Red Sox in for a Tough Road
The Red Sox have already had a tough season, with injuries and the team’s horrible start in April. They have recovered well, but now they must avoid a collapse as they are on a long road trip out west.
This is the second road trip out west this season and the first one saw Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz and Victor Martinez get injured on consecutive days, with Pedroia and Martinez both breaking bones and all three winding up on the disabled list.
Boston still have over a dozen games remaining out West this season, and history doesn’t suggest that’s a good thing. The last time they had a winning record on the west coast was in 2004 when they went 8-7. Last season, they were 4-8, 6-8 in 2008, 4-9 in 2007, 5-10 in 2006 and 4-6 in 2005.
The good news for the Red Sox is Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett will return this week, which will mean a return back to the normal rotation, and struggling pitcher Tim Wakefield will head back to the bullpen.
The Sox division rivals have it a lot easier in the coming weeks as the Tampa Bay Rays are on the road against the division bottom-feeders Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians, before returning home to play a slumping Detroit Tigers team. The New York Yankees are home against the Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals before travelling to Cleveland to get their shot at the struggling tribe.
The Yankees and Rays are both comfortably ahead of the Red Sox and are facing a much more favorable schedule and travelling tour as they try to build on their lead.
The Sox struggled into the All-Star break and will not return home until July 28th. That's three days before the trading deadline. The Sox need to address their bullpen struggles but some are saying that they should acquire an outfielder with Jacoby Ellsbury still on the shelf. However, it may not be worth the three to four more weeks that he’ll be out. Ellsbury is already throwing and bunting in Fort Myers. However, general manager (GM) Theo Epstein may not want to wait for the young outfielder’s return. Don't expect the luxury tax to get in their way as the Sox won't let a couple of million dollars keep them from making a deal.
This really is make it-or-break it time for the Sox. A slump along the lines of 2-8 or 3-7 would be disastrous and may doom them for the remainder of the season. However, with all the returning starters, that would be unlikely and ace Jon Lester certainly doesn’t want to hear of that possibility.
"Every trip is important, every game is important," Lester said. "Doesn't matter where we're playing, what coast, what team. Every game's important this time of year. We've got to play good baseball.”
Lester is confident in the resilient group, who have battled injuries all season and have had their ups-and-downs in regards to slumps and hot streaks.
"We've got to grind things out, just like we've done all year. We'll keep battling back and trying to win. That's one thing about that team down there. We'll fight to the end."
Once the Red Sox are completely healthy again, we may see a surge for the lead in the AL East, and the Yankees and the Rays can’t get too comfortable with the way things are now. Both teams have to keep winning and win often as the Sox have shown they are perfectly capable of going on a tear and can catch both teams quicker than they think. But first, the Sox must now finish weathering the remainder of the injury storm.
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