My dear friends/enemies/family/Yankees players (don’t deny that you read this, Mr. Pavano), it’s only the end of June, but I feel like this season has been dragging on for 5 years already. The roller coaster ride has induced in me a severe case of situational-onset bipolar disorder stemming the Yankees’ continued swings from one side of the spectrum (amazing team packed with talent scoring 8 runs a game) to the other (bunch of losers wasting my time and that of the opposing team); my brain is exhausted from the rapid swings from joy to hope to disgust to apathy. I’ve made a concerted effort to keep my disgust in check here on the bloggity, encouraging myself to seek out positive aspects of the season (for instance, the fact that the game was suspended yesterday and therefore the Orioles did not have a chance to come back and possibly force the Yanks into another loss…I’ll take “good news” wherever I can get it, folks) so as to maintain some semblance of a balance between bitching and pathetic optimism, but that plan is getting dicey.

The Yanks are currently 3 games under .500 and 11 games behind the Red Sox with just 87 games left to play – and as the former Vice President of the La Canada High School Math Club (don’t think I haven’t considered putting that accomplishment on my resume) I can tell you that they will need to win 45 of the remaining games just to hit .500, and if the Sox continue winning at the same pace they currently are (mathematically possible but not probable given JD Drew’s and Schilling’s propensity for injuries and the powerful hex I cast upon them), the Yanks would need to win 66 to top them. I think that the Yankees could reasonably hope to win approximately 50 of the remaining 87 games, which would put them at about .531 for the season, but even if the Sox do falter a bit during the 2nd half of the season it will be tough for the Yanks to take the division.

Now, before you assume that this is solely a bitching post, allow me to assure you that I am in no way throwing in the towel! The wild card is still up for grabs, and there is no reason that the Yankees can’t make a run for that. Rasner, Karstens, and Hughes should make their way back from DL-ville at some point later this summer, and maybe Damon will even remember how to hit (or run, or throw…). There’s also always the chance that our pitching and offense COULD show up on the same day for once, but I wouldn’t bet on that just yet. For now, let’s just concentrate on thinking positive. Oh, and getting through the next month without losing another player to the DL.