Tracy Ringolsby's weekly baseball notes

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Two years ago, it was Atlanta that didn't report for the postseason, ending its record-setting stretch of 14 division titles. Last year, Oakland found itself with a losing record and below second place in the standings for the first time in a decade.Now, October looms and the New York Yankees will be nowhere to be found, ending their streak of 13 consecutive postseason appearances.Oh, Boston seems a lock to make its fifth postseason appearance in six years, and Minnesota is battling for its fifth postseason invitation in seven years, but following in the footsteps of Detroit in 2006 and Colorado in 2007, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee have emerged as the pride of the also-rans in 2008.Tampa Bay already has clinched its first winning season, and a team that has finished out of the American League East basement only once in 10 previous years of existence is in line to advance to the postseason. The Rays own a 3-1/2-game lead on Boston in the East and are nine games ahead of Minnesota, which ranks second to the Red Sox in the wild-card race.Milwaukee, meanwhile, has rebounded from last year's late-season fade, and though the Brewers are five games back of the Cubs in the N.L. Central, they have a four-game lead over Philadelphia in the wild-card race.The Rays and Brewers are the champions of the have-nots. The Rays ranked 29th in baseball in payroll on opening day, ahead of only Florida, and the Brewers were 15th. And while six of the teams that rank among the top 10 payrolls in baseball are very much alive in the postseason battle -- the Mets (second), Red Sox (fourth), White Sox (fifth), Angels (sixth), Dodgers (seventh) and Cubs (eighth) - the Rays and Brewers are joined in the postseason battle by Arizona, which was 23rd, and Minnesota (25th).And as further proof that money alone doesn't guarantee happiness, not only are the Yankees, who have baseball's biggest payroll, headed for a third-place finish, but Detroit (third in payroll), Seattle (ninth) and Atlanta (10th) won't even finish at .500.INFIELD CHATTER-- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman appears to have survived. According to media reports, the Sons of George (aka. Hal and Hank Steinbrenner) will give Cashman, one of the bright minds in the game, a contract extension.-- With Boston obligated to pay the $3 million buyout on shortstop Edgar Renteria's contract if he is dumped by Detroit, look for the Tigers to sever ties instead of paying him $11 million next season.-- Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who walked away from Philadelphia at the end of last season, could wind up back with the Phillies or with the Dodgers, according to his agent. San Diego, which beat out the Phillies and Rockies in bidding for Iguchi during the offseason, released him last week.OUT IN LEFT FIELDAre Yankees fans also Barack Obama supporters? The Yankees have won eight world championships during Democratic administrations in the past 50 years but haven't won a title with a Republican in office since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. Since then, the Yankees have won titles during the terms of John F. Kennedy (1961-62), Jimmy Carter (1977-78) and Bill Clinton (1996, 1998-2000).While Boston owner John Henry is a major contributor to the Democratic Party, the Red Sox haven't won a World Series with a Democrat in office since Woodrow Wilson in 1918. And then there are the Cubs, who haven't won a world championship the past 100 years, regardless of who was in office.CLOSING STATEMENTBrewers pitcher CC Sabathia handled a tough situation with class. While Milwaukee officials whined about an official scoring call Sunday in Pittsburgh that stood between Sabathia and a no-hitter, the potential free agent refused to be drawn into the morass."I probably should have picked it up with my glove. If I did, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If they change it, they change it. If they don't, they don't. I'll be fine, either way. We won. We swept the series. That's the biggest thing, the most important thing about today," he said of his bobbling of a ball hit by Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche that was ruled a hit.NUMBERS GAME-- 29: Blown saves and losses for the St. Louis bullpen, the most in the National League - a big reason the Cardinals are fading in the Central race.A GOLIATH FEATToronto pitcher Roy Halladay became the first pitcher since Chuck Finley in 1996 to record four wins against the Yankees in a season. Frank Lary of the Tigers beat the Yankees seven times in 1958, the most ever by a Yankees opponent.NOT OVER YETComebacks do happen. The Rockies were six games back in the N.L. wild-card race Sept. 1 and wound up winning the pennant. The biggest deficits teams that reached the postseason have faced heading into September:-- 1964 Cardinals: Fourth place, 7-/2 games behind Phillies.-- 1995 Mariners: Second place, 7-1/2 games behind Angels.-- 1938 Cubs: Fourth place, 7 games behind Pirates.-- 1951 Giants: Second place, 7 games behind Dodgers.-- 1930 Cardinals: Fourth place, 6-1/2 games behind Cubs.-- 1978 Yankees: Second place, 6-1/2 games behind Red Sox.HOME AWAY FROM HOMEWhat is overlooked in discussions about Rockies pending free-agent closer Brian Fuentes is the success he has had despite spending the bulk of his big-league career at Coors Field. Other than a one-week nightmare in June 2007, and that came on the road, Fuentes has been among the most consistent closers in baseball when given the opportunity the past four years. And he has done it in a home park that so often is used by other pitchers as an excuse for failure.Fuentes' stats are pretty consistent home and road -- 12-10 with 54 saves and a 3.35 ERA in 223 career appearances at Coors Field; 5-16 with 47 saves and a 3.47 ERA in 209 appearances on the road.HE SAID IT"You need to have the ability every once in a while to say, 'I stunk,' not that, 'The strike zone was tight.' You have to say, 'You know what? I was horse (manure).' It's OK, because we're all horse (manure) from time to time. It's good to admit that you're horse (manure) sometimes. . . . Diversionary tactics are not good."-- Tigers manager Jim Leyland, on struggling right-hander Justin Verlander, who had complained about a small strike zone and bad luck after his latest loss.(Tracy Ringolsby writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo. E-mail ringolsbyt(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)