Playoff status magic numbers series#

The Oakland Athletics are a mess, you guys.

Of course, this is mostly just a formality as both the Blue Jays and Yankees are really just clinging to the hope that they can grab that last spot in the wild card race. The Orioles are off next Thursday with the Blue Jays and Yankees playing each other, so there is the possibility that the Orioles could clinch that day without even playing a game. My official guess for when the Orioles finally clinch is Friday, with my back up being Wednesday.

Playoff status magic numbers series#

That would mean that a series win against the Blue Jays next week would knock them out, and depending on how many wins the O's pick up this weekend against the Yankees, New York could be done at about the same time. In all likelihood the magic number will be somewhere in the middle, and I'll be feeling good if it's at four after this weekend. In that case, the magic number on Monday morning will still be eight. The worst case scenario, which also probably won't happen, is that the Orioles are swept by the Yankees and the Blue Jays sweep the Rays. That would be the best case scenario, which probably won't happen. If the O's sweep the Yankees and the Rays sweep the Blue Jays, the Orioles' magic number will be one over the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays start a three-game in Toronto against the Rays, so even if they are swept (which isn't likely at all), the Orioles cannot clinch the division this weekend.

Unfortunately, the Orioles also have to deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, who also have an elimination number of eight. With the magic number at eight, a four-game sweep would just get it done. It's factored by taking into account the date a team could gain maximum points and have the sixth place team no longer able to catch them.The Baltimore Orioles start a four-game series with the Yankees this weekend, and if all goes well, Derek Jeter's ESPN-broadcast farewell to Baltimore vom fest will also be the day that the Orioles eliminate the Yankees from the A.L. In the CrewвЂ™s case, itвЂ™s in comparison to fifth place Houston.ДЄs an example, the Fire could achieve their magic number of five by winning Friday night at Sporting KC (3 points) and then have Columbus lose (drop 3 points) or draw with Philadelphia (drop 2 points).ДЄlso find the 'Soonest Could Clinch' column which is pretty self-explanatory. To be clear, the вЂњMagic NumbersвЂќ below do not reflect the number of points a team needs to earn but rather, the number of points a team needs to gain combined with the number of points the sixth place team (right now Columbus) needs to drop.

but I felt it part of my duties as Team Writer to work out just how close the Fire (and the rest of the East) are to playoff qualification. IвЂ™ve come to find out that with three variations of a result, вЂњMagic NumbersвЂќ in soccer are more difficult to come by than in baseball, basketball or football. Instead todayвЂ™s edition of Playoff Math will be shorter and potentially sweeter as I focus on вЂњMagic NumbersвЂќвЂ¦ Seeing as I broke down each teamвЂ™s remaining schedules prior to SundayвЂ™s two matches, I wonвЂ™t do it again hereвЂ¦ Refer to that blog for an almost up-to-date breakdown. The shock result of the weekend likely came earlier in the day as Houston dropped a 3-1 decision at lowly Philadelphia, leaving them just one point above sixth place Columbus for the final playoff spot in the East. United continued to move up the Eastern Conference table even without Dwayne DeRosario, earning a 1-0 home win over Chivas USA.