Playoff Bound
OK, so the lead is still only 1 game, potentially 2 if the Yankees manage to lose tonight (which I doubt at this point). The AL East is hardly over, and the general feeling is that the Sox are going to blow it and end up winning the wild card… again. We haven’t been division champions since 1995, and as you may remember, we got swept by Cleveland that year. If being division champions means we play Cleveland in the first round, I’d rather be the wild card. The Indians are not the team you want to face.
As the standings sit today, both teams have 92 wins, though Cleveland has a slight edge with 1 less loss. So if Cleveland ends up winning a bunch of games this week, yes, we really really want to have home field advantage, and more importantly, play the Angels who can’t ever seem to beat the Red Sox. We beat them in 04, we win the series just about every year, and they were the team that the 1986 team made their big comeback against. We’ve shelled John Lackey, their #1, many times before and a matchup against them definitely favors the Sox. They’ll bunt for a 1 run lead and then we’ll have a 6 run inning - that’s just the way it goes.
But… let’s say that the Angels ride into the postseason hot and the Indians, now that they’ve clinched, start resting guys and drop a few games. If the Indians end up with a worse record that the Angels, then I want the wild card! Let the Yankees face Sabathia and Carmona in 3 of the possible 5 games while we go to Anaheim and destroy the Angels. The Indians are the more dangerous team and the guys I’d least like to face in the first round. Let them throw their big 2 out there for the first round, so that way they would each only pitch probably once in a 7 game series, that the Red Sox would then have a big advantage.
So, really, as you sit there on hold to call into WEEI to complain about how the Red Sox need to win the division, don’t forget what the real goal is - winning the World Series. I, for one, am routing for a chance to play the Angels in the first round, whether it starts here or there is really not important. I mean, look at the Yankees! They have won how many divisions since 2000? All of them? And how many of those turned into World Series rings? NONE!
In fact, since the division series started in 1995, the wild card team has actually won the World Series in 4 out of 12 years! So what does a division title mean anyway? It simply means that a couple extra balls stayed fair throughout the season, and that a couple hops went your way to give you that extra win or two. It doesn’t mean you aren’t as good and it doesn’t mean you have any better chance of winning in the post season. Yes, the Red Sox score 1 more run per game at home than away, but do you really think all of the games in the playoffs will be decided by 1 run?
Here is a list of the wild card teams that have won the World Series since 1995:
1997 Flordia Marlins (92-70)
2002 Anaheim Angels (99-63)
2003 Florida Marlins (91-71)
2004 Boston Red Sox (98-64)
Stumble it!