One Last Gasp

I'm going to don my optimist's hat for a moment here as I wind down my workday. This season has been mostly horrible for Yankee fans. It's been downright disgusting at times. The Yanks have underperformed. The A.L. East has been unbelievably competitive. Still, it isn't quite over.

Here's my wildest dream. And no, it doesn't involve going 6-0 to end the season and having the Sox go 0-6, but it does involve the next three games. There are three things that could happen which would leave me feeling somewhat less dismal about this lost season. Here goes:

• Moose gets his 19th tonight, pitches for his 20th on the final day of the season in Boston.
• The Yankees sweep the Jays
• The Indians sweep the Sox

The first is obvious. It'll mean the final game of the season will have some meaning, and it would be a great story to see the Moose on the mound at Fenway trying to put a bow on his miraculous season. The other two wishes, well, I guess I just don't want to admit it's over. I don't want to see the Sox AAA team on the field for three games at Fenway. I desperately want to see the Yanks going into Boston with the slimmest of hopes and then we'll see what happens. Can you imagine the pressure they'd be under if the Yanks managed to win the first game? It might just make this whole season worthwhile.

Obviously, the odds are stacked against this happening. Here are the 6 pitching matchups that would all have to fall the Yankees' way:

Tuesday

• Mike Mussina vs. Jessie Litsch
• Cliff Lee vs. Tim Wakefield

Wednesday

• Phil Hughes vs. A.J. Burnett
• Fausto Carmona vs. Paul Byrd

Thursday

• Carl Pavano vs. Roy Halladay
• Jeremy Sowers vs. Jon Lester

The Yanks face a Toronto team motivated to finish ahead of the Yanks and they are steep underdogs in two of the three games. Burnett and Halladay have owned the Yanks this season. The Sox face the hottest team in baseball (Cleveland has won 7 straight), and in two of the three games the Indians have a clear pitching advantage. Lester vs. Sowers obviously favors the Sox.

So, there you have it. My wish to the baseball gods, if they're listening. Make the Boston series matter. Get there three games back and then, well, let's get there first.