Realistically, how many times can we beat the Twins?

If you flip a coin five times, and they call come up heads, the odds on the sixth flip remain 50-50, right? Then again, what are the odds of flipping six heads in a row?

Heads or tails? Call it...

I have no idea what the odds say. I don't do math. I reject logic in all its forms.  I practice the juju sciences, the black arts of success, and the oldest calculations of survival known to humanity. 

Juju pre-dates the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Mayan Calendar, the Old Testament and even Demi Moore's memoirs, where she claims Ashton wanted a three-way on the freeway. And now, with the Twinkies of Minnesota coming to Gotham, we've won the last five coin flips, but what are the odds? Are they 50-50, or do we face the chances of going six for six? 

What I do know is this: Nothing lasts forever.

We saw it with the Curse of the Bambino. As Yankee fans, we witnessed the absolute worst thing that could ever possibly happen... happen. It crushed our souls. It destroyed our faith. It reversed the polarity of the earth, so that 15 years later, we are still battling to restore what once was considered normalcy: The Yankees as baseball's dominant franchise. Now, here comes Minnesota, the drunken stooge staggering home from the bar, his wallet hanging out of his back pocket, practically demanding to be mugged. But this time, could he be faking it? Could he be dead sober and packing heat, waiting for our ambush?

You don't beat a team forever. But over the next 10 days, here are some juju factors that do I believe: 

1. The Yankees have a better team. Not by much, but at full capacity, with Edwin Encarnacion, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez in our lineup, I believe we have baseball's premier offense. That doesn't mean we'll win. But this isn't a case of having to beat a superior lineup. With everyone healthy, our team is unmatched.

2. The hideous five-day layoff helps us. The Yankees have staggered to the finish line, disinterested and tired. Nobody has been hitting. In fact, I don't recall a dead zone all year like the two-games in Tampa, where we nearly were no-hit. Five days of rest means a fresh start. In the case of Encarnacion, it might be the difference between playing and sitting. Overall, it's wrong to schedule four off-days before the playoffs. It almost rewards the wild card teams who stay sharp, while the division watch Netflix. Still, I'd rather be sleeping in our home beds for five days. And it's not as if the Yankees can cool off. At the end, they were ice cold. 

3. The great intangible is Luis Severino. If he's really back - (he sure didn't look it Saturday night) - the Yankees have a Game 2 ace, a shot in the arm unlike any other team. Severino could get six starts in October. It would be equivalent to his normal month of April. We cannot take for granted that he will be the pitcher he has been in the past. But this is no minor addition. This is a playoffs-changer. He could win six games. 

4. It's not juju, but karma that we must fear. After the fall of the Curse, following our colossal humiliation, Yankee fans can never again take anything for granted. We know that, eventually, Minnesota will beat us, and then probably win several playoffs in a row. We saw it long ago with Kansas City: We beat them and beat them and beat them... until we didn't. George Brett hit three home runs and sent us home. Every dog has its day. Minnesota's will come. The only question is whether we will be lucky enough to die before it happens.

That home field advantage sure would have been nice.