With Baltimore playing the Dodgers, this is the week for the Yankees to pull away in the AL East.

Shut your ears. I must utter blaspheme. 

I shall do this because - as first and foremost, a truth-teller - I cannot speak about the Yankees in any other way. 

One of the secrets to happiness is to appreciate when the cotton is tall, when your underwear fits and when - to put it bluntly - fucking life is fucking good. 

Today, the Death Barge has a two-game lead in the loss column over Baltimore, whose predictions of dynasty may have been overblown. We can bemoan Clay Holmes, but O's fans must watch Craig Kimbrel - five years past his prime - who has six blown saves and an ERA approaching 4.00. All those last place finishes, all those number one picks, and they apparently forgot to draft a closer.

It is time to accept positives about the Yankees, regardless of the juju implications. We cannot live in fear. Come on, people, sing along: When you walk through the storm, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark. Climb every mountain, ford every stream. To  dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe...

Tonight, the Yankees could start pulling away in the AL East.

They play three games in DC against the Nats, the 6th worst team in baseball, if you care about wins and losses. Meanwhile, Baltimore plays the Dodgers in LA, one of those West Coast road trips from Hell. This is our week, our perfect moment, to create separation within the division. 

(OF COURSE, WE KNOW WHAT'S REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN: WE'LL BE SWEPT, PAINFULLY SWEPT, WITH BLOW OUT LOSSES, MAYBE A HORROR SHOW BLOWN SAVE, AND WITH A KEY INJURY OR TWO. THIS IS WHAT THE MODERN YANKEES ALWAYS DO, YEAR AFTER YEAR, PLAY A TOMATO CAN AND LOSE. WHY WOULD WE EXPECT ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY?) 

Forgive me. I instruct the jury to ignore that outburst. Back to the drunken, unbridled optimism...

We're at a crossroads. September is a week away. That could signal the end of the Alex Verdugo experiment. ight now, Verdugo has seven days to go on a Ruthian Judgeian hitting spree that forestalls the arrival of The Martian. 

Yesterday, for Scranton, Jasson Dominguez went 2-4 with a double, his small sample BA now .305. Verdugo got two hits against the Rockies, and he homered earlier in the series. He's hitting .229 on the season - a lifetime .272 hitter who, at age 28, should be at his peak. It's been sad watching Verdugo struggle. It shows in his baby face, which seems to have aged by 20 years. But The Martian is coming, the Yankees have invested far too much in his to NOT clear his  path, and when the rosters expand in September, he'll almost surely be taking Verdugo's place at the table. 

Likewise, the Yankees will add pitchers to their bullpen, a crying need for the last month. Most notably, Clarke Schmidt should return, as a starter or reliever, whichever the Yankees most need. (Considering Will Warren's dismal start the other day - two balks in one inning - Schmidt is probably destined  for the rotation.)

But the Yankees must do business in DC. A sweep would be nice. But just winning the series could improve their bulge over Baltimore. This is our time. We better not blow it.