Collection of MLB teams have already improved their playoff odds — here’s who can sustain it

Predictions, even the seemingly unbiased ones spit out by computers, are silly. 

Because you can take a piece of information such as the Yankees will be without ace Gerrit Cole for at least two months and know — I mean know — that they will be, at best, trying to survive whatever the rotation offers until the ace’s June return. 

Except going into the weekend, thus even before Clarke Schmidt’s 6 ²/₃ shutout innings Friday, Yankees starters without Cole this year (3.46) were a run a game better than last year (4.44) when he won the Cy Young award and AL ERA title (2.63). 

The Yankees began the season with a 71.2 percent chance to reach the playoffs, according to Fangraphs modeling. Those already good odds have skyrocketed to 89.9 percent (all data is entering the weekend), namely because the Cole-free rotation has performed so well.