Down The Stretch They Come....

Ok, is it just me or has this Red Sox season been among one of the stranger ones in recent memory? Think about it: It's the first full season without Manny. David Ortiz didn't hit a homer until June 5th and had the steroids scandal. Neither Brad Penny or John Smoltz are still with the team. Theo made a blockbuster move at the deadline to acquire Victor Martinez. The revolving door that was the shortstop position (Nick Green, Jed Lowrie, Chris Woodward) until Alex Gonzalez was reacquired from the Reds. And Dice-K went 1-5 in his first 6 decisions with an ERA over 8, hadn't pitched in 60 days until Tuesday night, and could still be Boston's third starter come October. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Boston Red Sox!

Maybe the weirdest thing is that the aforementioned Matsuzaka, despite his general suckitude to this point in the season, has the potential to make or break the 2009 Red Sox. As he proved Tuesday night by shutting down the Angels, when he's on, he is a #2/#3 caliber starter. Which makes him especially valuable to this team considering the third starter right now is Clay Buchholz, and the fourth starter would be either Tim Wakefield or Paul Byrd. If that last sentence doesn't make you nervous, then I don't know what will. But by putting an effective Dice-K into the mix, as either the third or fourth starter, suddenly the postseason pitching staff looks a lot deeper, especially with the dynamic duo of Josh Beckett and John Lester as the game 1 and 2 starters respectively.

Another big thing that needs to happen for the Sox is that the lineup needs to settle. Now, I am a huge fan of Varitek, but it's obvious to even me that the guy has been missing in action since the All-Star Break and that his career is really all but over. I mean, the guy is hitting .164 since the break. .164! That is truly terrible. It's clear that for the Red Sox to have the best possible offensive output in the playoffs, the lineup needs too look like this:

Ellsbury (CF)
Pedroia (2B)
Martinez (C)

Youkilis (3B)
Bay (LF)
Ortiz (DH)

Lowell (3B)

Drew (RF)
Gonzalez (SS)

That lineup gives the Sox the best chance to put up runs and win games. Which, last time I checked, is the goal in the playoffs. I really hope Tito doesn't play Tek anymore than the bare minimum that is necessary. Plugging him into the lineup means they lose either one of their two best hitters (Martinez or Youk), one of their most consistent offensive threats (Lowell), or the player with the most home runs in the American League since June 5 (Ortiz). At this point in his career, all that Tek gives you is an ability to call the game, which is a skill that even i think is vastly overrated. Sorry Jason, but you're the odd man out in this situation.

So how do I feel about the Red Sox as they make their stretch run? I feel pretty optimistic that they will win the Wild Card, thanks to Texas finally starting to fade, but I'm not sure how they fare past that. The Yankees are on fire right now, and I think that they will be very tough to beat in a 7 game series. Not to mention that the Angels, as always, are a dangerous team and are not to be taken lightly (even if the Red Sox have won 10 of their last 11 against them in the playoffs). That being said, I think these guys have a shot, and a better one than a lot of people are giving them credit for. Seriously, who wants to face a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, and an effective Dice-K , plus Jonathan Papelbon (who still has yet to give up a postseason run) in a 5 or 7 game series? I know I wouldn't, that's for sure.