Knock, knock: Alex Cora sends clear warning to Yankees as Red Sox close in

The Boston Red Sox are on their way up and the New York Yankees can't stop sliding down. If things keep going like this, they'll be on the same level before long.

A month ago, even the most optimistic Red Sox fan couldn't have imagined just how close they would be.

"We talked about being greedy a few weeks ago," Alex Cora said on Tuesday after the Red Sox beat the Athletics to narrow the gap to the Yankees to just 3.5 games. "We saw a window but I think the window is getting bigger. It's actually a door."

Boston has just two more losses than the Yankees on the season. That's a door alright. And the Red Sox are an arm's length way from knocking it down.

The Red Sox made up ground on the Yankees incredible fast

On June 9, the Yankees had the best record in baseball at 46-21. They topped the AL East with a 12.5-game lead over the third-place Red Sox.

Over the next month, New York went 9-17. Boston went 17-9. The Red Sox won two series over their rivals along the way.

On July 9, the Orioles top the division with a three-game lead over New York. The Yankees sit in second with only 3.5 games on the Red Sox.

Boston still has a way to climb. They need to figure out how to keep on rolling while taking advantage of this Yankees' skid. As much as Red Sox fans may dream of an extended New York collapse, it stands to reason the Yankees will eventually flip the switch and even out. When they do, Cora and company want to be close enough to keep pace. As it stands, they're occupying one of the AL wild card spots. They don't want to settle for No. 3 in that pecking order though.

Some savvy moves before the trade deadline would go a long way towards making that all possible.