I’m Comfortable With That

Just like my laptop, the Red Sox are falling apart.
Or are they? The Red Sox are 5-5 in their last ten games. A tough stretch to be sure, but not the end of the world. It’s the Devil Rays that dissapointed us, allowing themselves to be swept.
The media must be having a field day over this. All year, major media outlets have nauseatingly appointed the Yankees the division winner. Oh, 3.5 back with a few weeks to play? They’ll make it up, guaranteed. In fact, so guaranteed, that they constantly refer to them as being mere games back from the division, and to WATCH OUT.
Watch out? For the Yankees?
How about watching out for the Red Sox?
Remind me, guys, but who’s in first place? I don’t care about how many games, I care the finish.
The Red Sox, the league’s best offense, is 20th out of 30 teams in OPS the last 7 days. Is that going to last? If the last three years are any indication, NO.
They are 24th overall in ERA, and the last 7 days are 17th. Is it going to last? Probably, because Curt Schilling glues that rotation together. Whether he produces or not, the mental effect is devasating, and it slots everyone in their place.
How about Boston’s ERA as a bullpen? It’s 5.38, a number that keeps going down. It’s too late to really make anything of it, because there’s been too many innings pitched to make an impact, but our bullpen has been quite good lately (aside from the mysterious absence of Jeremi Gonzalez recently, but he did get an out last night).
Let’s say that our pitching does regress back to 24th. If our offense gets back to being #1, I will take #1 and #24 over #17 and #20.
All year long, the media have continually written the Red Sox off. We may be clinging onto a lead, but here’s the point. We’re clinging onto it – not fighting to get it. Big difference. I refuse, completely refuse, to count this team out, to write this team out. They don’t deserve that.
So maybe the Red Sox aren’t falling apart, but my laptop sure is. I now have a big white hole covering a quarter of the screen. Fun.
If, and I stress if, not when, we slip out of first place, then maybe I won’t be so pleased. But until then, the Red Sox are in first place, and strangely enough, I’m okay with that.
Big Fire Brand news coming tomorrow. Stay tuned. As for the interesting discussion as to David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez for MVP, your’ll be hearing my thoughts on it – after the season. Right now, I’m voting for David Ortiz. But these next few weeks will tell a lot about who nabs the award.