Time for Yanks and Sox to Take a Stand

The Yankees and Red Sox have both made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. It marks the only time that the same two teams from a division have ever done that. Obviously the teams would like to make it four in a row. The AL West will not be challenging for the Wild Card, and the AL Central is the only division to never have one.

Will that change this year?

The defending champion White Sox are going to be around come October. They have a .653 winning percentage, and there is no reason to believe they will have a dramatic drop off. Despite them having the 2nd best record in all of baseball, they still sit 2.5 games out of first place in their division.

The Tigers, this season's big surprise team, are atop the baseball world with a .700 winning percentage. They are currently 4 games ahead of the Red Sox and 6 games ahead of the Yankees. If both AL East teams are to make the playoffs again, both teams will need to pass the Tigers. While the Tigers have a nice cushion at the moment, if the Yankees and Red Sox step it up a notch this week, it could be gone in a heartbeat.

The Tigers are currently on a 10-game homestand. They took 2 of 3 from the Indians to start it. That leaves 7 games left. Four against the Yankees followed by three against the Red Sox. The AL East rivals need to go into Detroit and take at least 5 of the 7 games. The more they can take the more they can expose the Tigers for being a fluke, and take the threat of them away.

It's time for the Yankees and Red Sox to show they are still the elite of the American League (and therefore all of baseball).