That the Yankees were able to close what was once a 14-game gap wasn't really surprising to me, they spent the first three months of the year playing way below what their run differential would have suggested. I am a bit unnerved that it's gotten this close, but with the collapse of the Mariners and the Tigers, the Sox will be playing in October whether they win the division or not. Taking the pennant, and the homefield advantage that comes with it, is obviously preferable, but wild-card status didn't seem to hurt the 2004 edition. (I know, I can't believe I'm forced to pull this rationalization crap either, but so it goes) What worries me is how the Red Sox have played the last week or so, which doesn't exactly instill confidence in me that they'll play far into October.
The offense has been alright, though the lack of Manny (Where the hell is he, by the way? Did he just forget to get on the team bus after a game in Baltimore?) has definitely hurt a few rallies. Ellsbury's been a phenomenal addition, but the bottom of the order, Tek in particular, just looks wiped out. The less said about offensive sinkhole J.D. Drew, the better. Still, scoring runs isn't the big problem lately.
It's the pitching. Which, given that pitching has been the strength of this team since April, is terrifying. Schill has clearly gotten to the late-Pedro "turns into a pumpkin after 6 innings" phase of his career. Matsuzaka just looks lost on the mound, his control's fluky and he can't seem to get through a lineup the third time. Lester's been up and down, and Wake just can't seem to find his good knuckler. If it weren't for Beckett continuing his Cy Young push, the rotation would be a wreck right now.
And the bullpen... Ugh. Papelbon's picked the worst possible time to get tired/have a bad week. Okajima looks like his arm's about to fall off (which, given his workload, it just might). Then there's Gagne. Now, my bet that Gabbard wasn't a big loss has turned out to be right so far, his ERA and WHIP have shot up since he got to Texas (David Murphy's OPS-ing 1.001 in 80 at-bats, but let's just try to pretend that's not true). That said, here's Gagne's line since coming to Boston:
9.00 ERA, .365(!) BAA, 2.14(!!) WHIP.
These are not encouraging numbers. They're certainly not the sort of numbers you want from your 8th-inning bridge guy. Especially when that bridge guy is a three-month rental grabbed for the express purpose of shoring up an already strong bullpen for a playoff run. There's still a week of regular-season play to prove otherwise, but Gagne seems unlikely to join Papi and Schill in the Pantheon of Theo Acquisitions.
The Sox have a day off, which hopefully they'll spend pulling their heads out of their asses. Then, it's off to Tampa for three. Nothing like a visit with the D-Rays to get a team back on track. If they can't pull out of the slump there, it may be a sign that it'll be a very short October.
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