Can the Red Sox still pull out the division?

[furball]

No, the Red Sox will have to settle for the wild card.

But the Yankees are vulnerable in the playoffs.  Neither Burnett nor Chamberlain has had a good outing for at least a month, and Sabathia can't do it all by himself. Their bullpen is deep and solid, though.

Moving Chamberlain into the rotation has been a disaster.  The Yankees turned a dominating setup man into a very mediocre starter who can't go more than three innings.

While the starting pitching is a big concern for the Yanks, Joba has NOT been a disaster as a starter.  The "Joba Rules" Have been a disaster.  He really hit his stride as a starter in June and July and was the Yanks best starter for a while until the Joba Rules kicked in and threw him off. 

The month of July he went 3-0 in 5 starts and had a 2.73 era.  Then they started screwing with him and he fell apart.  Hopefully with a regular rotation for the next two starts before the play-offs he'll get back into rythm.  Then next season there should be no Joba Rules and he should come into his own as a starter. 

[Brickowski]

I'll believe it when I see it.  Joba can't get the ball over the plate.  If they put him into their playoff rotation with him pitching the way he is now, they will be in trouble.

[Mike-Dub]

Quite frankly I could care less if they do or not as long as they are playing good baseball and are going to be healthy going into the playoffs.  Win the Wildcard or win the division all that matters to me is getting to the playoffs and WINNING THE WORLD SERIES!  The division may be out of grabs but the WORLD SERIES is definitely not!

[Big_Matt34]

The division isn't going to happen but thing are lining up pretty nicely for the playoffs. They will be able to rest players and set up their rotation, it looks like they are setting it up for Lester to get the game 1 start which i agree with. Also, where would the Sox be if they didn't trade for Victor, what a fit he has been.

Good thing they kept Buchholz huh, 9 QS's in his last 10 starts and a 2.37 ERA over that time, 3.21 for the season. He has turned into a bigtime groundball pitcher because of his 2 seamer, that pitch has crazy movement for how hard he throws it. I assume he will start to strike more guys out sooner or later since he gets a ton of swing and misses, the same % as Grienke and Johan actually. He still has the wipeout change and curve, and while his slider isn't a plus pitch it's become a pretty effective pitch for him. The days of his fastball being too straight are long gone, he clearly has earned the #3 spot in the playoffs.

[Donoghus]

Yeah, as others have expressed, I could care less if they win the division.

The important thing is to line up the rotation, get guys rested, and be healthy for the playoffs. 

This team can win on the road, they don't need the home field advantage.  As long as they don't fall in an 0-2 hole, I feel real good about the Sox chances.  Fenway is a different animal come playoff time.

[LB3533]

Sox are certainly not going into the postseason with any (positive) momentum.

[Cman]

Sox are certainly not going into the postseason with any (positive) momentum.

Seems like it all sputtered out this past weekend.
Hopefully they can string together a few Ws to finish.

[JSD]

God, will this regular season end already.

[Cman]

A six game losing streak to end the regular season.  Back-dooring it into the playoffs. 
Getting clobbered by Toronto....
When will the fun begin?
 

[Bahku]

God, will this regular season end already.

I agree ... this is torture!! Let's wrap it up already and sink our teeth into the post-season. Francona's ptching rotations are driving me crazy! Go Sox! (TP)