In 2011 and 2012, September and the Red Sox have mixed like oil and water, the Hatfields and the McCoys and prime rib and Pinot Grigio. In other words, not well. Not well at all. Will things be different for the 2013 Red Sox? Chances are, they will, just by virtue of the fact that it's hard to do worse. The 2011 Red Sox may have had the talent, but not the heart (or the rotation depth, for that matter). The 2012 Red Sox were a AAA team if they were even that after the loss of Papi and the Sox-Dodgers Megatrade, relying on the likes of Pedro Ciriaco, Ryan Lavarnway, and an overmatched Jose Iglesias. James Loney looked nothing like the rejuvenated Tampa Bay Rays version and the rotation was grotesque, with Dice-K, an inconsistent Buchholz, a Lester who has having the worst season of his career, Aaron Cook, a fatigued Doubront, and a few other forgettable characters.
The 2013 Red Sox have had their ups and downs, and on paper, don't have the same gravitas as the likes of the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, or the Atlanta Braves. However, it has been a remarkable turnaround for the Red Sox, who were expected to finish in the middle of the pack at best at the outset of the season. As the season progressed and the team remained on or near the top of the AL East, however, expectations understandably rose. This team that is greater than the sum of its parts appears to be the antithesis of the 2011 team who saw Terry Francona as a lame duck manager and the 2012 team who saw Bobby Valentine as an odious interloper. GM Ben Cherington went after solid MLB players with a team-first mentality as opposed to sexy high-priced free agents and so far his strategy seems to have paid off.
What does all this mean as the Red Sox enter the home stretch of the season? One thing that gives them an edge is that they have some Monday off-days that other teams don't have due to the fact that they already have played more games than most of the rest of MLB. This allows them to set their rotation so that they can skip the guys that aren't performing as well. Another important factor in September is the return of Clay Buchholz, provided he returns on schedule and pitches at least somewhat close to how he did before he went down in early June. Most of the Red Sox' September schedule pits them against their division rivals. They have two more series with the Orioles left, as well as two more Yankees series, one more Blue Jays series and one more Rays series. Throw in a Tigers series at Fenway and a trip to Denver to face the Rockies and you have the balance of the schedule.
In the new playoff format, winning the division takes on much greater meaning. Avoiding a one-game wild-card playoff is key for the Red Sox, as it is for any team with aspirations of making it to the "real playoffs" starting with the Division Series. A one-game playoff is such a crapshoot and it could throw a monkey wrench into the playoff rotation, should they win that one game. As of this evening, with a Red Sox win and a Rays loss, the division lead stands at 5.5, the largest it has been in a long while. As long as the Red Sox keep winning series, they should hold on to that division lead and take their first AL East crown since 2007. After struggling earlier in the month, the Red Sox ended August on a high note and started September off in the W column. The series with Detroit is a big one; it could be an ALDS preview. Taking 2 of 3 would make a strong statement that the team short on superstars but long on character can go toe-to-toe with the star-studded Tigers lineup and rotation. After that, it's mostly taking care of business in their own division.
The 2013 Red Sox took back April this season with an 18-8 record. It would be wonderful if they could do the same in September, even if it isn't quite at that lofty clip. A .500 record for the rest of the month gets them 94 wins. Whether that would be enough to win the division remains to be seen. It looks to be an exciting month and the team has something to prove as it tries to erase the godawful memories of the two most recent Septembers.
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