October Dreams

Well it took some unexpected help (thanks Orioles) and longer than expected but the Sox finally clinched the AL East (for the first time since 1995) on Friday night as they defeated the Twins while the Orioles made a comeback and then beat the Yankees in extra innings. The next night, Cleveland lost-insuring the Sox would have the best record in the AL and home-field throughout.

The Angels come to Fenway tomorrow to open up the five-game ALDS while the Yankees travel to Cleveland. On the NL side, the Phillies host the red-hot Rockies (absolutely sick game vs. the Padres) and the Cubs go to Arizona. I'm no fan of cliches but here's one anyway regarding postseason baseball: you can throw the regular season out the window. Sure all those games seemed important at the time but the end (getting to the playoffs) was for more important than the means. If you get to October these days, whether it be by Wild Card or winning a division, you're golden. Anything can happen. That being said, the Sox did themselves a big favor by getting home-field advantage. Fenway as anyone could tell you gives the Sox a huge edge in any series.

As the playoff picture started to come into focus late in the regular season, I was genuinely scared of the Angels. They hit, they run and they pitch. They don't score a ton of runs but they have two real good starting pitchers (Lackey and Escobar) and one of the best closers in the game (K-Rod). Not to mention the fact that Vlad Guerrero is one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Nonetheless, at this moment it looks like Boston is catching a break by playing the Angels in the first round and not the Indians. The Indians have been on a roll and the Angels limped into the playoffs. More importantly, a bunch of Angels are banged up: Vlad, Gary Matthews, Figgins and Escobar. Obviously, by October every baseball player is in rough shape since the season is such a grind but it seems like those guys just mentioned aren't anywhere near 100%.

Beckett gets the ball to face Lackey tomorrow, followed by Dice-K vs. Escobar on Friday and then Schilling vs. Weaver on Sunday in Anaheim. The Red Sox have owned Lackey this year and while putting Dice-K ahead of Schilling seems a little strange, you have to be confident that Curt can step up once again in the postseason.

After having a bunch of key contributors (Manny, Coco, Youkilis) out in September, Boston started to get everyone back in the last few games. And even more surprising, J.D. Drew finished off a torrid September. Meanwhile, Lowell is having a career year (he set the RBI record for Red Sox 3B) and Ortiz has been absolutely ripping the ball lately.

What does it all means? Who knows. The four teams in the AL particularly are so evenly matched. I have confidence the Sox will get by the Angels, I'm saying in 4. The playoffs are all about momentum and winning game one would be huge for the Sox. As for the other series: Yankees in 5, Cubs in 4, Rockies in 4.