Boston faces a difficult road to October, having to surpass the two teams with baseball's best records, the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees. Boston, though, does have an advantage. The Sox are ahead of the other likely wild card contenders and they really only have the Rays and Yankees to worry about. If they can surpass either of the those two, they are in, and Tampa is only five games ahead.
While the games will be tough, the fact that Boston gets to play both of these teams down the stretch gives them a better opportunity to make up ground. The Sox haven't fared well against their division rivals thus far (7-13), but as they say about the stock market, past performance doesn't guarantee future results.
The Red Sox will also only continue to get better, as many of their stars return from injury in the coming month. The recent outings of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, and John Lackey also must be considered encouraging. Victor Martinez will likely be returning Monday. There are many reasons to be optimistic as a Sox fan. Even if they are down, they certainly aren't out.
It can't hurt that the Yankees missed out on Dan Haren either.
He, of course, will be heading to Anaheim, where the Angels are faced with a similarly difficult task. The Angels, though not in contention for the wild card, have their own reasons to be cautiously optimistic.
First of all, they are chasing the Texas Rangers, a team known for second-half collapses. The Rangers seem to be solid this year in all phases of the game, but they have a multitude of players who are clearly over-performing. Did you expected Nelson Cruz to bat .330? Vladimir Guerrero to have such a resurgent season? Josh Hamilton to be the favorite for the AL MVP? Tommy Hunter to be 8-0 with a 2.31 ERA? C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis to have ERAs in the low threes? Who knows if they can keep it up.
The Angels, on the other hand, are definitively under-performing, a rarity for a team coached by Mike Scioscia, one of the league's best managers. Anaheim may not have the talent of their past division-winning clubs, but they surely aren't a team that should be flirting with .500 and in danger of falling behind the Oakland A's into third in the AL West. Scott Kazmir, particularly, has been disappointing with a 6.92 ERA.
Haren should give them a boost, and if they can get hot, their schedule will facilitate a late-season rally. While the AL West gets ripped more than it actually should this year, it's definitely not the AL East. If the Angels get momentum, they could be off to the races.
On the other hand, it's hard to argue that Haren can make the impact that Cliff Lee will for Texas.
So, who do you think is more likely to make a second-half comeback?
Share your thoughts below. The best comments will be read on NESN’s Red Sox GameDay Live or Red Sox Final.
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