The Tampa Bay Rays and the fans are losing faith after a rough mid-week series with the New York Yankees. The series concludes Thursday as the Rays attempt to salvage one win against the hot New York Yankees.

The Rays will face the Yankees in a week and if they play as poorly at home as they have in Yankee Stadium, their wild card hopes will be destroyed. Make sure you check out all of the baseball props at Legends.com.

For the series finale Thursday September 22 the Yankees will send the vulnerable Bartolo Colon (8-9) to the mound to face Jeff Niemann (11-7). The odds are in the Rays favor to salvage a win in the series after a spirited game on Wednesday night.

Niemann has won seven of his last 10 starts and he did beat the New York Yankees 5-1 in his last start, allowing just one run in seven plus innings.

The Rays carried a 2-2 tie into the eighth inning but the Yankees bats rose to the occasion. Nick Swisher led it off with a double, followed by walks to Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano to load the bases for pinch-hitter Jorge Posada.

The embattled Posada came through in the clutch with a two RBI single giving the Yankees the lead 4-2. Rafael Soriano received a rare save opportunity as the all-time MLB saves leader, Mariano Rivera, looked on.

The third win in the series dims the hopes of the Rays who are now locked in a wild card battle with the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox.

Check out MLB Betting for this matchup closer to the opener Friday.

The Yankees will be the favorites in this game, as they have the better record and they are the home team, but you certainly can’t count out the Mets in this one. The Mets are 7-3 in their last 10 games and they look like they are on their way up, getting fuel from their rejuvenated lineup.

The Yankees seem to be on the way down, losing their last 5 games and winning just 3 of their last 10 games. They were passed by the Tampa Bay Rays this past week in the American League East Standings.

The Mets have seen more production from Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran recently. Big seasons from both of those players could help them find their way back to the playoffs, despite suffering from a poor start to the season.

The Yankees have recently been troubled with drama from longtime players. Jorge Posada has struggled all season and was moved to the 9th spot in the order. He recently made some complaints and refused to play in a game because he did not want to bat 9th in the lineup. This has caused a stir in the organization and it could be a distraction for the Yankees until they take care of the problem.

Pettitte, the MLB all-time leader in playoff wins, is expected to officially announce his retirement at a news conference at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

Many saw this coming, especially after the Yankees were disappointedly eliminated from the 2010 MLB Playoffs against the Texas Rangers.

No pitcher in Major League Baseball history has more playoff wins than Pettitte, who has 19. The next closest is John Smoltz with 15, followed by Tom Glavine with 14 and Roger Clemens with 12.

ESPN reported Thursday that Pettitte phoned Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner to tell him of his decision.

Pettitte will turn 39 on June 15 and has made hints about retiring for several seasons, but only starting talking seriously about it last season.

The Yankees seemed to be holding out hope that, as he’s done in the past, Pettitte would reconsider as spring training drew closer. And that hope became more urgent when the Yankees failed to sign Cliff Lee as a free agent this winter.

This deal will likely have little effect on MLB Futures Betting.

He is expected to become a complement to the existing outfield team, and a contrast to the left handed batting of his fellow outfielders, Brett Gardener and Curtis Granderson as a powerful right hander hitter. Although no longer in his young days, Jones still maintains his strong stats, bringing in 19 home runs and keeping a .558 average last season.

The 33 year old will be taking a $2 million contract for one year, and will have the opportunity to earn more through various incentives. Earnings from incentives will vary from $150,000 to $250,000 for different plate appearances. These incentives could bring him an additional $1.2 million.

He started an impressive 41 games in the right field for the White Sox, so he could very well be playing out his yearlong contract as a right fielder for the Yankees.

Jones made his first impression on Yankee Stadium 15 years ago, hitting 2 home runs in his first game at the stadium. He is one of only two players from visiting teams to hit that many homers in a Yankee Stadium World Series Game.

After this impressive feat so many years ago, Jones was compared to Hank Aaron. Now the Yankees are expecting him to be the next Marcus Thames, and hoping that his accomplishments will make him a solid addition to the team.

The sportsbook betting lines predict this move will undoubtedly increase the Phillies chances of winning the 2011 World Series in MLB Betting Odds.

The 32-year old lefthander was traded last December 16th by Philadelphia to Seattle, then Seattle swapped him to the Texas Rangers this past July. Lee helped the Rangers reach their first World Series, but became a free agent on November 1st.

Most observers figured he couldn’t turn down what the New York Yankees would offer him. But on December 15th, a day shy of what would have been a year since they traded him, Cliff Lee became a Phillie once more.

Lee turned down offers from the Yankees and Rangers, both of which were reportedly significantly higher than what the Phillies offered. The length of the contract was a departure from Philadelphia’s traditional policy of not offering contracts of longer than three years, which is the length of Roy Halladay’s agreement from last year.

Lee’s addition to the Phillies’ starting rotation of Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt will no doubt make Philadelphia prohibitive favorites in the National League East Division. With 13 All-Star appearances among them and a combined 481-275 won-loss record, the potential for an incredibly formidable pitching staff is undeniable.

