The End Is Near

Hey, you can get 3 V-Dubs for under $199 a month so throw away your "The End Is Near" sign. Hope springs. Even though the Yankees were swept in Boston, there is no real need for alarm.
Did you know that this year is the 5th time in the last 7 years that the Red Sox started the season with at least an 11-5 record. 5 out of 7. That's pretty impressive. How many times did the Sox finish in first place when the season ended? 0 out of 7. That's not so impressive. We're seeing what we see every year. The Sox start hot, they cool off, the Yankees catch up, the Sox finish 2nd, or 3rd. Sox fans think that it's only a matter of time before they hold it down for an entire season. I'm sure they had similar thoughts about their World Series chances from 1918-2004. A matter of time can be in the Red Sox Nation can be 86 years.
The Sox rotation wasn't anywhere near as advertised. The greatest rotation on the planet? Hardly. A great rotation doesn't give up 16 runs in 20 innings. The Yankee lineup hit scored plenty of runs against the 1-2-3 punch that is Schilling, Beckett, and Matsuzaka. Other teams with decent lineups will do the same. The Sox offense isn't going to be able to duplicate the success they had against the Yankees staff. I mean, according to Sox fans, our starters are mediocre and can't pitch out of the 5th inning, and our bullpen is equally as bad because their worn down. Did I get that right? So if the Yankee staff is so bad, how does the Sox offense plan to score runs against teams with better staffs?
Did you know that the win-loss records of Sox opponents, not including the Yankees is currently 45-56? It's true. I looked it up. Yankee opponents have a win-loss record of 54-44. As we move through the schedule, things will balance out like they do every year.
I expect a much different outcome next week when the rivalry renews itself in the Bronx. Matsui and Posada will be back in the lineup. Wang will be back in the rotation, with Mussina trailing right behind. Wang, Moose, and Pettitte are all 200 inning pitchers. A healthy rotation means more innings from our starters, which will give the bullpen some much needed rest as they are overworked. A healthy rotation also means we likely won't be seeing Manjaya Ramirez, JD Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek hitting back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs off a pitcher with more than 1 major league start under his belt.
The fact of the matter is these 3 games could have gone either way. It was far from utter domination by the Red Sox. But wins are wins and the Sox won all 3. Big up to you. More analysis tomorrow. I gotta get up for work in 6 hours.
J