Friday, September 12, 2008
Stranger Things...
To paraphrase a famous cartoon dog: There are three weeks left in the season. If you guys are going to pull a Wild Card out of your ass, you might want to stand up.
Well, since the beginning of September, the Blue Jays have been slowly rising - if not entirely out of their seat, then at least in the AL East standings. Passing the Yankees was nice, but of course the playoffs were completely out of the question. Sweeping the Twins was nice, but of course the playoffs were completely out of the question. Sweeping the Rays was nice, but...
Suddenly, having won 11 of 12, the Blue Jays are 6.5 games out of the Wild Card. Which would be encouraging - if there were about 40 games left on the schedule. Sadly, there are only 16. Historically, this kind of lead is essentially insurmountable.
Except.
The Jays have 7 games left with the team that happens to be ahead of them. Make no mistake, they must win them all. Even 6 out of 7 won't do. The odds are incredibly long, but not impossible.
I wrote earlier this summer that the Jays were an 8-10 game winning streak away from playoff relevance. They reeled off the 10 wins, but are still four more away from making this truly interesting. The rotation has been shortened in an attempt to play the first truly meaningful September games around here in a long time.
If David Purcey is his "5-walks-in-3-innings" self, then this dream will evaporate by 8:30 tonight. But if he treats the Red Sox the way he disposed of the Rays, well, things will be interesting for at least one more day. ¶ posted by Jim Turner at 2:38 PM
Well, since the beginning of September, the Blue Jays have been slowly rising - if not entirely out of their seat, then at least in the AL East standings. Passing the Yankees was nice, but of course the playoffs were completely out of the question. Sweeping the Twins was nice, but of course the playoffs were completely out of the question. Sweeping the Rays was nice, but...
Suddenly, having won 11 of 12, the Blue Jays are 6.5 games out of the Wild Card. Which would be encouraging - if there were about 40 games left on the schedule. Sadly, there are only 16. Historically, this kind of lead is essentially insurmountable.
Except.
The Jays have 7 games left with the team that happens to be ahead of them. Make no mistake, they must win them all. Even 6 out of 7 won't do. The odds are incredibly long, but not impossible.
I wrote earlier this summer that the Jays were an 8-10 game winning streak away from playoff relevance. They reeled off the 10 wins, but are still four more away from making this truly interesting. The rotation has been shortened in an attempt to play the first truly meaningful September games around here in a long time.
If David Purcey is his "5-walks-in-3-innings" self, then this dream will evaporate by 8:30 tonight. But if he treats the Red Sox the way he disposed of the Rays, well, things will be interesting for at least one more day. ¶ posted by Jim Turner at 2:38 PM
