Be Careful What You Wish For

I got a fax the other day from a colleague who’s a Yankee fan. It was early in the week, when the Sox were playing down in Tampa, and he wrote across the top of the page, “Go Tampa Bay.” I called him up and warned him to be careful what he wished for. Over the past ten games, the Sox have gone 4-6 on the road, and the Yankees have the exact same record. Meanwhile, the Rays have won nine of ten, meaning that in less than two weeks, they gained five games on both teams. Right now with the best record in baseball, and that great pitching staff, they look hard to catch. It may be that the Sox and Yankees are playing for the wild card, against Minnesota and maybe Detroit, if they ever get hot.

The dinner at Keen’s will seem anticlimactic, if neither team makes the playoffs. On the other hand, as Manny says, it won’t be the end of the world either. If we can manage to get everyone together in New York, after the first round, and way before the after dinner flight, really, who will care that much? Speaking of which, I’m still waiting for a posting about the recent visit to Keen’s. I’m planning on introducing legislation making it a misdemeanor for any reader to visit that shrine, without posting or commenting. There is a visit scheduled within the next week, so all you readers can look forward to news on that front.

Meanwhile, yesterday saw seven hit batters, and not a single punch thrown. Can you believe it? Maybe everyone knew they were playing on the undercard, with Tampa Bay pounding Kansas City. Remember the good old days? With Varitek and A-Rod tangling? Or Pedro beating up on Don Zimmer? Justin Masterson was all over the place, but in the end, pitched pretty well for a young guy starting his first game in the Stadium. It wasn’t quite up to the level of Lester’s shutout, but this kid shows promise. I’d like to think that the Sox can keep him, and Lester, and Buckholz all under contract in the coming years.

I think the solution for 2008 is for Theo to engineer a trade which will put the Sox in the NL West. Right now, the best record in that Division is under .500. The Diamondbacks were the hottest team in baseball during April, but have really turned things around, unfortunately, in the wrong direction. All the pundits are now picking the Dodgers, who have muddled along with a patchwork lineup. I’d like to see Torre take them to the post season, just to demonstrate to everyone how idiotic Hank Steinbrenner is. As if there’s anyone alive who doesn’t know that already. And what happened to the Rockies? That late run in 2007 was supposed to be a harbinger of things to come, with a roster full of youngsters, but right now they’re tied with Cleveland at a blistering .420 pace. It doesn’t look like a return to the fall classic for Colorado.

June ended with the Sox 15 games above .500, still on pace, despite three five-game losing streaks. I know our defense has been great of late, with Manny at the DH spot, but we really need Papi in the lineup, yesterday being a perfect example. Let’s hope everyone stays healthy for the rest of 2008.