Yesterday’s off day signaled the approaching end of the toughest stretch of the Yankees’ 2006 schedule. Their marathon of 18 games in 17 days is now history and just six home games against a pair of potential playoff opponents from the AL Central remain of a brutal 27-game stretch that began three weeks ago in Chicago.
That 18-game stretch was a success, but only because of the Yankees’ five-game sweep of the Red Sox which inflated their lead in the AL East to the current 6.5 games. While that sweep was a singular accomplishment that can and should not be diminished, it was also the only of the five series over that stretch that the Yankees won, as they went 5-8 against the Angels, Orioles, and Mariners. Prior to that, they had dropped two out of three to the White Sox and even with the Boston series included, they’re just one game over .500 since the White Sox series. In fact, one could argue that the Yankees’ 6.5 game lead in the east has far more to do with the Red Sox collapse (Boston is 8-18 in August) than anything the Yankees have done, other than take advantage of that collapse head-to-head.
Now they have six games against the Tigers and Twins. The good news is that the Twins have a losing record on the road and, while the Tigers still have the best record in the major leagues, their star has faded to the point that the Yankees could tie them with a three-game sweep. The Tigers are currently suffering through a losing August, having gone 12-14 thus far this month including a 3-7 performance against Wild Card hopefuls Minnesota and Chicago. This past weekend they dropped two of three to a revitalized Indians club.
