| 01 October 2009
I have a theory.
Tito spent the last two weeks juggling players in an effort to keep everybody healthy. During all that juggling, they fell into a funk that culminated with Jon Lester getting plunked and Josh Beckett getting three cortizone shots in his back.
I think the Sox were simply trying to do to much and the injuries just made it worse.
But the pressure is off. A playoff spot has been secured. The projected roster is all but locked up. And most of our regulars got a day off yesterday to shake off the champagne hangover and clear their heads.
I expect this series to be a stepping stone into the playoffs for the Sox. Not a catapult, given that our big guns will all be on short leashes, but I do expect the starting nine to show us some quality baseball over the next four days.
We saw a glimpse of this on Tuesday when the heart of our lineup finally started beating again to the tune of a 5-run 8th inning against the Jays.
Look for more of that tonight... I promise.
Despite the crappy numbers Lester got stuck with after he got hit in the leg against the Yankees, he's still 6-3 with a 3.04 ERA in Fenway this season. That said, one of Lester's few mediocre starts this year came against the Tribe - 5 ER, 2 HR, 7 H, 6 IP - but that was in April.
The Indians snapped an 11-game losing streak with a sweep of the lowly Orioles, but they're still a pretty weak team with a Manager that fired earlier this week and a struggling rookie starter on the mound tonight.
Bottom Line: The Sox don't want to head to LA on a 10-game losing streak any more than we want them to. They may not sweep the Indians, but I bet we'll all be feeling alot better about things come Monday morning.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
