The Red Sox entered their series against the Yankees with a huge opportunity on their hands. Having swept the season series against New York thus far with an 8-0 record against the Yanks in 2009, Boston had a great chance to close in on New York's 2.5 game lead in the AL East.
Boston came in hoping for the best and got the worst. Swept by the Yankees, shut out twice, and more pitching woes for the Sox.
It seems clear to me that New York is the favorite to win the AL East at this point. With strong pitching and even stronger hitting, they clearly look like the stronger team this season. Boston is 6.5 games back now, and tied with Texas in the Wild Card chase. Behind Texas in this race is Tampa Bay, just 1.5 games back.
Not only were Boston's bats atrocious, but more importantly, its pitching was weak. The bats are generally fine, but the pitching struggles are the bigger issue here.
Boston's pitching situation is ominous at best right now. All-Star Tim Wakefield has hit the DL alongside Dice-K, and pitchers like Buchholz and Smoltz couldn't look much worse. In fact, the 40-something Smoltz has been sent back down to the minors since he can't seem to get his stuff together.
If this isn't all surprising enough, how about those Washington Nationals? With a 12 and 4 record over the last 16 games and an 8 game win streak, there may not be a hotter team in baseball right now. I can't remember the last time I've said that, if ever before.
Much of their success should be credited to their bullpen. More specifically, Mike MacDougal has stepped up as a reliable closer in a role that no Washington pitcher seemed to take well to before this. His presence in the bullpen has been key in winning the team games.
My final MLB news of the day is centered around Arizona Diamondbacks' Mark Reynolds. Reynolds has been the hottest player in baseball lately. In the past ten days, he's raised his BA from .275 to .290, and he has 8 HR's, 12 RBI's, and 2 SB's. This kind of stat line is exceptional. Of course, he did singlehandedly beat me in fantasy baseball this week, which somewhat dampens his performance in my eyes.
Boston came in hoping for the best and got the worst. Swept by the Yankees, shut out twice, and more pitching woes for the Sox.
It seems clear to me that New York is the favorite to win the AL East at this point. With strong pitching and even stronger hitting, they clearly look like the stronger team this season. Boston is 6.5 games back now, and tied with Texas in the Wild Card chase. Behind Texas in this race is Tampa Bay, just 1.5 games back.
Not only were Boston's bats atrocious, but more importantly, its pitching was weak. The bats are generally fine, but the pitching struggles are the bigger issue here.
Boston's pitching situation is ominous at best right now. All-Star Tim Wakefield has hit the DL alongside Dice-K, and pitchers like Buchholz and Smoltz couldn't look much worse. In fact, the 40-something Smoltz has been sent back down to the minors since he can't seem to get his stuff together.
If this isn't all surprising enough, how about those Washington Nationals? With a 12 and 4 record over the last 16 games and an 8 game win streak, there may not be a hotter team in baseball right now. I can't remember the last time I've said that, if ever before.
Much of their success should be credited to their bullpen. More specifically, Mike MacDougal has stepped up as a reliable closer in a role that no Washington pitcher seemed to take well to before this. His presence in the bullpen has been key in winning the team games.
My final MLB news of the day is centered around Arizona Diamondbacks' Mark Reynolds. Reynolds has been the hottest player in baseball lately. In the past ten days, he's raised his BA from .275 to .290, and he has 8 HR's, 12 RBI's, and 2 SB's. This kind of stat line is exceptional. Of course, he did singlehandedly beat me in fantasy baseball this week, which somewhat dampens his performance in my eyes.
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