It promises to be an interesting week for Sox fans. First four games with a much improved Cleveland team, then the Yankees come in for three. The New Yorkers, meanwhile, go to Chicago before coming to Fenway.
A good ending to the week would be for the Bosox to be 5 or more games ahead. There has been talk that both teams will make the postseason anyway, but as we found out in 1978, it is much too early to assume that.
The Bombers will come into Boston with something to prove. The Sox have taken 5 of 6 from them so far, including a three-game sweep at the Stadium in May. The teams are similar in many ways-both have strong hitting that can explode at any time (last week, the Yanks scored 12 runs off the hapless Orioles in the first inning of a game), but also have somewhat erratic pitching.
The hurlers to especially watch this week are John Lackey and Tim Wakefield. Despite a setback Monday night, Lackey has shown signs of coming around, and Wake, despite his age, can be almost unhittable if his knuckler is on. Erik Bedard’s start on Thursday will also be huge. It looks like a six-man rotation for now, but you can never have enough pitching.
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