And as we approach the All-Star break, that remains true. Going into Wednesday, the Yankees have the upper hand in the East, leading the Rays by two games and the Red Sox by 3 1/2.
For the Red Sox to come back and make the playoffs, they’re going to have to catch at least one of those teams and rely on a little outside luck.
While it would be tough to find anyone who would disagree with the fact that the Red Sox have overachieved this season with the amount of injuries they’ve had to overcome, it would be also tough to find someone who wouldn’t agree with the assessment that they’ve struggled against the teams they’re chasing in the AL East.
Even if the Red Sox can avoid the sweep and beat the Rays Wednesday night in Tampa, it will only improve their record against the Rays to 5-7. The Sox have also struggled against the Yankees, posting a 3-5 record against the Bombers.
Both teams pose problems for the Red Sox. The Rays’ pitching staff — while struggling some as of late — is starting to look like the dominant staff it was predicted to be in the preseason. And with a rotation with the likes of David Price, Matt Garza and Jeff Niemann, there’s no doubting that they could get hot and go on a serious run.
The Rays' offense is a bit suspect, but again, it’s tough to say that someone like Evan Longoria couldn’t carry his club through August and help distance the Rays even further from the Red Sox. And if Carlos Pena ever finds his swing, the Rays will certainly be a team to be reckoned with.
Then, of course, there are the Yankees, who have seen their lead in the division fluctuate some, but they’ll likely take the division lead into the All-Star break.
Phil Hughes and CC Sabathia have anchored their starting rotation and recently named All-Star Andy Pettite has been nothing short of tremendous even at the age of 38. A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez have both struggled some this year, but both have the ability to put together strings of dominant starts.
Then of course there’s the Bomber bats. They aren’t crushing the ball at a record pace (yet), but they can still put up runs with the best of them. Robinson Cano is likely the first-half MVP in the AL and any offense with players like Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson is good enough to win games even with suspect pitching.
Regardless of where the Red Sox enter next week's All-Star break, they’re going to have their work cut out for them in the second half of the season and they’ll have to catch and pass one of the other AL East heavyweights.
So, who will the Red Sox have a tougher time catching? The Rays or the Yankees?
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July 6: Should the All-Star Game determine home-field advantage in the World Series?
