Sox on Fire

By Rob LaBrie

Don’t look now, but the Boston Red Sox have won 8 games in a row, including today’s victory which followed a walk-off two run homer by David Ortiz.  Yes, the Sox are surging and currently have a 2.5 game lead on the New York Yankees, who had their game rained out tonight.
They’ve done it with a mix of great pitching and hitting.  Newcomer, Jon Lester has looked like somebody to watch for in the future.  In three starts, he’s recorded a 2.76 ERA to go along with two wins in his last two starts.  He’s also wrung up 19 batters, including 10 on Wednesday.

Jonathan Papelbon has brought his AL leading save total up to 23 with three saves during the 8-game streak, all against the Braves.  Papelbon was also credited with tonight’s win over the Washington Nationals, thanks to a little help from Big Papi.

In a feel good story, reliever Kyle Snyder recorded a win on the 19th, two days after being picked up off waivers by the Sox, when he was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals.  It seems as though Kansas City can’t do anything right this season (except sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates, which isn’t exactly something to get too proud of).  Unfortunately for Snyder, he was optioned to the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox to make room for the newly acquired Jason Johnson.

I think the Sox have finally taken that next step.  They’re getting contributions from everybody in the lineup and on the pitching staff.  Not to say everything is going to stay this way the rest of the year (things aren’t looking up for a 134-28 season), but this is definitely a big step forward.  They now know they can win, which is big for youngsters and veterans alike.

Granted, the Sox have played two struggling teams in the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, they have carried that momentum over to the Philadelphia Phillies, who, despite losing 10 of 13 before meeting the Sox, appear to be the only team in the NL East with any shot at catching the 46-28 New York Mets at some point in the season (although the chances of that happening seem to be dwindling).

The Sox look like they are finally ready to make a push and create a little space between themselves and New York Yankees.  The Toronto Blue Jays have also looked decent lately, but nonetheless are still 4 games back, 1.5 behind New York.  If they can continue to get production out of their younger players (Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen, and Kevin Youkilis), they should continue to push through this season, winning games and building a bigger lead between themselves and their AL East foes.

Now this may just be a typical Red Sox fan counting his eggs before they hatch, but it seems as though this year the Sox are for real again.  If they can get Curt Schilling producing like he’s capable (he’s been alright lately, but still not the old Schill), and maybe one more veteran starting pitcher in July to help them down the stretch, this is a team with a legit shot at going deep into the playoffs and (dare I say it?) challenge for a second title in two years (I said “challenge for” to stay on the safe side and not sound like the usual New England blind optimist).

However, no matter how good the Sox look, the Yankees are always there with their money tree of an owner, George Steinbrenner.  Should Steinbrenner feel threatened by the Sox come the trade deadline, he won’t be afraid to redo his entire roster if he has to, just to beat Boston.  This is assuming teams will want to make deals with him, as it is said his farm team is a barren wasteland in terms of talent.  Yes, the same barren wasteland that has produced Robinson Cano, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Phillips, Melky Cabrera, and Bubba Crosby over the past few years.  I’m sure the race this year will get extra hot as both teams know that they will probably have to win the division to make the playoffs.  The last few years the wild card has come from the AL East, but this year it should be either the Tigers or White Sox taking it.

While the race in the East certainly isn’t over in just late June, the Sox have definitely proven that, right now, they’re the best team.  With any luck, Boston can keep it that way and then look ahead to end the current one-year curse of not winning a World Series.