Neck and Neck

Boston came out of the all-star break with a six day road trip. And while the Sox have had their road woes in years past, not so this year. They took two of three from the Rays, who recently were challenging for the wild card, and then two of three from the Orioles, who presumably were all fired up over the Ortiz-Gregg incident up in Fenway. They are now 28-12 against the always tough AL East. However, despite their road successes, they are still locked in a virtual dead heat with the Yankees, and it looks like things will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

The good news is that, what with Boston and New York beating up on Tampa Bay, the Sox enjoy an eight game cushion over the nearest wild card challenger, even if there is no visible space between them and the Yankees at the top of the standings. It’s always nice to have home field advantage in the playoffs, but they have won it all from the wild card position, as have other teams in the past decade. So really, the big thing is to make it to the post-season; if, and only if they are playoff bound should any of us be worrying about whether they also win the AL East.

Some other good news is that they have managed to maintain winning ways with a patchwork rotation. Andrew Miller won the last game for them, tossing shutout ball for almost six innings. Honestly, I could not have told anyone who Andrew Miller was a month ago; in fact, I still I don’t think I can say who he is. Only that he has bounced around both leagues for the past several years, and has filled in admirably for the Sox, what with most of the starters out with a variety of ailments. Another bit of good news is that Boston continued to win with Papi serving his three-game suspension.

More good news can be found in Carl Crawford’s return to the lineup; not only that, but he was productive in the Baltimore series. So that’s a definite upgrade. Ellsbury and Pedroia continue to play so hot that Boston has had to hire extra firefighters to hang around Fenway as a precautionary measure. And with Reddick playing well, JD Drew has been serving more time on the bench, another upgrade to the lineup. Addition by subtraction. (I can’t wait for his fourteen million a year to get freed up for signing other players, such as the aforementioned Ellsbury.) Anyway, next week, Lester is scheduled to return, and then all they need is a healthy Buckholz, and their rotation should return to normal.

I have been badmouthing the bullpen, but they pitched very well on this last road trip. Bard particularly has been looking good. So I would be more than happy to eat all my words on that topic.

The Mariners and Royals are coming to town, and although neither has been playing well of late --Seattle especially is mired in a long losing streak -- Boston has played poorly against a number of lousy teams this year. Not only that, but King Felix has a long history of giving everyone fits in Fenway. So they need to stay on their game; the bats need to stay hot; Papi needs to stay all fired up; and Lester needs to be healthy. That’s all. And as usual, in closing, let’s just say, Go Sox.