Going for the perfect 10

Being the nostalgic Yankees fan I am, there are times that I miss Joe Torre. Not because he was such a managerial tactician (he wasn't), but because he was like the wise old Italian uncle I never had.

During his time in the Bombers dugout, he was especially good at two things: a) Ruining Scott Proctor's life and b) Dealing out simple but sage advice about the game. One of my favorites was his theory on the importance of getting 10 games over .500. Again, this doesn't seem like any brain busting genius, but Torre believed a team couldn't begin to take a season to the next level until it reached that 10-game plateau. From there, a team can chip away toward the 20 games over mark -- a record that usually gets you into the postseason.

This seems like a good time to note that Torre was 13-for-13 in attempts at reaching the playoffs while with the Yankees.

I bring this up today because the Yankees enter tonight's action against the Twins nine games over the .500 mark. The Yanks are already at a high-water mark for the season, and getting to 10 games over on July 22 would set the team up nicely.

Darrell Rasner makes the start tonight, a man who does little to inspire confidence. That said, the Yankees have won eight straight at the Stadium -- finally defending their home turf after a brutal first half in the Bronx -- and you get the feeling the Bombers may be in the Twins' head at this point.