"Okay Now We're Playing for Keeps"

Maybe you recognize that line from when Bill Murray was chasing a gopher around at Bush Hill Country Club in Caddyshack after the gopher bit his hand. I think the Yankees have had their collective hand bit by a bunch of little gophers I'd like to call "2-1 losses" and "Blown opportunities" and it's time for them to "play for keeps" if you will.

Say what you want about having to win a certain amount of games over the next month (see my first post), this series is a must. The ghosts of Yankees past need to make one more appearance for Boston's last trip into The House that Ruth Built After He Was Sold to Fund a Broadway Play, or put simply, THTRBAHWSTFABP.

There are four scenarios that can happen here, all yielding drastically different results from "out of the race" to "there is still a pulse." The first is that the Yankees get swept, in which they would be eight games behind Boston with 29 games to go, and then it might be time to look forward to Phil Hughes' blogs on how much he likes the new season of The Office. The next is if they win one game, resulting in being six games back and would need a huge collapse by Boston (a la the '07 Mets) or an incredible run (a la the '07 Rockies) to make it. The aforementioned scenarios give the Yankees a zero to 15 percent chance of making the playoffs, so let's look at the bright side shall we.

The Yankees could take two out of three and be four games back, and with another series versus Boston and another six games versus Tampa Bay, I would say they have a good as shot as anyone still in the race. Or the Yanks could play what I like to call "Man Up Baseball" and take three out of three versus Boston and wind up only two games back and put the whole baseball world in a state of either "Oh S***, here come the Yankees" or "Yup, we knew this was going to happen." Being two games back on the heels of a three game sweep of Boston would not only scare every team, but finally for once in the last 130 games, put some fire into the club and optimism into the fans' hearts.

Now the plan is laid out, the optimal outcome has been established, the remaining question; "How do we do it?"

Game 1: Pettitte/Wakefield. The best way we can start this series in terms of pitching match ups. Pettitte dominates the Sox and just got off one of his strongest starts of the season. Wakefield on the other hand has a close to 7 ERA and is 0-1 versus the Yankees this season. With the way the bats have been, and a needed day off for the bullpen yesterday this is a big win for the Yankees.

Game 2: Byrd/Ponson. I wish I could put a picture of the face I am making looking at this match up. The last time I remember Byrd facing the Yankees was when we were facing the Indians in last year's playoffs and he went from "Guy who looks like a shady dealer from The Wire" to "The next coming of Nolan Ryan who just eliminated us from the playoffs." But if we have one thing going for us, it's that Ponson got his (really) bad start out of the way last week, I mean it was really bad. And he's due for another stifling performance at home, especially knowing Carl Pavano may be sniffing his spot out of the rotation. <<< If there were odds that anyone would be writing that scenario in spring training, I would have to say it would be in the realm of millions to one.

Game 3: Mussina/Lester. A nice little afternoon encore for the series. This pitching match up could not be more exciting. The Yankees best pitcher and MVP this season against boy wonder of the Red Sox, and not to mention having a terrific season himself. Both pitchers have sub 3.00 ERA's during day games and this one will not disappoint. The only way this series could end better is if the Yanks got a walk off home run, basically stamping their passport into the postseason on adrenaline, mojo, and confidence alone.