| 21 September 2009
Thanks to another great series against the Orioles, the Red Sox are now just 5 games behind the Yankees to the AL East title.
The late-season West Coast trip that the Red Sox were able to avoid this year, is currently biting the Yankees in the ass... and it only gets tougher with a series in LA this week. While the Red Sox were winning 10 of their last 11, the Yankees were losing series to Baltimore and Seattle.
Now, with a three game set in the Bronx this weekend, the AL East division is still up for grabs.
That said, the Red Sox and Yankees know how important it is to have your starters healthy and rested for the post season. While many Sox fans and Yankee fans will be hoping to see all the big guns in this series, both managers may choose to use a number of bench players and young arms this weekend, rather than go for broke a week before the playoffs.
ESPN has the expected starters:
Game 1 - Lester vs Sabathia
Game 2 - Matsuzaka vs Chamberlain
Game 3 - Wakefield vs Pettite
I like our chances in the first two games, but Game 3 could be tricky. The last time Wake tried to come back from this back injury, he wasn't able to make the next start. If he re-injures himself tonight in KC, the Sox would be forced to turn to Paul Byrd. Niether option is very appealing, but the Sox could definitely take 2 of 3 this weekend.
If no ground is gained before the Yankees series, two wins would put the Sox three games out with a week left, so a sweep is the only real way to have a shot at the division.
The Yankees will finish the season against KC and Tampa Bay, while the Sox head back to Fenway for three games with the Jays and a 4-game set with the Indians. That schedule favors the Red Sox but in 2007, the Red Sox proved that they were willing to conceed the division in order to ensure that their core players were rested.
That worked in 2007, but considering the current circumstances, I would do all that I could to steal the East from the Yankees if I were Tito.
If the Red Sox are the wild card team, they will have to win in Los Angeles and New York if they want another ring. They're 2-4 in LA and 2-4 in the Bronx with three left to play... and with 37-37 record on the road this season, the Sox could struggle in both series.
Bottom Line: The next two weeks will come down to situational baseball. If the Sox are up big, Tito will be resting the starts as often as popssible. Same with a blow out in the other direction. But if the game is close, I hope that he does all he can to win without jeopardizing any key players.
If Wake can stay healthy, Tito will have the luxury of six starters down the stretch. I'm not sure he'll take anyone off of their normal schedule, but maybe Byrd becomes a long man, enabling Beckett, Lester and Buchholz to exit after 5 innings if need be.
And with the never-ending carousel of Youk, Lowell, Martinez, Ortiz and Varitek... we shold be able to keep most of the big guns fresh as well.
What do you guys think?
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