I'm sorry New York, Anaheim and St. Louis, but the Boston Red Sox are back in the playoffs and they aren't going to lie down and give anyone anything easy.
We end up having a good series against the Yankees, but we needed to sweep them to win the division. It's sad, but that's how baseball works. Even if you have the same record as your opponent at the end of the season, the season series is what matters and the Yankees just managed to squeak by with one more win than us. Ten to nine on the season - that's it. As Absolutelax395 pointed out, there really should be a tiebreaker game between these two teams. If it is this tight now, and it's tied, why not have just one more game?
Who's the American League Most Valuable Player? I don't even want to go into that conversation right now in fear that my head will explode at the conclusion. I've heard enough about it honestly. But, just to add a player to the discussion, Manny Ramirez will probably end up third in the MVP voting. Ramirez came on very strong near the end of the season and his stats were only a dash lower than what David Ortiz produced.
Tuesday, four o'clock eastern it is Matt Clement on the mound against one of our favorite pitchers to face in Jose Contreras. In the past three seasons as a White Sox and a Yankee, Contreras has compiled a Jose Lima-like 13.50 ERA against the Sox in 21.1 innings. You say that is a small sample size, but take in consideration it is in six games, meaning he averages around three and half innings per outing.
It's a new start for Clement. He struggled after the All-Star break, but it can be a new story for Clement in the playoffs. For the Red Sox to be successful in the post-season this year, Clement will have to be the pitcher he was in the first half of the season. If he isn't, then I think it will be tough. But if we can get Clement back to how he pitched early in the season then I think we'll have a great chance. If he is at his best can be one of the best pitchers in the post-season.
I think we can honestly beat the Chicago White Sox in the opening round. Their pitching isn't as good as it was at the first part of the season, and their offense is one of the worst in the leagues. If we can hold players like Scott Podsednik from getting on base, and just have `capable' hitting, then I believe we can win the series.
One last thing to say:
Go Sox.