Red Sox Still Need Plenty of Help Breaking Down Playoff Wall, Despite Occasional Glimpses of Life

by Will O'Toole on Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 1:17PM

The Red Sox have taken a lot of heat this season. Most of it is deserved, as Boston has underachieved while putting together a record under .500.

However, there are still times — like Saturday's game against the Yankees — when the Sox show signs of life. Those signs represent reasons why Boston probably shouldn't be completely written off as we head into the final two weeks of August.

Sure, it'll take a lot for the Red Sox to come storming back to grab one of the American League's playoff spots — a matter that's complicated even more by the number of teams ahead of Boston in the wild card standings. But maybe, just maybe, there's hope.

We've seen teams turn things around in the final month before, and if the Red Sox can just find a way to put it all together, perhaps things could get interesting down the stretch.