How many games do the Yankees have vs. the Angels this season, I read on RLYW it is ten (10)? And how many will they win against their bete noir?

Sure. It isn’t just head to head that makes a difference. Its the fact that the Rays are so much better than last year (I think that two weeks ago they had more wins than they had ever previously had at the ASB!). So if a team that is in second place keeps winning, its kind of tough to get any distance between you and them unless you somehow manage to win at a significantly greater clip, which obviously they have not. The Sox are around a .600 winning percentage, and the Rays stay right there with them.

“So I think the Sox could be in much better shape if the Rays weren’t as good.”

Would you explain that? I don’t understand how the rays have that much effect – last year, the sox were 13-5 vs the rays; so far this year, they’re 6-3.

Ok, let’s look at it this way; if the Sox are doing so well, if they’re that much better, why haven’t they put the division away?

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Well this seems like the question for me.

A few reasons come to mind:
The bullpen hasn’t been as good as last year. Okajima in particular has been terrible with inherited runners and recently just plain terrible. I don’t think its a matter of the league figuring him out, but rather just bouts of poor command. When he executes the Oka-Doke, it still gets bad flailing swings. But that’s one aspect, along with some other inconsistencies, like DelCarmen. He’ sort of our Veras – when he is on, he can make a lot of people look bad but he’s had games when he was pretty bad. Like Veras, the recent trend is good, though.

The second factor I’d state would be the strength of the division – until recently, everyone was at .500 or better – and particularly the strength of the Rays. That team is NOT going away, folks! They’ve got much better pitching and defense than in the past, and that doesn’t slump. So I think the Sox could be in much better shape if the Rays weren’t as good.

Final factor would be starting pitching and particularly Beckett’s early season problems. He hasn’t dominated from the get-go like last year, but on the plus side, he looks very much like he’s rounding into form.

But for the Sox to solidify their position on top of the division and hold it to the end, they need help in the bullpen. Depending on Buchholz and Colon, that may come from Masterson going into the pen around August or so. Otherwise Theo needs to make a deal.

Ok, let’s look at it this way; if the Sox are doing so well, if they’re that much better, why haven’t they put the division away?

~~Cumulative winning percentage of Tigers, Royals, Brewers and Rangers: .495
Cumulative winning percentage of Mariners, Astros, Padres: .413~~

Excellent point.

So, since the Red Sox are so-so, it’s OK that the Yankees are playing like crap too?
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No, but it puts things in context, that the rest of the league is doing so-so.

Except that I’ve put the lie to the assertion that the Red Sox are so-so. The presumed “pansies” they’ve “gotten fat off of” are very nearly cumulatively .500. The true pansies, the teams the Yankees HAVE gotten fat off of, are a cumulative .413 and if not for the pathetic Nationals, would be the three worst teams in the majors.

So, since the Red Sox are so-so, it’s OK that the Yankees are playing like crap too?
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No, but it puts things in context, that the rest of the league is doing so-so.

Cumulative winning percentage of Tigers, Royals, Brewers and Rangers: .495
Cumulative winning percentage of Mariners, Astros, Padres: .413

Uh, you might want to find some other reason to drag the Red Sox down to the Yankees current level.

So, since the Red Sox are so-so, it’s OK that the Yankees are playing like crap too?