Yes, the Yankees are officially a 1/2 game out of first place. As a Sox fan, I'm not surprised, maybe I paid a little less attention to the looming Empire because of the fact that we're coming off a World Series year and I've felt invincible. But looking ahead, never has a series to end the year been more anticipated than the famous Boston Massacre weekend of 1978. The three game series with the Yanks at home to wrap up 162 games could very well determine the AL East division winner...and with the scorching hot Indians 2.5 games behind the floundering White Sox, the wild card could very well be secured before the AL East division winner is determined.
Before I rant about the horrid loss tonight to the D-rays, let me emphasize the collapse of the Chicago White Sox. This is a team that was on pace to finish with the best record in baseball, ahead of the juggernaut that is the St. Louis Cardinals. On AUGUST 1ST the White Sox were 15 games ahead in the AL Central and owned the best record in baseball. They were practically popping the champagne. And now, they are a complete and utter mess. Freddy Garcia looked as if he was ready to kick and scream and cry on the field tonight in their latest loss to the Indians. The White Sox last october victory...? 1917. Thats 88 years folks, 2 longer than the fateful Red Sox streak. I have to laugh when I hear or read interviews with these Chicago players as well, who will claim they know nothing about a collapse in progress and that its simply the media making more of something than there really is. They couldn't be more wrong. This is a collapse of epic proportion, you thought the Red Sox 1978 collapse was bad? They were 14 games up in July. Making this current disaster in progress 1 game worse than the Buckner series. Wake up White Sox, cause you've got a man named C.C. knocking on your door and yes, his hat is most definitely more crooked than ever.
Back to the RED Sox own personal little disaster. I mean, at least this one was expected. What can you expect though from a bullpen that is expected to be in the game at least 6 innings a game. A bullpen that harbors names like Papelbon and Harville and a rookie named Hansen who was just drafted this summer, GIMME A BREAK!!! Everybody knew the bullpen had issues long before the All-Star break when Foulke went down and Schill was getting hammered in AA ball. An overused, aging Mike Timlin cannot anchor a bullpen. As much as I love the guy and cannot get enough of his tenacious attitude on the field, he is not the answer. The bullpen is worse than that of 2003, another year we did not have a closer and EVERYONE knows what happened at the end of that season. We may not even have to wait for the playoffs to see a similar result this year, it could be making an appearance Sept 29-Oct 1 against the same fated rival. Oh and aside from the bullpen Edgar's at 29 errors and counting...Edgar being Edgar? And for a while this past spring I thought we got him for his defense, I mean, *gulp* has anyone talked to Nomah lately? Manny 0-5 and strikes out to end the game. The only upside, Papi blasts another homer (and I do mean BLASTS) on his quest to become the first DH to win the MVP. Get it together Sox.
Looking back to the weekend though...THE JETS WON!! The panic button for the New York Jets has been covered for now...though Curtis is hurt, details unknown as to how long. I liked what I saw against Miami, the D continued to look strong. Ty Law is looking like on of the smartest pickups in the NFL this past offseason. He is always one step ahead of his man and anticipates routes every play. While he had no INT, he broke up a good number of pass plays. Chad looked better, barring that fumble on the FIRST snap he took. He threw with a bit more confidence, but he did still look a bit weak. His throws were at times lame ducks and poor decisions, but maybe with time he will improve. He needs to once again avoid the media and focus on the Jaguars this week. The Jags shut down Manning on Sunday which could spell very, very bad news for the New York Jets offense. I did enjoy seeing Chad and Coles hook up again for a TD. Though, I also felt burned a bit by Santana Moss's streaking TD catches to win the game Monday night. The guy is a game changing playmaker no matter where he goes and you have to respect him for it. I'd like to see the Jets execute at least 3 TD scoring drives this weekend against the Jags. For one year, just one year, I want to be proud of the Jets offense.
Oh, and I part with the best news of the weekend...the Fins, Pats and Bills lost, meaning the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS are in first place.
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