Yankees playoff hopes: The fate of the New York Yankees in the 2005 MLB season
If the New York Yankees want to make it to the postseason, there are two options for the team: win the AL East or win the AL Wild Card. Neither of which will be easy.
As of this article, the Yankees are 2.5 games behind the Red Sox for the Division lead with 3 head-to-head games remaining. The Yankees need to get to 1 game before their series with the Red Sox or risk having to sweep the Red Sox at Fenway just to win the division. If the Yankees are 2 behind the Red Sox with 3 head-to-heads, the Yankees must win all 3.
The Yankees’ Wild Card outlook isn’t as bleak as they are just 1 game behind the Cleveland Indians for the Wild Card lead and 2.5 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics. The Oakland Athletics are beginning to fade into the background as this begins to look like a two-horse race.
The Indians are going to be a tough team to hit for a number of reasons. First, they are winning a staggering 70+% of their games spanning their last 51 games (36-15). The Indians also finish the season with 7 games against the Royals and 3 games against the Devil Rays. The Royals are going to be easy prey for these Indians on a roll. The Devil Rays are tough to beat at home, but the Indians have been lucky and have them at home. The Indians also play the White Sox a total of 6 games. We can expect a big effort from the White Sox because the teams are division rivals and because the Indians are only 5.0 games behind in the AL Central standings.
The Yankees, on the other hand, have division rivalry games against the Orioles, Blue Jays, and more importantly, the Red Sox. The Yankees will finish the season with 6 games away from home. The truth of the matter is that the Yankees have a more difficult schedule. The Orioles and Blue Jays are much tougher than the Royals and Devil Rays. The Red Sox at Fenway are tougher than the White Sox.
At the end of the season, the Yankees will have had to play 20 games in 20 nights. The Indians, on the other hand, have a nice day off on September 26, 2005 before finishing the season with 6 home games.
The fact that the Yankees have no days off after September 12, 2005 while the Indians have two days off in that time, coupled with a more difficult schedule and having to finish the season with 6 games away from home, Yankees won’t win the American League wild card. .
The New York Yankees will most likely have to sweep the Red Sox at the end of the season to win the AL East, but I think their chance to catch up with the Indians is almost unlikely. My suggestion would be to bet on the Cleveland Indians to win the wild card at +120 for the maximum allowed at any sportsbook.
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