Before we get going here today, I just wanted to take a moment and wish my mom a happy 60th birthday. So Happy Birthday Mom!
The Boston Red Sox enjoyed a day of respite on Thursday as did the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays. The lone team with a remote shot to catch the Red Sox in the wild card standings, the Seattle Mariners, lost last night.
This means the Red Sox still trail the Yankees by nine games in the AL East standings. The Red Sox lead over the Rangers in the wild card standings is two games while the Rays are 9.5 games behind and the Mariners ten games.
With the Rays coming into town for a three-game set this weekend, the Red Sox have a chance to pretty much eliminate the Rays as the local nine has 23 games left and the Rays have 22. Plus with the Rangers playing some really good baseball right now, every game is an essential one for the Red Sox. The Rangers are playing the Mariners so by the end of the weekend this could be a two team race.
I fully expect this battle between the Rangers and Red Sox to come down to the final weekend of the season.
Meeting of minds [Boston Globe]
Buchholz masters changeup [Boston Globe]
Schilling: Chances Of Running Slim To None [Hartford Courant]
The Daisuke Report [Full Count]
Saito Set To Earn An Extra $500,000 [Full Count]
Red Sox can finish off free-falling Rays for good [Providence Journal]
Red Sox deal with success [Boston Herald]
Josh Reddickâs dad happy to see this day [Boston Herald]
For Daniel Bard, playoff hunt beats beach [Boston Herald]
Red Sox find strength in bullpen [Boston Herald]
How the trade winds have blown [Boston Herald]
Red Sox architect rejoins Baltimore Orioles [Boston Herald]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times websites.
