A look at the standings

I delve into the standings after all of the Sunday games have been completed to track the Yankees' progress over the week that just ended.

Here is an updated look at the American League East standings and the American League Wild Card standings:

AL East

Boston Red Sox	68-43	--
New York Yankees	61-50	7.0
Toronto Blue Jays	56-54	11.5
Baltimore Orioles	52-58	15.5
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	42-68	25.5

Wild Card

Detroit Tigers	61-49	--
Seattle Mariners	60-49	0.5
New York Yankees	61-50	0.5
Minnesota Twins	57-53	4.0
Toronto Blue Jays	56-54	5.0

Since the last look at the standings, the Yankees have gone 5-1 and gained 1.0 games in the AL East. The Red Sox went 4-2 over that same period.

In the Wild Card standings, the Yankees gained 3.5 games. The Detroit Tigers have fallen out of first place in the AL Central, as the Cleveland Indians have taken a half-game lead over them. On Sunday, July 1, the Yankees were trailing the Tigers by nine games. Five weeks later, that lead has been trimmed by 8.5 games.

The Red Sox magic number to eliminate the Yankees is 45 (down five from last week).

The Tigers magic number to eliminate the Yankees is 52 (down two from last week).