Wouldn't it be nice? Just as in 2003, the two most-important players to their teams might be Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. Except this year, they play on the same team (with apologies to fine candidate Magglio Ordonez and the ever-relaxed, amazing Vladimir Guerrerro).
If there's been one constant this year with the Yanks, it's that Posada and A-Rod (and Jeter until August) were going to produce or put up a hell of a battle in defeat. Chien-Ming Wang can be added to that, and he, again, is tied for the league lead in wins. He has 36 since the start of 2006. Johan Santana has 33, as does Josh Beckett. Brad Penny has 31. Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay and Carlos Zambrano have 30.
Wang wins. That's it.
Anyway, it was a much better game to watch and write about than the day before, where 601 career wins brought nothing but crap pitching and pathetic hitting.
The Yanks still need to win this rubber match game with the Mariners. A three-game lead will allow for more wild inconsistency; a one-game lead probably won't. Depending on Seattle to struggle isn't such a fun option, either: As I stated July 30, the Red Sox and Indians did not continue to struggle, and though the Yanks' torrid play made up ground on both, it wasn't enough. Fortunately, Detroit fell apart, Minnesota and Oakland never made a run, and Seattle didn't run away with anything.
But the Yankees must continue to win. A lot. And act as if every loss is a dagger. As appealing as backing into the playoffs is, it's not something you can do without a ton of luck. And the Yanks, judging by their Pythagorean stats, are in short supply of luck this year.
