Here are the standings this fine Friday morning:
It's a hot humid day in Boston and the Red Sox are red hot sitting on top of the AL East with their biggest lead of the season. The division is still pretty tight, but the Sox are still holding out on top. The Sox had themselves a good week winning 3 out of 4 games from the Blue Jays and then sweeping the Padres out of town.
The Sox are now heading out on a 10 game west coast road trip before the All Star Break. The Sox historically slump some on west coast trips, so I have tempered expectations during the next week or so. The Sox play the Angels, the Mariners and then end with a series against the Athletics. I hope the Sox can win each series, but I think they will be in good shape if they can split the games they play out there.
As for injuries, the Sox seem to be making some head way there. Stephen Drew did a full workout on the field at Fenway and it looks like he might be back in the lineup on Saturday. While Drew has been gone both Synder and Diaz have filled in quite nicely and Iglesias has made some spectacular plays at shortstop. Clay Buchholz is still on the DL, but he took a positive step forward and there is "hope" he could return from the DL after the break. The rest of the starting rotation has really stepped up in his absence and all given quality outings. Finally, the Sox seem to have found someone who is comfortable and successful in the closing role. Koji Uehara has looked great in the 9th inning role and only blown one save which was a result of running into Jose Bautista at the plate. Andrew Bailey also had himself a nice 1-2-3 outing last week. It doesn't mean Bailey is fixed, but it's a positive step in the right direction.
This team seems to be doing a lot of things right. They also have run into a good deal of luck. I think of the rough patch that Bailey was in and how many times the Sox bats would turn a blown save into a win. If the Sox can continue playing this way, I think they will continue to surprise people with their success.
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