Stupidity of the day

This one comes from the sports world.

Buster Olney, former Yankees beat writer for the NY Times (and the best one it ever had) and current contributor to ESPN the Magazine, is usually sharp. Nearly in the Verducci/Gammons class of analysts. But today he spat the dummy on Mike&Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio. Why? He claimed the Yanks are in trouble because their playoff race is not in their hands since they were 1.5 behind the Indians and the Indians have 7 games left with the Royals. Coming into tonight's games, the Indians were 82-61; the Yanks are 80-62 (they didn't play).

So much for all that.

Danny Haren blanked the Indians, so now Cleveland is tied with the Yanks in the loss column. That means that if both teams win out (unlikely -- they wouldn't be wild card candidates if they were that good), they will be tied at 100-62. Thus, they'd play a one-game playoff. In other words, the Yanks now have their destiny in their own hands.

There's a reason that commentators call it the "all-important loss column". The Yanks have two extra games viz. the Indians and they can make up a two-game win deficit by playing, they could not do the same if they were two back in the loss column.

Simply stated, the Yanks were in trouble b/c their fate was out of their hands until Danny Haren pitched a gem tonight.

Buster should know better than climbing out on that limb.