The Math Has Spoken

I wanted to wait until the Yanks-Sox series was finished before writing. And now that it is over...the Yankees have shown that, right now, they are the team to beat in the AL.

The series sweep knotted the season series at nine wins a piece. But the Yankees dominated Boston down the stretch and definitely have the momentum should they meet in the post-season. While Boston still has to clinch the wild card, I do think that will happen.

But in this series, when the Yankees needed clutch pitching, they got it. When they needed a key hit, they got it. Boston was in every single game. But when they needed the key pitch or the big hit...it eluded them. At the end of the day, the Yankees executed better and that is how you win ballgames.

The one thing the Yankees did have in their favor were the pitching matchups. Getting Sabathia against Daisuke and Pettitte against Byrd was a big plus for New York. They never had to see Beckett or Buchholz. And the one that leaned the Red Sox way...well, Lester had a lousy game. He was done for even before that ball richotched off his kneecap.

But at the end of the day, all these games were there for the Sox to take. And they didn't. And so New York is back in the post-season and looking as tough as ever. Of course, that hasn't helped them much over the past decade or so. And it's an open question about whether pitchers like Sabathia and Chamberlain can get it done in the post-season.

For the Sox, the task at hand is wrapping up the wild card. They have a six-game edge on the Rangers with seven games at home to close the season out. They meet Toronto tonight with Beckett taking the mound against Scott Richmond, who is 7-10 with a 5.32 ERA. The Sox saw him in late August and clobbered him for five runs and nine hits in five innings. I'd like to think we'll see a similar performance tonight. And let us hope we do. The only thing worse than losing three to the Yankees would be choking like the Mets.