Within Two Games


Jeter scores all the runs they needed last night in beating the Jays, 5-0.

After last night's efforts, the Red Sox, who beat the Orioles, remained a game behind the Yankees, who beat the Blue Jays in the AL East.


Manny pastes number 40 on the year as the Sox beat the Orioles, 6-3.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox won a coin toss that would give them a home game against the Indians if the teams tie for the wild card.



The Indians, who beat the Royals, remained 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox, who beat the Twins, for the AL Central, but are still 1 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox for the AL Wildcard.


Travis Hafner hit a homer in his 6th consecutive game and the Indians won for the 9th time in 10 games.

What does it all mean in these confusing times?

It still comes down to this:

The Yankees still have to play the Red Sox at Fenway three more times and their lead is "only" one game. If all things remain the same until then and the Sox take two out of three at Fenway, the two teams would finish the season tied for first. In a playoff to win the AL East, the Red Sox would meet the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

On the other hand, the Indians will still close out their season facing the White Sox at home for the final three games of the season. However, the Indians played one more game than the White Sox, so one White Sox victory could mean they'd be a game and a half ahead going into that season finale, meaning the Indians would have to take two out of three to win the AL Central but only three of their other seven games to win the AL Wildcard. (or something like that -)

Let's say the Red Sox take 4 of their 6 non-Yankee games and the Yankees do the same. They'd both finish with 95 victories.

If the Indians take 2 of three from the Sox but all 5 of their non-White Sox games, they'd finish with 95 victories. If the Sox lost four of their six non-Indians games, they too would finish with 95 victories.

Imagine the White Sox at Indians and Red Sox at Yankees on the day-after-the-last-day of the season, winners take all then necessitating a loser-take-all game what, the following day to determine the AL Wildcard.

How crazy would that be?

*****

Meanwhile, for the second weekend night in a row, the Phillies stormed back from a deficit to gain a massive come-from-behind victory.


David Bell his the winnah, a two-run bomb

Last night they trailed the Reds by four before erupting for five ninth inning runs to beat the Reds 11-10 nearly one week after scoring 10 runs in the 9th to beat the Marlins.

The Astros meanwhile, lost to the Cubs. Trailing 5-1 after four innings, the Astros rallied tied it on an RBI double by Craig Biggio, an RBI single by Lance Berkman, an error by center fielder Corey Patterson that let a run score and Jeff Bagwell's RBI when he was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded. But it wasn't enough as they ended up falling anwyay, 5-4 to see their NL Wildcard lead over the Phillies drop to a single game.

The Astros will play no one but the Cubs and Cardinals the rest of the season.

The Phillies still have to face two more against the Reds, three at home versus the Mets and then close out the season at the Washington Nats.

In the event the Phillies and Astros finished tied for the NL Wildcard, the Phillies will host the Astros in what would likely be the biggest baseball game in Philadelphia since winning Game 5 of the 1993 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Curt Schilling got that win for the Phillies by the way, a five-hitter that kept their hopes alive for one more game before Joe Carter's infamous homerun.


11 years before the Bloody Sox Game

*****NCAA FOOTBALL*****

Sports Amnesia Top Ten

1. USC (2-0) at Oregon (3-0)
2. Florida State (2-0) idle.
3. Texas (3-0) idle.
4. Florida (3-0) at Kentucky (1-2)
5. Miami (1-1) host Colorado (2-0)
6. Georgia Tech (3-0) at #7 VA Tech (3-0)
7. VA Tech (3-0) see above
8. Ohio State (2-1) host Iowa (2-1)
9. Michigan (2-1) at Wisconsin (3-0)
10. UCLA (3-0) idle.

Notable: California (4-0) defeated New Mexico State 41-13, Notre Dame (2-1) at Washington (1-2), Alabama (3-0) host Arkansas, Michigan State (3-0) at Illinois (2-1).