Yeah, that's great, after the fact. The previous night we scored 1 run in 11 innings on a wild pitch. As you know, many games we have struggled to scored runs.
In the intangibles department, I think not starting Sale last night would have sent a bad message to the team. Like 'No worries, boys, we've got this thing wrapped up, gonna start resting guys and setting things up for the ALDS...heh heh...'
I'm not into the crow stuff. I'm just not taking this division for granted at all yet. The Yanks have 6 games left vs Toronto, 3 vs Rays, 1 vs KC. 7 are at home. They might win out. We have 4 left against Houston, and Houston is only one out in the loss column for best record in the AL.
Concerns about Sale being tired in the playoffs pale next to concerns about losing the division to the Yankees or ending up in a tie with them and possibly having to play not one but two playin games.
The wild pitch wouldn't have been anything without the walks that preceded it though. The Red Sox run scored through a series of 'bad plays' by the pitcher.
Run differential is certainly the most reliable measurement of a team's overall strength. You can find a lot of seasons where the strongest team didn't win the trophy, though, of course.