Seven games up in the loss column, magic number at eight, and Boston for a tryst with history

Barring a Chapmanic-level meltdown - (there is always that chance) - the Yankees will hit Toronto next week needing one (1) win to clinch the AL East and, more importantly, the first-round, wild card bye. 

By then, hopefully, Aaron Judge will be padding his single-season HR record - having passed the Babe and Rajah - maybe even chasing Bud Selig's steroidal monstrosities, who clogged the TV networks 21 years ago and nearly left the game without records worth keeping. 

I wonder: If Judge closes in on No. 73, will Barry Bonds start attending games like the Maris family? Something tells me, no. (Would there be a racial tinge in that? Perhaps.) But the MLB oligarchs have spent the last two decades trying to disappear Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Clemens, Palmeiro, et al - and Judge would be the homer hero they need for the next 50 years. It wouldn't hurt that he's in New York. (Which makes me wonder if the owners won't collude against him this winter, keeping him in the big market.) 

Okay, let's not put the (wild) card before the horse: The Yankees must beat Boston this weekend. Not only are the Redsocks legitimate tomato cans - below .500, 10th worst record in the AL - but they're reeling. Their troika - Bogaertes, Devers and Martinez - all could be Mookied this winter, and the only question could be deciding which Boston grunt should go down in infamy as the stooge who served up Judge's 62nd. 

My choice: Nathan Eovaldi, the ex-Yank, who owes us for flopping in NY. If not him, Matt Barnes, if only because it might mean a save situation, and nothing would beat a walk-off HR No. 62. NOTHING. Are you listening, juju gods? A WALK-OFF, GAME-WINNING, NUMBER 62. A JFK moment. A Twin Towers moment. A Joe Theisman leg-snap moment. I can see the Yankees leaping the dugout railing, running joyously onto the field. Then the crowd rushes the field. Then the police rush onto the field. In the booth, John and Suzyn are kissing. Michael Kay, sensing his moment in history, shuts the fuck up. A walkoff number 62 - juju gods, if you have any guts or style, or class - whatsoever - make it happen. 

Okay, back to reality: I'd be satisfied with three wins and an 0-for-20 weekend by Bogaerts, which would help Judge's quest for the triple crown.

Otherwise, this we know...

1. The Yankees are still claiming Zack Britton is a postseason candidate. Sigh. Look, guy's a seasoned vet, great star, firm handshake, flushes the toilet, never uses the last bar of soap - yeah, okay, give him a shot. But - seriously - can you imagine trusting him against Toronto or Houston? Frankly, I don't know who closes for this team, but Britton returning to all-star form is a fairy tale. He would take the place of a Marinaccio - someone with a future, not a past. And that's exactly what has gotten us nothing  over the last 13 years.  

2. With two HRs last night - both meaningless, it must be noted - Gleyber Torres now has 23 on the year - third among AL 2Bs (after Jose Altuve and Marcus Semien.) He ranks second in RBIs, fifth in BA - in other words, despite looking hapless for lengthy periods, Gleyber is having a decent year - maybe even "pretty good." 

I've spent the last month wondering what the Yanks would get for him this winter - thinking Anthony Volpe, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza will topple the existing keystone structure and Gleyber will go. Now, I'm not so sure. Truth be told, I have come to really like the guy - viewing him a lifelong Yankee, even though he technically came from the Cubs. Next year, he'll be... drum roll, please... 26. That's not a typo. Twenty six. (Oswaldo is 23.) He's got two weeks - and then, October - to define himself - maybe cement himself - as a Yankee. Could he fill the 2B linchpin position that Robinson Cano spurned for a few extra thin dimes? 

2. Not sure what to make of Luis Severino last night: Five innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 6 Ks. Overall, we should be pleased. Still, early on, didn't you get the feeling he was on the verge of getting hammered? 

I know, I know... we can't expect perfection. And it's normal for a guy to be shaky in his first start after an injury. But with Gerrit Cole failing in big games, and Nasty Nestor looking tired, I wonder how much we can legitimately expect from Sevy? It seems like Boone is penciling him in as the third starter. That scares me.