Red Sox vs. Yankees

[Here is an inane sports post. If you come for political ranting, scroll down. Lot’s of posts today.]

The Yankees lost last night which leaves them 1.5 games ahead of Our Beloved Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division standings.

The agenda for the weekend?

Fri. Aug 18 — New York — 1:05 PM — Fenway Park
Fri. Aug 18 — New York — 8:05 PM — Fenway Park
Sat. Aug 19 — New York — 1:20 PM — Fenway Park
Sun. Aug 20 — New York — 8:05 PM — Fenway Park
Mon. Aug 21 — New York — 1:05 PM — Fenway Park
[Excite Sports: Red Sox Schedule & Results]

Yes, that’s a five game Sox-Yankees series at Fenway Park.

• Best case: A sweep in favor of the Red Sox would put the Sox in first place, 3.5 games up on the Yankees. [Not likely.]
• Worst case: A sweep in favor of the Yankees would put the Sox 6.5 games back from the Yankees, and would yield rioting, looting, murder and mass suicide across Red Sox Nation. [But, thankfully, also not likely.]

People who seem to know more about the game than Your Montag, often say things like (to paraphrase,) ‘You’ve got to win series, to have success in Major League Baseball.’ Which is admittedly much more reasonable than an expectation of winning every game, over a 160+ game season. But, Red Sox fans have been despairing over the team’s lackluster performance of late— having won only five of the last fifteen games —and their inability to win series, or even the single games that they should, despite the heroics of third-baseman, ‘George Clooney Guy.’

Nonetheless, all of a sudden we’re looking at a huge series with the Yankees and the Sox only 1.5 games back. What was with all the hand-wringing, anyway? Look at what’s possible if the Red Sox just win this series:

• Boston wins the series 3 games to 2: they come out still in second place, only a half game back from the Yankees. [Not a lock, but a perfectly reasonable possibility.]
• Boston wins the series 4 games to 1: they come out in first place, 1.5 games up on the Yankees. [Dare we hope?]

Unless there is a complete meltdown where the Sox lose 4 or more of these games, they’re still right there where they should be this time of year: in the thick of it down the stretch.

Oh, and, uh . . . Fuck the wild-card race. These guys just have to win series . . . Starting with this one.

Go Red Sox!