Lee’s contract reportedly contains a $12.5 million buyout clause as well as a $27.5 million option that kicks in if he pitches 200 innings in 2014 or a total of 400 innings combined in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. If he remains with Philadelphia for six seasons, the contract will pay him $135 million.

While the Rangers are starting to feel a little bit of pressure due to their recent 2-8 record in their last 10 games, which includes 5 straight losses, the Texas Rangers still hold a comfortable 7 game lead over Oakland in the AL West. This upcoming home stand will be enjoyed by the Rangers, where they are 43-26 compared to 32-37 on the road. However, star slugger Josh Hamilton is continued to be listed as day to day thanks to the rib injury he suffered last week in Minnesota when he crashed into the outfield wall and he is expected to miss the series with the Yankees.

Ace pitcher Cliff Lee is expected to make his return to the starting rotation on Sunday, which is one bit of good news for the Rangers, after battling a back injury that forced him from his last scheduled start. In this series, Texas appears to have the pitching advantage, thanks in large part to the absence of C.C. Sabathia and Phil Hughes for the Yankees. For this weekend series, the expected pitching match ups are as follows:

Friday – Wilson vs. Vazquez
Saturday – Hunter vs. Burnett
Sunday – Lee vs. Moseley

Boston trails Tampa by only 5.5 games in the division and wild card race; however with time running out on the 2010 season the Bo Sox need to make a move in the standings and this weekend’s series offers a great chance to do so. The Red Sox do have two series left against the Rays and Yankees so all hope is not lost on making the postseason this year. Of course a series win against the Rays this weekend will go a long way in helping those chances.

The 3 game weekend set offers a trio of outstanding pitching match ups. Taking the mound Friday night at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay will be Matsuzaka vs Price, Saturday will see Buchholz vs Garza, and Sunday’s match up with showcase Lackey against Shields. Sunday’s game will also be ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game of the week World Baseball Classic news considers it to be a great contest.

Pettitte said, “Today was good. I pushed it and now I’m going to continue the process.”

On Monday, Pettitte said he threw warm up pitches and took a five-minute before throwing the simulated inning to mimic game conditions. He said it was nothing out of the ordinary, although he did feel some fatigue from “pushing it”.

After Monday’s session, Pettitte’s only concern was his arm stamina. Before returning to the Bronx, he will need at least one minor-league rehab start.

He added, “I’m not gonna come back here [too quickly] and do something stupid. If I don’t feel comfortable in a rehab start or whatever I’ll take an extra one because I don’t want to aggravate this anymore or hurt this anymore.”

For Pettitte, Right-hander Dustin Moseley has filled in nicely. On Sunday night, to earn the win in the Yankees’ 7-2 victory over Boston, he allowed just two runs in 6 1/3. To see Pettitte back in the rotation, the Yankees will be happy. Of his 16-year career, he is enjoying one of the finest seasons. With a 2.88 ERA, he is 11-2 in 18 starts and he was named to the All-Star team for the third time.

When the New York Yankees and New York Mets faced each other for the first time in franchise history in 1997, the modern Subway Series began. The teams began playing a best-of-3 series in 1999. Taking into consideration all games since 1997, the New York Yankees lead the series 42 games to 30.

As per the MLB news, the New York Yankees are scheduled to send Phil Hughes, Javier Vazquez, and CC Sabathia to the pitcher’s mound for the first series of 2010. Phil Hughes and CC Sabathia have both been very good while Vazquez has struggled so far this season. The New York Mets will counter with Jonathan Niese, Mike Pelfrey, and Johan Santana. Once again, both Pelfrey and Santana have been very solid, but Niese has struggled in the early part of the season.

It is getting embarrassed is one thing that a professional baseball team dislikes. However, when the New York Mets lost 5 of 6 games to the Yankees, that is exactly what happened to them last year in this series. This weekend, the New York Mets will be looking for revenge in what should be a great series.

The Phillies have high hopes for 2010, with some new stars joining the club, and perhaps just as important, stability with proven players who have made Philadelphia home. The top six hitters in the line-up remain the same: speedster Jimmy Rollins, switch-hitter Shane Victorino, Chase Utley in the clean-up position, home run crusher Ryan Howard, steadily-improving Jayson Werth, and crafty Raul Ibanez know their positions and each other, which can only be seen as a plus defensive-wise.

Exciting new players have joined the Phillies this year. Right handed starting pitcher Roy Halladay comes from the Toronto Blue Jays, and is already working out at the Phillies training facility in Clearwater, Florida. Halladay has a win/loss ratio of 148 to 76, an earned run average of 3.43, and a lifetime strike out total of 1495.

Right handed bullpen reliever JC Ramirez comes from the Seattle Mariners organization.

Placido Polanco was a Philly from 2002-2005. He played second base for the Tigers, but will play third base this year for the Phillies. He brings a .285 batting average, a .351 on base percentage, and a .396 slugging percentage. He is a very good situational hitter.

Oddsmakers have the Phillies at 6-1 betting odds to win the 2010 World Series, behind the New York Yankees at 11-4, and tied with the Boston Red Sox, also at 6-1.