Monday, September 16, 2013

The Sprint To October Starts Tomorrow In Toronto


The New York Yankees find themselves on this off day with 12 games left and one off day splitting them up. The Yanks have a very favorable schedule compared with the other teams involved like the Texas Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cleveland Indians, the Kansas City Royals, and the Baltimore Orioles. Six teams are fighting for two wild card and playoff spots and the marathon that is the 2013 baseball season has now become a sprint so let's look at what each team has left and how things can shape up when the season ends two weeks from today.

The Yankees start the sprint for October with three games in Toronto with the last place Blue Jays followed by three games this weekend at home with the struggling San Francisco Giants. The Yankees will take next Monday off and then start a crucial three game set at home with the Tampa Bay Rays and finish out the season in Houston against the worst team in the world the Astros. If the Yankees have a legit shot at making the playoff they have to win at least nine of these final twelve games, which is very doable, and may still need a little help.


The Tampa Bay Rays do not have the luxury of another off day before the end of the season and have 14 games left including tonight's game with the first wild card owning Texas Rangers. The Rays play the next eight games at home including four against the Texas Rangers and four against the Baltimore Orioles. The next six games include three games on the road with the Yankees and they finish the final three games are at Toronto with the Blue Jays. These are going to be a tough 11 games stretch but if the Rays are in contention the final three games of the season they may be able to strike.


The Texas Rangers also do not have an off day remaining on the schedule but they have the luxury of owning the first wild card spot and a little more wiggle room in their final 14 games. They start off tonight on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays for four games followed by three games with the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman Stadium. The Rangers then go home to finish out the season with three games with the Houston Astros and four games with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I think unless the Rangers just simply implode they will have at least one of the wild card slots.


The Cleveland Indians have 13 games remaining on their schedule although they do have the luxury of one off day thrown in the middle. The Indians start tonight on the road with the Kansas City Royals followed by four games at home with the Houston Astros. Next Monday we have the off day followed by a quick two game set with the Chicago White Sox at home and they finish up with four games on the road with the Minnesota Twins. The Indians have one of the easier schedules remaining so we can only hope for the Royals to play the Indians tough down the road.


Finally we have the Baltimore Orioles who also are off today before finishing out their final 13 games in 2013 with what is probably the toughest schedule of any team in the hunt. The Orioles start play tomorrow with three games in Fenway Park against the Red Sox followed by four games in Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays. The final six games are at home with three against the Toronto Blue Jays and then the final three games of the season with the Boston Red Sox.


The Yankees probably have one of the two easiest schedules remaining so if they take care of business they should be fine. The Yanks will need a lot of help from the teams in front of them but this wild card sprint is definitely doable but we have no room for error and no time for slip ups. The time is now so come on Yankees rest up and let's make it to October! All hands are on deck now and we are all in so let's do this!

4 comments:

  1. It sure as hell doesn't feel like the Yankees still have a shot. They lost 7 of 8 to the Red Sox recently, and that should have eliminated them. Alas... Yankees fans still have a shred of hope.

    Call it pessimism, but I'm betting those hopes are dashed. The odds, in the form of injuries, seem insurmountable.

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    1. As long as we have three head to head with the team we are chasing I have faith.

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    2. Exactly Daniel......

      We sweep that series with Tampa and we have a good shot ....since we play bad teams like the Astros and white sox.

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  2. If we can go 10-2 these last 12 games I think we have a real legit shot unless Cleveland goes hot at the right time

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)