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Sox Can’t Get It Done; Season Just About Over

August 30, 2010 By

The Red Sox dropped two out of three in Tampa over the weekend, falling 5-3 last night in a game which pretty much ended the postseason hopes for Boston as they dropped to 6.5 games out of the division and Wild Card standings. Check all the coverage at RedSoxLinks.com.

So, exactly how bad is it for the Red Sox? It’s been better - Rob Bradford says that the Red Sox only remaining hope rests in trying to track down the Yankees.

Red Sox face math problem - Gordon Edes says that a playoff spot is hard to figure at this juncture.

Sox starting pitching fizzles in St. Pete - Sean McAdam has the Boston starting pitching coming up short in this series.

Deal for Angels’ Mike Napoli unlikely - John Tomase looks at the Red Sox putting in a claim on the Angels C/1B , but says he is unlikely to be coming to Boston.

Martinez’s catching is now well-received - Peter Abraham has Sox pitchers more comfortable with Victor Martinez behind the plate.

Tough choice made - Amalie Benjamin’s notebook has Adrian Beltre playing through a tweaked hamstring despite a noticeable limp.

The Patriots will be trimming the roster this week, first down to 75 tomorrow and then to 53 on Saturday. The projections are coming fast and furious: Shalise Manza Young - Mark Farinella – Jeff Howe 

Patriots have to-do list before opener - Mike Reiss has preparations shifting into a higher gear this week.

Belichick not sold on early returns by Patriots - Glen Farley says that the coach isn’t ready to put his returners into the Hall of Fame just yet.

Night in cage all the rage - Nancy Marrapese-Burrell looks at a successful night of UFC at the TD Garden Saturday night.

Kenny Florian defends himself - Dan Duggan has Florian defending himself against comments from UFC President Dana White, who said that Florian “chokes in big fights.”

Hub debut a knockout - Duggan’s notebook has more on a great night for UFC in Boston.

Filed Under: Morning Links
  • APimpNamedDaveR

    The Sox aren't finished/done/through yet. I always hate when people say "that's it, there's no chance of making the playoffs." Until a team is mathematically eliminated, there's always a CHANCE that they'll make the playoffs, albeit a smaller and smaller one as the elimination point approaches.

    What changes is the ability of the team to effectively do anything about their chances. Three and a half weeks ago, the Sox still had sixteen games in the future with the Yankees and Rays; direct competitors in the division. It was fully within their power to pick up four and three games on their opponents (respectively) through their own action between then and now, just by winning the head-to-head matchups. Given that they trailed by about 5-6 games then, that's more than ample time/opportunity to make a run.

    However, since then, they've just been kind of treading water, playing roughly .500 in the head-to-head games. Unsurprisingly, they haven't gained — or lost — any ground.

    However — they still have three games against the Rays (at home), and the home/home 6 game set with the Yankees. If they continue to play about .500 until September 23, and are still 5-6 games out, they still could reach the playoffs by sweeping the Yankees. Which isn't a LIKELY outcome — but it's certainly a POSSIBLE outcome, and we've seen the Sox sweep consecutive series against the Yankees in the past.

    However, when it comes to the Rays, 3 H2H matchups with a 6 game deficit functionally takes the outcome out of your hands. You need to win games — but now, you need the Rays to start LOSING games. Your fate is determined by their actions, not yours. Again, the likelihood of a Rays collapse is an unknown right now. Reasonably, you wouldn't bet on it — but just ask the Mets of a couple years ago how well reason works sometimes.

    So I hate it when people start saying "they're out of it". No — they're out of it when they can't win enough games to conceivably pass the WC leader. They are largely dependent on other team's failures rather than their own successes right now — but they're not out of it.

    Today, they have

    • Angry Old Bastard

      ….how about,'…… "They aren't out of it but I wouldn't worry about camping out for playoff tickets?

  • Jeff

    How can McAdam make this statement?
    ". . . the Sox . . .dropped the final two games and fell backward in the standings. . .And for the second night in a row, starting pitching was the culprit."

    Buchholz went 7 and a third, giving up 2 runs on four hits and two walks. No Ray reached second base until the 7th. To put that loss on anyone but the offense is absurd.

    • Eddie

      Bucholz must be a Republican. You know how "Bagdad Sean" gets.

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