With the 2009 MLB season now into September, the Boston Red Sox are the front-runners for the American League wild card spot with the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays in close pursuit.
The Red Sox have lost touch with the New York Yankees and are realistically focusing on the wild card, for which they have the advantage over the Rangers and Rays.
Boston will play division rival Baltimore five more times. They’ve done extremely well against the O’s this season taking 11 out of 13 games.
A Yankees–Red Sox series always draws attention but the late-September meeting between the two in the Bronx will be of added importance to Boston.
After starting 8–0 against the Yankees, the Red Sox have since struggled, going 1–6 in their last seven games.
The Toronto Blue Jays have not threatened Boston this year. Boston is 11–4 against the Jays in 2009 and is currently on a six-game winning streak against them. The Jays are just playing out the string now.
In pursuit of Boston for the wild card, the Texas Rangers are in a similar situation to the BoSox.
Currently, they are 3.5 games back of the L.A. Angels in the AL West so the wild card is their best hope of reaching the post-season. They are 2.5 games back of Boston.
The Rangers will begin the final stretch beginning with a series against Baltimore on Friday followed by series against Cleveland, Tampa Bay, and their division rivals.
Of most significance in the remainder of Texas’s schedule will be seven games against the Angels. The Rangers have done well against L.A. this season.
Dating back to May 15, Texas has met the Angels 12 times and has gone 9–3. This does give the team the belief that the AL West race is far from over despite what the standings say.
The Rangers also have seven more games against last place Oakland but they have been struggling against the A’s recently, going 1–4 in the last five games.
Unfortunately, Texas and Boston will not face each other in the stretch run.
The Rays finished a three-game home stand against the Red Sox at the start of the week and have three games at Fenway against Boston next week.
Tampa Bay has gone 9–5 against Boston so far this season.
The Rays also have three road games against Texas in late-September and have not done well against the Rangers going 2–4 overall. They have yet to win in Texas this season (0–3).
Experience Wins Out
The Texas Rangers haven’t been to the postseason since 1999 and don’t have many players who have tasted the playoffs—experience means a lot not only down the stretch but in the playoffs too.
That was probably a reason the Rangers recently re-acquired old catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.
“Don’t underestimate the value of having Rodriguez’s post-season experience in the clubhouse,” said Richard Durrett on the Dallas Morning News’s sports blog.
“This is a team with very little playoff experience in that room and he can help the young guys when things get tense.”
When it comes to the most important part of making and succeeding in the playoffs, Boston has Texas and Tampa Bay beat.
The three teams all have good pitching. Tampa Bay’s team ERA is third in the AL, Texas’s is fifth, and Boston ranks sixth.
But the Red Sox’s rotation—with the likes of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, and closer Jon Papelbon—have more big game/playoff experience under their belts than the Rangers’ and Rays’ staff.
Boston’s experience with two World Series titles in the past five years is a huge factor that will enable them to fend off the Rangers and Rays for the AL wild card birth.
