Magic Numbers? I'll Give You Magic Numbers

Back on May 29th, when the Yankees trailed the first place Boston Red Sox by 14 1/2 games, giddy Red Sox fans were actually figuring out the team's magic number to secure the Eastern Division title. Now that the Yankees are making a historic charge, and have cut the lead to 1 game in the loss column, Red Sox "Nation" has forgotten about "magic numbers". As a matter of fact, from what I heard and read today, Boston had no intention of winning the division.  The spin from Yawkey Way is, the Sox are really not trying to win games, but instead, they are trying to get their team ready for the playoffs. Yeah, that makes sense, especially when the team was running promos calling this a "September to remember".


Since Red Sox "Nation" has no use for magic numbers anymore, I thought I would carry their torch and list some "magic numbers" of  my own.


1 4  -  This was the number of games the Yankees were behind Boston in the loss column on May 29th


46  -  Congratulations to Andy Pettitte who notched his 200 career major league victory against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night.


6   -  When almost everyone was writing the Yankees off,  Joe Torre stayed calm,  showed confidence in his team, and has guided them to their best second half  since he became manager in 1996.


20 -  I wrote about it many times during the years, but I have to say it again.  Jorge Posada is the irreplaceable Yankee.  The Yankee catcher is having the best year of his career, and still you hear nothing about him. The Yankees can't replace him, and this winter Jorge will finally be rewarded for what he has meant and means to this team.


13 - He will probably be the MVP of the league once again, but what really impresses me about Alex Rodriguez is how hard he plays the game. He has truly been a joy to watch this year, and I hope and pray he carries it over to the playoffs.


2 - While some players in Boston are sitting out with "nagging injuries", Derek Jeter continues to play injured (bad knee). His big homer against Curt Schilling on Sunday night didn't surprise me one bit. That's what Derek has done since opening day of 1996--He's a big time player.


42- Don't insult me or any other Yankee fan comparing anyone to Mariano Rivera. Every year the "experts" tell us "Mo" is "losing it", and yet all this guy does is get big outs. How ironic it was that soon after Jonathan Papalbon gave up a grand slam, Mariano was nailing down another clutch. late season save for the Yankees.


24,28,36,40, 62, 65 -  Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Ian Kennedy, Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain all are home grown players that have contributed greatly to this current Yankee comeback. We were told the Yankee farm system was "bare" but now we know that was a false report.


1,565 - This number represents the number of  times I've read or heard that the Yankees were "out of it this" year.


1- This is the number of games the Yankees trail the Boston Red Sox by.


0 - This number will represent the number of times I will read or hear that the Yankees are "out of it" tomorrow.


1978 - Shame on anyone who didn't believe this could happen again!

The comeback continues at www.yankeetradition.com