Panic stations
Things have gone downhill in a hurry in my beloved Fenway Park.
From being comfortably pencilled in for the post-season the Boston Red Sox are under assault from the little train that could, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Having slipped 4 games behind the Yankees in the divisional standings Boston now hold a 4 game lead in the wildcard over Tampa (and 4.5 over the Angels) as they enter a key series in Boston.
The Red Sox problems have come from the injuries that have blighted their starting line up all year. Daisuke Matsuzaka didn’t make it out of May before requiring Tommy Johns surgery that shut him down for the year. Clay Buchholz was turning it around after a shaky April but after complaining of back pains it was discovered he had a stress fracture in his back and was shut down in mid-june.
Add in a terrible year from John Lackey, the ancient but much-loved Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and the steady stream of youngsters making spot starts and you can see why the Red Sox have started to lose ground.
The offense, lead by Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez, continues to provide the pop but they are unable to prevent the runs being scored on them.
Set up man Daniel Bard has started to flame out from over use this season. After going 8 appearances in August without giving up a run he’s allowed 10 guys to cross home plate in September.
Meanwhile the Rays have been quietly creeping up on them. Rookies Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson have been outstanding while 2B/OF Ben Zobrist continues to be one of the most underrated players in the league. He doesn’t put up the gaudy home run numbers that get you attention but he’s carrying an offensive Wins Above Replacement of 4.9, that’s just 0.4 behind the likes of Adrian Gonzalez and Curtis Granderson.
After this 4 game series against Tampa the Red Sox host Baltimore for 4 games before a 3 game series in New York against the Yankees and 3 more in Baltimore while the Rays have 7 of their last 10 games against the Yankees.
A split series then would hopefully be enough for the Sox to demoralise Tampa and get the Sox into the play-offs, but the fan in me is really worried that the Yankees might roll out weakened teams against Tampa just to make sure Boston doesn’t get in.
But if the Tampa take tonight’s game you can expect a nervous Fenway Park to be back in the pre-2004 “nothing goes right for us” mind set.
Friday – 12:10am – Hellickson (12-10) vs Weiland (0-1)
Saturday – 12:10am – Shields (15-10) vs Beckett (12-5)
Saturday – 9:10pm – Niemann (10-7) vs Lester (15-7)
Sunday 6:35pm – Price (12-12) vs Wakefield (7-6)
Follow Toby Durant on twitter @TDonSport
