Leafs "either have half a team or a full team that dont show up at parts", while noting that injuries and fatigue were "excuses and theyre useless". Making a surprise start (more in Five Points), he backed up those comments with a sturdy performance. "I wanted to come in here and have a good game," said Reimer. "When you stand up and say stuff you want to back it up with an honest, solid effort." Five Points 1. Surprise Start It appeared that Jonathan Bernier would start against the Coyotes when Thursdays morning skate kicked off, but that changed quickly when the 25-year-old disclosed that he was not at an optimal level physically. "When Bernier said he wasnt 110 per cent, we said okay thats fine well go with Reimer," Carlyle said. Nursing a minor ailment, according to Carlyle, Bernier hadnt been on the ice on either Tuesday or Wednesday (an off-day for the team, as detailed above) and thus the team felt it unwise to force him in against Phoenix at less than 100 per cent. Reimer, who allowed three goals on 23 shots in his last start against the Panthers, hadnt made back-to-back starts since late November. He improved to 3-0 in shootouts this season. "We did a good job of keeping shots to the outside, but he did a really good job of fighting through some screens and battling in there," said Lupul. "Thats the one thing we know we can count on Reims for is compete level and battle." 2. Reset Carlyle gave his team two options following another off-kilter performance against Florida on Tuesday night. "Either you do the workout [that night] or well have a practice [Wednesday] and they chose that theyd rather do the half-hour workout after the game and take the day off and then get themselves ready for today," said Carlyle. Wednesday was no off-day for the coaching staff though. They huddled together for a full-scale evaluation, wanting to determine positives that werent being accentuated while eliminating some of the negatives simmering amid an increasingly concerning stretch. They presented that plan to the group on Thursday morning, also emphasizing the need for more aggressiveness on the forecheck and in the defensive zone. "We willl eventually find ways to have success," Carlyle said.dddddddddddd "Weve got to push [out] everything that is happening outside. That white noise that we talk about has to become more of a reality – its on the outside of our circle." 3. Team Game Carlyles message on Thursday morning also included a pledge for the group to remain aligned with the team structure. "You cant have success in the National Hockey League without having a team thats going to play a system and play a strong team game," he said. Pointing to the five games that preceded Thursdays effort against Phoenix, Carlyle believed his team had improved on the forecheck, cut down on defensive miscues and allowed far fewer shots against (28 per game). It was the mistakes of individuals outside the system, he deemed, that were the problem. Case in point, Nazem Kadris offensive zone turnover which led to the Panthers first goal, Jake Gardiners indecisiveness with the puck which preceded the second, and Dion Phaneufs blunder which opened the door on the third. "And its cost us," said Carlyle. "You cant have mistakes that are going to continually be committed out there that are going to cost you goals." 4. Methods of Leadership Lupul, an alternate captain with the Leafs, said the team needed its leadership to set an example during a "really tough stretch of games" and in doing so, play within the aforementioned system. The tendency, he said, was to try to do more and in doing so, actually hurt the team by doing less. "You want to step up, but you want to make sure that youre staying with the team structure," said Lupul prior to Thursdays game. "Sometimes its easy to try and do too much and get off on your own page. You see that often when teams are struggling; guys really want to make an impact and theyre doing things that arent what usually makes them successful. Its a fine line between doing that and going out and just executing a good team game." 5. Fourth Line Troy Bodie was the only Leaf to beat Smith in regulation. Scoring his first as a Leaf, Bodie squeezed a rebound between the pads of the Phoenix netminder. The 28-year-old saw exactly one shift after that as Carlyle shortened his bench. "I didnt reward them much after that," said Carlyle. "They didnt play their fourth line and so do we play ours? We just made the decision we were going to stay with the lines that we had and went with it." Bodies marker was a rare contribution from the Toronto fourth line. "Any time you can get a contribution from your fourth line, its a huge bonus for the rest of your group," Carlyle said. "It elevates their value in the room, their self-worth, and they feel a lot better about themselves and they should be commended." Bonus Point I – Clarkson Assigned shutdown duties alongside Jay McClement and Nik Kulemin, David Clarkson played a season-high of nearly 22 minutes against the Coyotes. Though the line often had difficulty with the size of Phoenixs top grouping, which includes Martin Hanzal, Radim Vrbata and Tim Kennedy, Carlyle felt Clarkson made an impact on the game. "Much more involved," he said. Bonus Point II – Gardiner Carlyle met with Jake Gardiner on Thursday morning to address his recent benching against the Panthers. Gardiner remained on the bench for nearly 20 minutes of game action between the second and third periods. "Its not that hes been playing poorly," said Carlyle of the 23-year-old. "He had five or six good, strong games, but in two games, he makes mistakes and the puck ends up in our net – its hard to ignore as a coach. And I told him that. He feels that the mistakes he made are very easily improved [upon]... nd we agree. Hes a talented young player." Gardiner played 23 minutes against the Coyotes. Stats Pack 3-0 – Record for James Reimer in shootouts this season. 2 – Combined points in the past four games for the top line of Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri and James van Riemsdyk. 12 – Combined shots for Kessel, Kadri and van Riemsdyk against the Coyotes. 1 – Regulation wins for the Leafs since Nov. 19. 21:31 – Ice-time for David Clarkson on Thursday, a season-high. 7 – Points in the last seven games for Peter Holland, who added an assist against the Coyotes. 1 – Goal for Troy Bodie with the Leafs, the 28-year-old scoring his first on Thursday night. 17 – Points for Cody Franson this season, first on the Leafs defence. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 23.1% (4th) PK: 2-2Season: 77.6% (27th) Quote of the Night "Thats why I stayed around the net to take a peek." - James van Riemsdyk, on the shootout goal nearly disallowed on account of an ambiguous replay. Up Next The Leafs host the Red Wings for the first time this season during a Saturday night clash at the ACC. ' ' '