Yankees: Just How Important is the Series vs. the Red Sox?
On Thursday the New York Yankees will kick off a four-game series against the Red Sox in Boston. With two of the three best teams in the MLB facing off, this series could very well be the most important of the year.
New York Yankees fans, we are right in the thick of the division race. The American League East standings look like this:
- Boston Red Sox: 75-34
- New York Yankees: 68-38
- Tampa Bay Rays: 55-53
- Toronto Blue Jays: 48-59
- Baltimore Orioles: 33-75
The Yankees are currently 5.5 games back and with the series starting on Thursday. With that being said it is possible for this series to shift the American League playoff picture.
There are currently seven teams in the MLB who have won more than 60 games, the Red Sox and Yankees are two of them and the Astros, Mariners, Athletics, Cubs and Brewers are the other five. The Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Mariners and Athletics all have more or equal wins than the Cubs and Brewers which means the five best teams in the MLB are in the American League.
Two of those five teams happen to be in the AL East and the Red Sox have the most wins in baseball while the Yankees are tied for second most. Yet from the looks of it the Yankees will still need to play in a Wild-Card Game in order to even get into the American League Division Series. But this series could possibly make catching the Red Sox more realistic.
If the Yankees beat the Orioles tonight and tomorrow, the Phillies beat the Red Sox tonight and then the Yankees sweep the Red Sox then the Yankees will be only a 0.5 game behind the Red Sox in the AL East.
Not only would they be a 0.5 game back but they would also own the season series by a lead of 9-4 with only six games left. This means that the Yankees would be in a very good position to win the division if the two were to finish with the same record come the end of the season.
Next. Simulating the 2011 season. dark
This means more than one would think now that the Wild Card Game is in place because it means the Yankees would not have to play another game to get into the playoffs.
This series has some large implications on the Yankees stance in the AL East and it could either help them in a large way or hurt them in a large way. Stay tuned for my series preview and predictions for all four games coming up shortly!