Why the Red Sox WILL NOT Win the AL East
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by Romiezzo
This is why the Boston Red Sox will NOT win the AL East.
First off, we all know that the Yankees have been on fire ever since the All Star break, and I just want to congratulate them for making it this far. I’m pretty sure that almost everyone believed that they wouldn’t make it this far, and now, not only are they only 5 1/2 games behind the team with the highest winning percentage, but they are now in the lead of the AL Wild Card, which really proves that they doing great; they are doing better than teams like the Tigers, Indians, and Mariners.
Secondly, it has been said by many people that the pitching of the Red Sox is really good. To be honest, that is what’s keeping them in first place right now. Since the All-Star break, the Red Sox have allowed 114 runs, which is great for the Red Sox, but look deep into where they stand in pitching, shall we?
The Red Sox acquired Eric Gagne right before the trade deadline, and I must say that he has done awful for the Red Sox, pitching in 6 games (5 innings pitched), with 7 earned runs, a 12.60 ERA, and a 2.600 WHIP. His ERA total has jumped from 2.16 to 4.12, which is really bad, especially for a reliever and in that amount of time. Plus, Terry Francona keeps putting him in game deciding situations. Whatever happened to Manny Delcarmen? I’d say he had about 3 Eric Gagne games (so to speak) in the entire season. What happened to Hideki Okajima? What happened to Jonathan Papelbon? If you’re saving him for close game situations, you just screwed up about 3-4 times. You know that Papelbon can seal the deal just about every time, and if you’re picking Gagne over Papelbon, you’ve got to be out of your mind. I think that because he got injured last year, they’re trying to give him some rest, which is why they acquired Gagne in the first place. But it’s not working for the Red Sox, so do something Francona! Look at the numbers. Eric Gagne has been involved in 1/3 of all of the Red Sox games since the trade deadline, and he’s retired the side without giving up a run only twice. Francona has too much faith in Gagne, when he has three other guys that can get the job done. The Sox should probably be ahead of the Yankees by about 8 games. Nobody’s perfect at what they do, but if you make the same mistake over and over again, you have gone too far, in my opinion.
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Another pitcher that the Red Sox should worry about is Jon Lester. In five starts, he has a 5.14 ERA, as well as a very high pitch count. He did lower it down against Tampa Bay in his last start, and look at the decrease of the ERA he had (6.43 to 5.14). If he lowers his pitch count, that’ll be great for him and the Sox, but if he doesn’t, which he has trouble doing, he probably won’t do as well, which will affect the pitching of the Red Sox, the biggest aspect that the Red Sox have.
Look at Daisuke Matsuzaka. Many people say he is overrated when the truth is he could be considered underrated. Everyone judges him on how many wins and losses he has. He's 13-9. Big deal. I think he could've had more wins than Josh Beckett so far in the season, but because he doesn't have run support, something that the Yankees almost always have when a pitcher pitches a gem, he loses games. Six out of the nine losses he has had this season are when he surrendered three runs or less. That is absolutely ridiculous, especially with the lineup that the Red Sox have.
In an article I read yesterday about how the Yankees don’t have the pitching, I believe that it is true that they don't have the pitching that the Red Sox have. It is true that they are worse in ERA, WHIP, and opponent batting average than the Red Sox, but last in saves? That is irrelevant. Blown saves is different. The reason why the Yankees are last in saves is because Mariano Rivera doesn’t need to close due to the fact that there is usually a big lead for the Yankees in the ninth inning. Their offence is great, as they lead the league in runs scored, batting average and home runs. With those stats, I don’t think you need great pitching like the Red Sox, who currently have 95 less runs than the Yankees do. To help out, the Yankees signed someone else: Joba Chamberlain. He has pitched really well for the Yankees and has yet to surrender a run. He has been huge for the Yankee bullpen, and is a key factor for why I think the Yankees are going to win the division.
The Red Sox have also been struggling to keep their lead, and they have the Orioles to thank because they have done really well against the Yankees as of late. They are now 8-4 against them, and they gave the Red Sox a chance to gain a couple more games against the Yankees, BUT the Red Sox haven’t done so well against them either. On the other hand, the Angels are the team that the Yankees should thank. It is surprising to know that the Angels were swept by the Red Sox the first series they faced each other, and now, when you turn on the TV, it is more likely to see the Angels beat the Red Sox.
When looking at both schedules, the Yankees have a "hard" schedule. They are facing the Tigers five more times (a team that has surrendered 623 runs, which is 3 rd in the league), the Mariners three more times (a team that has surrendered 579 runs, which is 6 th in the league), and the Angels three more times (which is probably going to be the hardest series for the Yankees, as they have good pitching and a good offence). We all know that the Yankees have the best offence in baseball, by far. With these “great” teams facing the Yankees soon, people don’t acknowledge the fact that they rely mostly on offence. When it comes to batting, the Yankees would have a higher probability of winning than any other team. On those three teams, the only pitchers who would get a win would be Justin Verlander and John Lackey. Who else? I don’t think there is another starter who would win against the Yanks. Just remember this: Pitching vs. Hitting: Hitting almost always wins.
That’s basically what I think about the Yankees. They have been red hot since the All-Star break, and they have worked very hard to get where they are right now. Derek Jeter said that they could still win the division after the All-Star break, it looks they will do it with the stats that they have. Just remember: in a pitching vs. hitting situation, hitting always wins.
