It's nice to be able to write this sort of story two nights in a row: with a 6-3 win over the Blue Jays, the Red Sox have clinched the 2013 American League East, completing an incredible worst-to-first turnaround.
Given how often the Red Sox have been in an around the playoffs since the birth of the Wild Card, it's easy to forget how significant an occasion this is for the Red Sox. This is only the seventh time that the Red Sox have managed to pull off the feat, making a division win just as rare as a World Series win, if not quite as important.
Now the Red Sox will have two long weeks to prepare. The remaining games aren't meaningless--both Detroit and Oakland are very much in range to poach the American League's best record, and with it home field advantage. But these last nine games will be relatively stress free. They have done all that could be asked of them in the regular season and more.
It's time to get rest, time to get healthy, time to see what some of our other options can do, and time to get ready for October. It's right around the corner, and if this season can now be called a success whatever is to come, there's no question: we want to go all the way, and until they're eliminated, we won't doubt this team's ability to get the job done.