Yasiel Puig: Dodgers phenom rookie
The pennant race is heating up.
Despite losing 5 straight, Tampa Bay is still in it and now sits just 3 games out of first in the east and 1 and a half game secure of the second wild card spot. Ironically, the 3rd team in the east is also the 3rd best in the wild card race as the Baltimore Orioles are crashing onward and have stormed to a spot just 1 and a half game out of a playoff spot. But even with Boston 4 and a half games up on Baltimore, they might still be the biggest threat in the east. You see with New York a non-factor (knock on wood) and Tampa falling even harder than Boston has this week, a Baltimore team that has gone 4 for 5 on a western road trip has closed a considerable gap between them and Boston and has also suddenly turned this whole thing into a 3 team pennant race.
Now don't get me wrong, the Rays WILL get better and are still a huge threat but after we all have seen Yasiel Puig lead the Dodgers to a 34 and 8, 42 game stretch, who's to say that the Orioles cannot easily oust the Red Sox still with over a month and a half to go in the year? Nobody.
Long story short, a team is not a playoff lock, until it is mathematically proven that nobody can catch them. Long story short, this season is not over and long story short the Boston Red Sox are set to soon be fighting with all their might to maintain the title of AL East Leader. They need every win that they can get.
Looking at just the next few weeks the Sox will immediately be faced with a series that they need to do well in. In a conclusion to their 10 game road trip that has instantly turned into a near house of horrors for Boston, the Sox will head to Toronto for a brief 3 game set against one of the AL's worst teams. After that they will saunter back home for another 3 game clash with their hated New York rivals: the Yankees.
But as quick as it began the Sox will end their miniature home-stand as they race west for what on paper looks to be their most difficult stretch of the year. They play the Giants for 3 games but soon move south to LA where they will face baseball hottest team: the Dodgers. By the conclusion of that sires, the Sox will be headed home...for a full week as between 3 sires, they will square off against the Orioles, the White Sox and the Tigers respectively.
By then, September will be upon us and with the pennant race likely coming right down to the wire, the Sox will spend the rest of the season (with the exception of a 2 game meeting with the Rockies) playing within the division.
Looking at this remaining schedule, 6 of their series will be played against teams with a realistic chance at making the playoffs. As for the 8 series against teams that are not in to win a championship, the Sox need every win they can get...a fact that I cannot stress enough.
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