July 25, 2007
Raising the Dead
Wild card contenders Cleveland and Seattle see a new team in the rear view mirror.
24 July 2007: New York Yankees right fielder Bobby Abreu (53) hits an RBI double scoring Johnny Damon during the 2nd inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO.
Photo: Douglas Jones/Icon SMI
Starting July 2nd, the Yankees sixteen wins versus five losses lead all of Major League baseball in winning percentage. While they've only gained 3 1/2 games on the Red Sox (12-8, .600) during that time, the Red Sox taking two from Cleveland helped bring the Yankees to 4 1/2 games of the Wild Card lead. Here are the contenders for the last playoff spot during this time:
AL Wild Card Contenders, July 2, 2007 through July 24, 2007
| Team | Record | WPct |
| Yankees | 16-5 | .762 |
| Blue Jays | 11-8 | .579 |
| Indians | 9-10 | .474 |
| Mariners | 9-11 | .450 |
| Twins | 9-11 | .450 |
New York picked up six games on the Indians, and 6 1/2 on the Mariners while easily passing the Blue Jays and Twins. At the heart of the comeback are two players who looked awful early in the season, Robinson Cano and Bobby Abreu. Cano's thirty two hits lead the team; he's scored eighteen and driven in nineteen in the twenty one games. Abreu rediscovered his power, slugging .640. He's driven in twenty two. Look at his concentration on the ball in the photo above, eye perfectly on the ball. And of course, Godzilla is right there with them, with nine home runs, twenty RBI and twenty runs scored. At .243/.367/.554, Alex Rodriguez is in a comparative slum (he's scored and driven in 21).
The slumps seemingly over, the Yankees scored 157 runs in these twenty one games, allowing 85. Scoring at that level won't last, but they are no longer also rans in the playoff picture. Three games remain against both the Indians and the Mariners for New York. They've opened the door, now we wait to see if they can move through to the next level.
If they can manage to shave off 3 games per month, they will have a shot at the BoSox and the division title. It'll be tough to do that, but it almost looks like they could. I doubt they will, but it doesn't matter as long as they get in the playoffs.
The Sox and Yankees have six games left against each other. if Boston does 3-3 or better, they make it very tough on the Yankees for the division.
A 4-2 edge for the Yanks makes the division possible for them. 5-1 or 6-0 makes a division title very, very possible. The Yanks have already made up eight on the Sox since they hit rock bottom in May, 14 1/2 out.
All this may be semi-academic if Cleveland and Seattle continue to falter. The wild card would then come from the East, and both of the ancient rivals would make the postseason, much to the delight of TV execs.
With 59 games to play:
- - - - - - - - -
Magic number for Red Sox: 52
Magic number for Yankees: 68
- - - - - - - - -