Final 30 Games Upon Us

The Boston Red Sox have shattered all expectations over the first 5 months of the 2013 season. The final 30-game push is upon us & it starts tonight at the Fens against the Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox play the O's 9 times or 30% of their remaining games. They play the Yankees 7 times. So more than half of the remaining games are O's & Yankees. There are only 3 left against the Rays in St. Pete & I hope we have a 3-game lead by the time we play them. 3 left against the Blue Jays who should have packed it in by then. If my math is right, that's 22 of 30 against AL East teams. The Sox also have 3 against the White Sox this weekend, followed by 3 against the Tigers & 2 in Denver late in September against the Rockies. All but 8 games are against teams with records better than .500. This is crunch time for sure. A big unanswered question is whether or not Clay Buchholz will be able to contribute in September. His first rehab start was less than spectacular with Lowell. And for those Boston reporters who are downplaying the Sox series win over the Dodgers, just remember that Don Mattingly could have re-arranged his rotation with a 10 game lead so Kershaw & Greinke would pitch against the Sox. But, instead, he let his 2 top guys beat up on the Marlins before the last series & the Chicago Cubs now this week. Anyways, let's enjoy the final 30. Win, lose or draw this team has provided a lot to be proud of this year.