It’s a simple matter of math.
Entering Monday, the Yankees held an eight-game lead over the Sox, with a nine-game cushion in the loss column. If New York, which hasn’t lost more than three games in a row all season, goes 32-33 in its last 65 games, Boston would have to go 39-24 just to tie the Yanks.
If you’re confident that the Bronx Bombers can have a losing record over a 65-game stretch then your optimism knows no bounds.
Thus, the Red Sox’ three-game set in Anaheim has become doubly important. Not only does Terry Francona’s crew need wins and need them fast, no matter the opponent, but the Angels served notice Sunday with the acquisition of Dan Haren that they expect to remain in that wild card mix.
Los Angeles, of course, would need to leapfrog your Red Sox to claim that top spot. That effort, as well as Boston’s bid to keep the Angels down, begins in earnest Monday.
Sure, Los Angeles is nine games behind the wild card-leading Tampa Bay Rays but it recently had a 32-17 run and has gone 40-29 since being swept in Boston back in early May. Mike Scioscia’s club has a winning pedigree and it just acquired a stud arm who has won at least 14 games each of the last five seasons.
The Red Sox have plenty of company as they pursue the Rays. One member of that group just became a whole lot better.
Perhaps Tampa Bay, like New York, will run away and hide, and render moves such as the Haren deal and anything the Red Sox pull off in the coming weeks nothing more than footnotes.
But in case the race among Boston, Minnesota, Detroit and Los Angeles — the four clubs which figure to have a chance of catching the Rays — tightens up, acquisitions such as Haren cam become difference-makers.
The Angels actually began their upgrades last week by acquiring third baseman Alberto Callaspo from Kansas City. That was the first indication that they were uninterested in letting the Texas Rangers coast to the AL West title, or allowing a wild card bid to become a pipe dream.
In case nobody got the hint, they followed up the Callaspo acquisition by picking up one of the top five starters on the market.
Haren goes in the series opener Monday against Clay Buchholz. The result of this one, as well as the final two games of the series, could go a long way toward determining if Tampa Bay is ever challenged, or at least who it is that mounts such a challenge.
