August and Everything After

I was two seconds away from writing the Sox obit yesterday, but something told me to wait, back off that ledge. I don't know if it was the eve of "Maddenoliday", but something made me think this ain't over, Nothings Over. Hell if the Sox could run the table in '04 why not '08? Beckett proved again why he has surplanted Big Schill's balls for this team. Dale n' Holley asked a caller yesterday who starts game one of the playoffs for the Sox. Lester? Dice K? NO Beckett! everyone should know by now that winning back-to-back in baseball is harder than beating Michael Phelps in a race to the dock at summer camp. The extra stressful post-season seems to take a toll on the winning team and the injury bug plagues the champs year after year. Look at the 2005 Sox for proof. Suddenly the Sox injuries Papi, Wake, and Lowell are catching up with them. BUT, and this is big the same is happening at a far more destructive rate to the, GULP, first place Rays. With Crawford potentially out till Sept. and their undoubted rated rookie/spark plug Longoria out at least 3 weeks with a fracture, the Sox are in line to catch the Rays. It at least gives the Sox some hope of taking the East and not having to be the wild-card which isn't so bad these days, but playing at Fenway is too much for any visiting team to handle in October.

Some say the Rays are comperable to the "Impossible Dream" Sox team, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Look no further than the three game sets in September (@ Fenway 8th-10th & @ Tampa 15th-17th ). With four games to catch the Rays the Sox can easily put together a string of wins and shave down that lead. It will take some timely pitching (Beckett, Lester, Dice K) and some team chemistry (adding Bay and calling up Lowrie). Don't get me wrong this is not the best Sox team I have seen and I still miss the sh*t out of Manny, but they are forming a nice chemistry and if they can put together a nice 8-10 game win streak it is possible they win the division; I'm not even thinking Wild Card here folks.

So strap on your dancing shoes and enjoy this next few weeks of baseball in Boston. Because, it could be a long fall without the Sox in the playoffs...who am I kidding the Pats asskicking tour will be up and running Sep. 7th, but it would be nice to have the Sox in our lives again during the depressing as hell New England fall. Remember things were not always this way and count our blessings.