I am running out of ways to be positive as to what’s going on with the Boston Red Sox right now. We are bearing witness to something most have never seen before in their lifetimes and I, for one, don’t like it one bit.
The Red Sox now find themselves tied with the Tampa Bay Rays after they fell 6-3 to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. The Rays beat the New York Yankees 5-2 to pick up the game that has now tied the AL Wild Card standings. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were eliminated last night when they lost to the Texas Rangers.
It’s quite possible the Red Sox could be still leading the wild card standings had Jacoby Ellsbury made one whale of a catch. The blame doesn’t lie with him because of that. He flat out made every effort to catch the ball only to have the wall he ran hard into, knock the ball out of his glove.
Because of that, it went from being the third out of the inning and the Red Sox trailing 3-2, to Robert Andino hitting an inside the park three-run homer and the Orioles leading 6-2.
Terry Francona probably should have pulled Josh Beckett before facing Andino in the 6th inning. He had been leaving balls up in the zone or out over the plate like the pitch Andino drove to deep center.
I’m not going to place blame on anyone yet though. The season isn’t over by any means. There’s nothing out there that says the Red Sox have been eliminated from the playoffs.
At the very minimum if they win their final two games of the season, the Red Sox are guaranteed to play on Thursday if the Rays do the same thing by winning their final two games. That would set up a one-game playoff at the Trop.
Honestly though, the Red Sox can’t worry about the Rays winning or losing right now. They need to keep their focus on winning these final two games because you don’t really want to rely on the Yankees for anything. They’re already in the playoffs and are getting their players rested for the grind of the playoffs.
That’s why it’s of the utmost importance the Red Sox stayed focused on what they can do each night. And if they do that tonight, then they need to go out and do the same thing the next night.
It’s that simple folks!
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, news and any links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Even worse [Boston Globe]
Beckett just can’t deliver [Boston Globe]
Now caught shorthanded? [Boston Globe]
September mourn [Boston Herald]
Ace lacking for delivery [Boston Herald]
Marriage worth saving [Boston Herald]
Catching the injury bug [Boston Herald]
Drew puts finger on new goals [Boston Herald]
Sox lose wild card lead after 6-3 loss [CSN New England]
Beckett, like Lester, fails Red Sox down the stretch [CSN New England]
Notes: Saltalamacchia, Varitek banged up [CSN New England]
Rapid Reaction: Orioles 6, Red Sox 3 [ESPN Boston]
X-rays negative on Saltalamacchia [ESPN Boston]
Video: Players react to loss [ESPN Boston]
Video: Francona’s assessment [ESPN Boston]
Boston Red Sox lose lead, are desperate to regroup in time [ESPN Boston]
Josh Beckett doesn’t live up to ‘ace’ reputation [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Red Sox lose to Orioles; fall into tie with Rays with two games left [Full Count]
Red Sox could find themselves in a catching conundrum [Full Count]
X-Rays Negative on Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s Shoulder, Could Return to Red Sox Lineup Tuesday [NESN.com]
Video: Josh Beckett Says He Just Hasn’t Made Pitches When Needed [NESN.com]
Josh Beckett, Jon Lester Continue to Come Up Empty When Team Needs It Most [NESN.com]
Video: Dustin Pedroia Promises Red Sox Will Continue Playing as Hard as They Can Going Forward [NESN.com]
Red Sox Clinging to Tiny Shred of Hope After All of a Nine-Game Lead Is Lost [NESN.com]
Jacoby Ellsbury’s Near-Catch Defines Month of Misery for Red Sox [NESN.com]
Boston’s wildcard lead evaporates [Providence Journal]
Beckett couldn’t deliver when team needed him most [Providence Journal]
Record-breaking season comes as no surprise to Ellsbury [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Boston’s catching corps is banged, bruised [Providence Journal]
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.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the Baltimore Sun website. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, the Oriole Post.
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