September Sox Musings

Where do the Red Sox stand now, with three weeks and change? The Sox have a two-game lead over those feisty Texas Rangers in the Wild Card race. Seven series remain to be played, starting with the dare-we-say-they're-fading Tampa Bay Rays, who come to Fenway tomorrow. The Rays are without their slugging first baseman Carlos Pena, whose fingers were broken by a C.C. Sabathia pitch over the weekend, and they've fallen nine and a half games behind the Red Sox. The Sox recently defeated them in their home dome (or is it "dome home"?). Does this mean the Rays are cooked for the season or will those reigning AL Champs come to The Fens seeking revenge? Despite the Rays' woebegone late-season state, the Sox can't afford to take these guys lightly. After all, there's still the superhuman-against-the-Red Sox Evan Longoria to consider. The Sox send their current best three to the mound in Lester, Beckett and Buchholz, so I like their chances, even if they do have to face Gargamel--I mean Garza on Sunday.

After the Rays pack it up and leave Beantown, in come the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This will be a toughie because these guys have a helluva road record and they wreak havoc on the basepaths. Since the top three starters are being used in the Rays series, that leaves the "pray for rain" end of the rotation to face a lineup stacked with .300 hitters who are well-schooled in the art of small ball. I'm getting a truly frightening image of a hobbled Wake, who has always had trouble with the Halos, trying to field bunts with a badly balking back. That's not a team he needs to be facing in his condition and let's hope they hold him until after that series. The image of Byrd, Bowden, or Tazawa facing Scioscia's men isn't much prettier. There's a possibility of one Daisuke Matsuzaka returning to the mound for this series with the Angels. He pitched well in his final rehab start, albeit against single-A competition. At this point, how much worse could he be than the other options? With the off-day on Monday, the Sox can start Lester as early as next Wednesday and then Beckett on Thursday, both on regular rest.

A ten-game road trip follows the Angels series--the last road trip of the regular season. First stop: Baltimore, to kick around the O's some more. Then, off to Kansas City for fun with the Royals. The trip culminates in a Sox-Yankees series in New York. Tum-ta-tum-tum TUMS!

Coming back home to finish out the season will feel like the last week of school, with a jaunt with the Jays and a tangle with the Tribe. So the Sox will be playing in October, that's for sure. The bigger question this year is: will they be playing in November? Game 4 of the World Series is to be played November 1, so baseball will be played in the eleventh month. Do I think they'll make the playoffs? They have a very good chance, but they'll need to hold off those Rangers in the last weeks of the season to get it done. The best way to do that is by winning games, rather than just hoping Texas loses.


LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!