Third place. After a season where expectations are sky high, it’s hard to swallow that the Red Sox didn’t even finish ahead of the Blue Jays. At the All Star Break, the Red Sox were on top of the World and as late as mid-August, they were in the mix. Now Red Sox fans will be forced to watch their hated arch-rivals in the post season while the Red Sox it on the side lines.
Julian Tavarez had a fair final start and he gave up only two runs on six hits on Friday. He did walk five in five innings though, so that’s some cause for concern. Mike Lowell drove in three runs in the 4-3 win.
Kevin Millar came back to haunt us on Saturday. His two run single in the ninth off of Mike Timlin cost the Red Sox a sweep over the Orioles. A decent start by Tim Wakefield went to waste and Manny Ramirez hit his 35th homerun of the season in the 5-4 loss.
The Red Sox finished things up with a win in a rain shortened game. After a three and a half hour rain delay, they finally got the game in for the fans. Devern Hansack pitched five no-hit shutout innings (they’re calling it a complete game) in his first major league win. Mike Lowell, Eric Hinske and Mark Loretta all went deep for the Red Sox and Lowell and Gabe Kapler drove in three runs in the 9-0 blowout.
I’d do playoff predicitions but I don’t really care. My favorite team will be whoever is playing the Yankees. I do have some things planned for the off season, but I probably won’t start that stuff up until the World Series is nearing completion. In the meantime I’ll probably be posting some random thoughs on what I see during the playoffs.
