Magic Number is Five

The magic number to clinch the AL East division is now five games for the New York Yankees. A game is gained whether they win or Boston loses. When playing Boston this weekend, they can gain two games on that magic number with each win. If all goes right, the Yankees will clinch this weekend at home against the Sox.

Months ago the Yankees were 0-8 against Boston and trailing the division by about five games. No one thought they would be at the point they are at now during the stretch. It really has been an enjoyable season. Besides a few bumps in the road (the first month without A-Rod, Jobas struggles as a starter, a few very rough starts from AJ Burnett, and some other small bumps), this has been an incredibly successful team. They just took a series from the Angels on the road for the first time since 2004. It was a very big series win as the Angels are a possible playoff opponent and they needed to give themselves confidence that they could beat them in LA.

Although the Yankee attitude is "the World Series must be won for it to be a successful season," either way you look at it, it really has been a great season. A lot of luck is involved in short series in the playoffs. Hopefully this Yankee team can find the will and way to win 11 postseason games. They really deserve it.