Collapse—Or Just Preparing For Next Round?
by Larry Shiman, FN Board Member

September 21, 2007—The Red Sox are in a very strange situation right now. They are in the midst of an historic collapse, possibly losing a divisional lead to a rival who trailed by 14 and a half games at one point. On the other hand, they are about to clinch at least the wild card, and no one cared in 2004 that they didn't win the division. The only thing the Red Sox are really playing for is a home game (and the ability to make some extra money off of season tickets holders).

Yet the recent weeks have seen a battle between my brain and my heart. My brain tells me that the important thing is making the playoffs, not your position in the playoffs. Once you make it, its all a crap-shoot anyway. What matters is what happens in October, not September. Meanwhile, my heart is saying, "But it's the Yankees! And they win every year! And we had a 14 and a half game lead!" No matter what happens in the next week, there are some very real issues of concern. The first is that the Yankees are on fire. They are healthy, and not only is their lineup producing like we all knew they would, their pitching is looking mighty solid. If they keep playing like this in the playoffs, it won't matter who has an extra home game.

At the same time, there's a lot to be concerned with on the Sox. The cornerstones of our indestructible bullpen are looking, well, destructible. Not everyone is pitching badly, but the ones who are pitching well aren't the guys you usually see with the game on the line in the late innings. I don't have a clue how the bullpen should be constructed for the playoffs, and that's a bad sign at this point. I know one thing - the only way I want to see Gagne out there is if he is wearing another team's uniform. The big question in the starting rotation is Daisuke. Another good start from him, and I'll be fine, but that's no guarantee, given the way he's pitched for most of the past month or two. Otherwise, I have confidence in Beckett and Schilling, I like Lester, and I think Wakefield's just in one of those stretches where you have to admit he isn't likely to be effective for a while. I'd be happier if Buchholz got a regular role in there somehow, but I don't think it's going to happen.

If this team loses in the first round, I'm going to think a lot about how disappointing this team was over the last several weeks. If they can get by the first round, September will be a distant memory.