With the New York Yankees beating the Baltimore Orioles last night, the Boston Red Sox will welcome the Yanks to Historic Fenway Park with a 1.5 game lead in the American League East. The Red Sox record stands at 82-51 while the Yankees are 80-52.
During yesterday’s post, I had said the Red Sox had a 2.5 game lead but I was incorrect as the MLB.com standings were actually wrong at that time. So hence why I wanted to lead off with that for today. I do apologize. And because of those incorrect standings, some of the other things I had written were wrong too.
The Yankees lead the wild card by 7.5 games over the Rays. So say the Red Sox were to sweep, it would put the Rays back in the race if they won their next three games as well. Barring a colossal collapse by either the Yankees or Red Sox, both of them should make the playoffs this year.
You definitely think the Red Sox want to win the division. If they did, they’d probably matchup with the winner of the AL Central which at this time is the Detroit Tigers. The Texas Rangers currently lead the AL West.. Honestly I don’t think the Red Sox care who they play in the playoffs.
If the Red Sox are to win the AL East, they would get home field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs as whomever wins the AL East should end up with the best record in the American League. Home field advantage this year in the World Series belongs to the National League since they won the 2011 All-Star Game (stupid rule by the way).
Rosters will expand on Thursday and with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox likely to make the International League Playoffs, I can’t see the Red Sox completely raiding their roster. They might take a guy or two for the bullpen but that’s about all I see until they are done.
However, they should welcome Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew back to the team. We might even see Bobby Jenks come off the DL as well but like you, I’d rather see him stay there for the rest of the year.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and news from the day. So for now enjoy the overnight links from the media.
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Video: Alec Baldwin Tells John Krasinski To Call 912 [SOX & Dawgs]
Dynamic duo: Ellsbury, Granderson embody game’s new superstar class [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Likely to be pitched battle [Boston Globe]
Playing well is Sox’ 1st priority [Boston Globe]
Devil in the details for the Yankees [Boston Globe]
Sox like steady diet of Aceves [Boston Herald]
Down the stretch they come [Boston Herald]
Sox vs. Yankees: A battle of matchups [Boston Herald]
‘Just make the playoffs’ [Boston Herald]
Who will be the beast of the AL East? [Clubhouse Insider]
Girardi: A-Rod ‘really questionable’ to face Red Sox [Clubhouse Insider]
Miller taking well to his role in the bullpen [CSN New England]
Nation STATion: Nine facts for Ted Williams’ birthday [CSN New England]
Sox enter Yankees series with ‘good mental break’ [CSN New England]
State of the rotations: Red Sox-Yankees [ESPN Boston]
Keegan Bradley to throw out first pitch at Fenway Park tomorrow [Extra Bases]
Giving up on Wakefield would be a mistake [Extra Bases]
Ask Nick: Where Wakefield fits in [Extra Bases]
Updates on Yankee injuries and some Red Sox charitable endeavors [Extra Bases]
Terry Francona’s Red Sox Closing In on 100 Wins, a Goal Once Thought to Be Abandoned [NESN.com]
Video: Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett Spend Off-Day Giving Back to Boston Community [NESN.com]
Monday Nuggetpalooza! [Nuggetpalooza]
Aceves refuses to lose [Projo Sox Blog]
Postseason almost assured, Sox aren’t settling for wildcard [Providence Journal]
Adrian Gonzalez Named AL Player of the Week [RedSox.com]
Lucchino ‘amped’ for Yankees series [RedSox.com]
MV-Three: Red Sox trio quite valuable [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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