It seems so strange, that the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees would both be at the mercy of a team that was just formed in 1998, and has never finished above last place in the division. Maybe taking the “Devil” out of the name was all they needed down at the Trop. As I write this, the Red Sox and Rays are in the 10th inning, with the Sox looking to move within 1/2 game of first place with a win. Last night took Red Sox fans on an emotional roller coaster, from Jason Bay’s go-ahead home run in the 8th inning, to Jonathan Papelbon’s first blown save since June in the 9th, and finally to Jacoby Ellsbury being stranded on third to end the ballgame. Hopefully tonight, we’ll see some more positive results. In other news, the Angels clinched the AL West today, as they defeated the Yankees. Those Yankees now are all but dead, now being over 10 games back of first place. The Blue Jays have been putting up a fight lately, but it’s simply too little to late for them.
Now, the Rays. They have been struggling lately, as can be evidenced by their recent series against the Jays and the way they’ve been playing against the Red Sox. If we replayed last night’s game 100 times from the 9th on, they would probably lose that game 95-99 times. They simply got lucky that Paps was having a rare off-night. Now, I don’t believe that the Rays have the experience (I mean, come on, their oldest starter is 26) to maintain the level of play they were having in July and August. My gut feeling is that the Red Sox will win the division, with the Rays still easily picking up the wildcard berth over the struggling Twins. The Red Sox should defeat the White Sox easily, who are without a doubt the worst playoff team from the American League in my projection. Now, the Rays versus the Angels would be a good series, but you have to think that the Angels would likely get the better of it. However, any one of those three teams (Boston, Tampa, and LA) are good enough to make the World Series, and even win it. Just think of the top three starters on each team; Beckett, Matsuzaka, and Lester for Boston, Lackey, Santana, and Weaver for LA, and Kazmir, Shields, and Sonnanstine for Tampa Bay. Every one of those pitchers gives the team a chance to win every time they toe the rubber. If it comes down to offense, LA probably has the strongest, although they have been slipping lately. The Red Sox, with their two MVP candidates, are also very good offensively, and that’s without even considering Ortiz, Bay, or Ellsbury. The Rays seem to be the weakest of the three teams in this regard, especially while Longoria, Crawford, and Upton are all sidelined.
Prospect to Watch: One guy I’ve always been a fan of, based purely on his upside, is George Kottaras. He was a highly touted prospect in the Padres organization before he came to Boston in the 2006 trade that sent David Wells to San Diego. He made an immediate impact, helping the Portland Sea Dogs win the 2006 Eastern League Championship. In 2008, despite limited playing time, he managed to hit over 20 home runs for Triple-A Pawtucket. However, his average sat around .250, something he’s going to have to improve if he wants to take Varitek’s place as the backstop for the Red Sox. He was called up to the Majors a few days ago, and it will be interesting to see what he can accomplish in the remainder of the season.
