Good News, Bad News, Good News?

My Detroit Tigers were 68-62, 3.5 games behind Cleveland & a game behind suddenly-second place Minnesota. At no point after April 29th, in real life 2007 the Detroit Tigers ever fell to third place... I managed to accomplish this horrible feat. My team fell after being ahead of pace for the season (as much as +4 vs 2007 Tigers actual record) & having a +2 win differential against Cleveland at the All-Star Break.

This has been a funny replay, and most of it, record-wise has been living up to the actual 2007 Tigers season, as the collapse & losing streaks all happened around the same time. Every time that I felt like I was finally getting ahead, my team would roll over, with the bats disappearing or my bullpen giving up untimely runs.

So things were looking bad... but they somehow got better!

So GOOD NEWS...
My team would go on to win 7 straight games, after dropping 3 of 4 at home against the Yankees (winning the finale). We would sweep our two back-to-back road series (3 games each) against the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics, two teams that have given me fits in the past.

BAD NEWS...
The Cleveland Indians who were leading my division was on a winning streak of their own, they won 8 straight, until losing their game on September 2nd to last place Chicago White Sox, 8-0. I closed in a total of 1 game, during this stretch. I guess I can count my lucky stars, and be thankful that I didn't have a untimely losing streak, which would have buried me, and likely cost me the season.

The Standings as of September 2nd for the Tigers.

But what's this? GOOD NEWS?! 
The Seattle Mariners have lost 9 straight, some of those at the hands of the Cleveland Indians. They were a wild card contender, that's quickly fading. My future series with them at home for 3 games will not help me in win differential against the Mariners, but could help in overall picture, as well as all my remaining series.

Maybe, more BAD NEWS?! After winning my first series against the New York Yankees, 3-1; I lost my next & last series against the Yankees, 3-1. The conclusion will be no differential between our two teams, which at one point I had a +2 against them, and now it's even. Which means, regardless, the New York Yankees will finish, 94-68 -- just hopefully the difference this time, is that they are not the wildcard team.

We are currently 1 game behind their record, we just need to not follow real-life Tigers' pace (which has been difficult), and avoid same tragic end to the season; Detroit ended up 88-74.

So basically my magic number is 94 total wins for the season.