Red Sox Magic Number - 2

Sorry I missed the last update to move the magic number to 3. I was all set to do a Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch rift too. Anyway - with the win over the A's the Red Sox magic number to win the AL East is now just a duece.

The number two can be seen to represent the dichotomy that exists in Red Sox fans concerning facing the Yankees in the playoffs. On one hand - the Yankees are the team the Red Sox fans fear the most - so there is a desire to see the Yankees lose in the first round so that Boston doesn't have to face them. On the other hand - it will be somewhat of an empty victory of the Red Sox win the World Series without having to beat the Yankees. In 2004, for example, the comeback victory over the Yankees was almost as sweet as the sweep of the Cardinals in the World Series.

This is of course making the assumption that the Red Sox can get out of the first round of the playoffs (which in no way should be considered a foregone conclusion).

As of tonight the answer to the Austin Powers question "Who does number 2 work for?" - well at least for today the answer is the Red Sox.