Red Sox Running Away with AL East

Rays, Yankees, and Orioles are fighting for their playoff lives

By Russ Reed

At this time last year, the Boston Red Sox were suffering through one of the most humiliating seasons in recent memory.  Boston finished with a 69-93 record, the third-worst in the American League.  The team also traded away Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers in late August for a variety of reasons, among them disappointing performance and clubhouse issues.  It would have been hard for the Red Sox to endure a worse season this year, but experts did not expect this big of a turnaround.

Jim Davis/Boston Globe

With half a month left to go in the season, the Red Sox are a virtual lock to win the division.  They are 9.5 games up on the Rays in the A.L. East and their magic number to clinch is 4.  Boston is the highest-scoring team in the majors and improved their team ERA from 4.70 last year to 3.77 this season.  Offseason additions Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, and Jonny Gomes have played well, but have also helped to vastly improve the attitude of the team in conjunction with new manager John Farrell.  Starting pitchers Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester have returned to ace form after each had very sub-par seasons a year ago.  John Lackey has pitched much better than his record shows, having a remarkable season after missing all of last year while recovering from Tommy John surgery.  There are almost too many pleasant surprises in Boston to count, from Koji Uehara’s unbelievable play as the new closer to Stephen Drew’s clutch play late in close games.

Boston also has a chance to earn the top spot in the American League, which would give them home-field advantage throughout the entire playoffs since the A.L. won the All-Star Game back in July.  In order for the team to have the best record in the league, and to make a deep run in the playoffs, a couple things need to happen.  Buchholz has looked good since his return from a prolonged stint on the disabled list for a neck strain.  However, he must continue to pitch well and set the tone for the Red Sox staff as the season winds down.  In addition, Jacoby Ellsbury must return from the small fracture he suffered in his foot and play well.  Ellsbury is the leading run-scorer and base-stealer for the best offensive team in the Major Leagues.  His speed affects the type and quality of pitches that Victorino, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and Napoli see in their at-bats if he’s on-base.  Without Ellsbury in the lineup, the Red Sox run producers could struggle come October.

As for the other teams in the division, the only thing left to fight for is one of the two wild card spots.  The Rays currently hold one of the spots, but they may not have it for long.  Tampa Bay is 4-6 in their last ten games, and leads the Cleveland Indians by only half a game in the wild card.  After having the best ERA in the majors last season, Tampa has now slipped to 13^th in the same category.  Rays ace David Price is struggling by his standards, as he has gone 8-8 a year removed from winning the Cy Young.  Manager Joe Maddon will need star third baseman Evan Longoria and phenom Wil Myers to hit more consistently and support a pitching staff that is still very talented.

The Orioles and Yankees are still in the hunt as well, as they are 2.5 and 3 games out of the second wild card spot respectively.  Despite the breakout of MLB home run leader Chris Davis, the tables have turned in Baltimore.  The O’s went from having the best record in one-run games a season ago, to the worst.  But one thing is for certain; the Birds have never quit on manager Buck Showalter, and don’t expect them to this year.  New York is in a pretty good spot considering all of the major injuries they’ve endured this season.  However, the Bombers haven’t done themselves any favors.  After a crushing sweep in Boston, the Yankees are now 7-8 in September.  Even though Alfonso Soriano has given them a shot in the arm offensively, Joe Girardi needs his pitching staff, especially C.C. Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda, to be lights out the rest of the way.

Unfortunately, the best could not be saved for last.  The Toronto Blue Jays have had an enormously disappointing season, considering they added a number of good pieces in the offseason, including reigning N.L. Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and dynamic shortstop Jose Reyes.  Yet, all of the wheeling-and-dealing backfired, as the Jays are currently 13 games under .500.  Dickey, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson are a combined 25-29 on the season, and as a team the Jays have a 4.29 ERA.  In fairness, Reyes, Jose Bautista, and Brett Lawrie all missed time to injuries at some point in the season, and Edwin Encarnacion’s improving power numbers are something Toronto fans should look forward to next season.

So even though the race for the A.L. East title is all but over, three teams in the division are still fighting for the chance to play in October.  The Rays, Orioles, and Yankees are all good teams that will not only be fighting each other, but also the Rangers, Indians, and yes, the Royals, for both wild card spots.  I hope people will be watching, because it is definitely going to be an exciting last 15 days of the season.