We are now in the middle of August, so it’s time to truly evaluate our playoff chances as the wild card hunt begins. The Red Sox have clearly underperformed this season, but there is no better time to make up for it then when they blew it last season. Using current wild card standings, they will need to have won 88 games by season’s end to get a wild card spot, meaning they need to win 29 of their remaining 46 games. Here’s a breakdown of the rest of their schedule and how they will need to fare to reach magical number 29.
9 games vs. the Yankees
The Yankees are clearly one of the best teams in baseball, but they’ve seem to lose a lot of momentum recently. A 5-4 record against them is plausible. Their last three games of our season are against the Yanks so if they’re in the hunt it could be very interesting.
9 vs. the Orioles
This is a series we have to stay strong for, the Orioles currently occupy a wild card spot. The Orioles have way over performed, especially considering they have a -47 run differential, and considering the Red Sox have a +31 run differential a 6-3 record is possible.
6 games vs. the Angels
The Angels are a tough team but splitting 3-3 is realistic.
6 vs. the Rays
Against one of the other teams vying for the wild card spot we’ll have to split 3-3.
6 vs. the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are no good, 4-2.
4 vs. the Athletics
A surprisingly tough team, we’ll have to split it 2-2.
3 vs. the Royals
Bad team, we need to sweep 3-0.
3 vs. the Mariners.
Same as above, we need to sweep 3-0.
A 29-17 record isn’t very likely, but certainly not impossible. And if we were capable of going 8-16 to end last year, we can finish 29-17 this year. Not losing a single series until the end of the season isn’t realistic either, but winning series against the Angels, Athletics, or Orioles could give us enough breathing room. Let’s cross our fingers for the boys in red, but don’t hold your breath.
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