The local nine currently hold the lead in the wild-card race, but there are a bunch of questions as the postseason gets closer.
How will the pitching staff hold up? That is the biggest question. At the beginning of the season, it looked as if the Red Sox and their staff would be the pacesetters in the American League, but once the injury bug started to bite, the consistency took a huge hit.
Josh Beckett has looked more like Josh Hartnett (minus the adolescent mustache), and that is not a good thing, no matter how much Pearl Harbor grossed at the box office. I digress. Tim Wakefield looked shaky versus the Pale Hose on Saturday, and we all know how things went for Paul Byrd and Junichi Tazawa in the series opener.
Then, there is the issue of Boston’s bats. The Red Sox hold their own with the lumber. However, with a handful of players slumping at the wrong time, every game will be magnified as the season winds down.
The good news is that Boston has seen a power surge from its most clutch player ever — Big Papi. Although his numbers are down from years past, his power has returned, and more importantly, that trademark grin is a daily occurrence at the ballpark.
Players have come and gone this season. Just ask Adam LaRoche. But in the end, the Red Sox are built for the playoff push. Once Clay Buchholz gets used to being a "real" big league pitcher and Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his triumphant return to the hill, the Red Sox will be a force to be reckoned with. No doubt about it.
So keep it tuned to NESN, and let Don Orsillo and whoever else is alongside him for the game guide you through the remainder of the season — because mark my words, it’s going to get good.
