Q: How do you calculate a team's magic number (or more specifically, how do you calculate the Cleveland Indians' magic number)?

Talkin' baseball: Why, don't mind if I do.

A: The magic number (the number of wins + opponent losses a team needs to clinch the playoffs) can be calculated via this — essentially:

M# = 163 - W_team-1 - L_team-2

Thus the Cleveland Indians' Magic Number over the Detroit Tigers, per today's standings, is (163 - 83 [CLE wins] - 66 [DET losses]), or 14.

Baseball Prospectus' magical robotic prediction machines put our odds at making the playoffs at 97.5% (on Aug. 15th, it was 49.5%, so the past few weeks have gone about as well as possible, unless you're a Tigers fan, in which case, sorry).

The way we're playing now, behind the pitching of Sabathia, Carmona and Westbrook, we should have a shot against anyone in October. Unfortunately, "anyone" will probably turn out to be both the Yankees and Red Sox, both of whom terrify me.

(Specifically what terrifies me is the prospect of the unbearable pain of losing to either one of those loathsome teams' loathsome fan bases. But then, beating both teams in one postseason would be eventually looked back upon as the greatest accomplishment of our entire mutual lives, so it's an exciting kind of terror).

Yes, it's a great time to be a Cleveland sports fan. Too bad we don't have a football team, or this fall would be really exciting!

Because four of you care, here are some Cleveland sports blogs worth subscribing to:

• Let's Go Tribe
  
• Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times
• Vinny & the Hornless Rhino
• Many Go; Few Understand
• Brian Windhorst's Cavaliers Blog
• Why Wahoo Weeps [pending me starting it]

And Joe Posnanski's The Soul of Baseball is great no matter which team you follow.