Just a Joltin’ Joe Away

Hopefully we will need to break out the 1 1/2 uniform soon.

You may have seen comments on River Ave. Blues under the name of “Joltin’ Joe”. Yeah, that’s me. Anyway, the Yankee Clipper’s fabled number five is also the number of games separating the Red Sox and Yankees in the American League East. Boston leads the Wild Card, and the last two days (and 2.0 game leap in the standings) has been a breath of fresh air for New York fans.

Paul Byrd lost to the Doc in his Sox debut, and Toronto beat Boston again on Sunday. The New York Yankees Bretts pulled out a much-needed victory on Saturday and promptly thumped the Royals on Sunday afternoon to finish up a three-game set. The desolate seven-game lead for Boston is now a less comfortable five.

Does this mean the Yankees can just waltz their way into the postseason? Absolutely not. Tampa Bay is ailing and the Sox are choking a bit, but we cannot determine anything by guessing. The Bombers simply need to play their games – maybe the return of Joba, Phil Hughes or, ahem, Carl “Overflown Lootbag” Pavano can boost the rotation. The offense is, well, still eratic and only the stellar play of Xavier and the usuals has kept it alive. Brett Gardner is looking like he can handle the stick a little bit, and all for the better, seeing as how he is likely the team’s centerfielder from here on out. Sid the Kid is giving us his all. Mussina is determined to hit the 20-game marker for the first and, perhaps final time. We do have a lot to play for, that’s for sure. There’s also a cool 16 games left at Stadium. Make ‘em count.