Projo Sox Blog

The differences are obvious. Last year at this time -- on Sept. 3, 2007 -- the Red Sox were in first place in the A.L. East with a seven-game lead. Their postseason berth was assured. Even though the division race got tighter than they'd hoped, they never acted as if they were worried; they never deviated from the master plan. The Sox had the luxury of spending September getting their affairs in order and preparing themselves for October, and they took full advantage of it.

This year, obviously, they're not in first place. They do lead the wild-card race, but by only four games. While they're in a comfortable position as far as the playoffs are concerned -- the blog TwinkieTown examines the remaining schedules of the Red Sox, Twins and White Sox and concludes: "Boston really has no excuse to miss the playoffs" -- nothing is assured them.

And yet, writes Sean McAdam, the Sox are spending this September the same way they spent the last: Looking to the future.

Only this time, that means getting healthy. Getting their key players back on the field. Getting them ready, just as they did last year, for what's to come.

"The schedule," says McAdam, "offers just enough time for them to welcome back the regulars, give them time to regain their timing and, they hope, enter the postseason at full speed."

The pieces are beginning to fall into place. Joe McDonald reports on Josh Beckett's mound session yesterday, after which he said he felt fine. (On a related note, The Hardball Times does a comprehensive breakdown of Beckett.) McDonald also passes along word on the health status of Mike Lowell, J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo. And it's not only the return of the wounded. Jason Varitek, writes Joe Haggerty on his Hacks With Haggs blog, is beginning to show signs of life at the plate (and as a result, notes McAdam, got himself into the record books with Carlton Fisk).

The surge continued with a 14-2 pasting of the Orioles last night, recounted here by McDonald, that enabled them to pick up ground on all the contenders in both the division and wild-card hunts. Click the link to read about more heroics from Dustin Pedroia; also, WEEI.com's Alex Speier tells us of a powerful -- in velocity, if not necessarily results -- peformance from Jon Lester.

In any case, David Ortiz is smiling again (above), and with reason. It's now 10 wins in their last 14 games, 15 in their last 22, and 20 in the 29 they've played since the Manny Ramirez trade.

Getting ready for October. Just like last year.

IN THE RUNNING: The Boston Herald's Stephen Harris says the Dustin Pedroia-for-MVP talk is heating up, and now it goes beyond fans chanting in the stands. Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis are on Gordon Edes' list of American League MVP candidates. (Yahoo! Sports)

'A SHORT HITTER WITH TALL STATS': Writing for SportingNews.com, David Pinto notes it's very rare for 5-foot-9 players to hit cleanup, but "the fact that the Red Sox batted [Pedroia] cleanup is actually a very positive sign for a longer career."

HOW ARE HIS INTANGIBLES? Dugout Central's Jeff Moore thinks Pedroia in Boston today greatly resembles Derek Jeter in New York 10 years ago.

THE BAD NEWS . . . concerns pregame back spasms suffered by Kevin Youkilis that sidelined him last night and may keep him out of action this afternoon, too. (projo.com)

WELCOME BACK: The never-ending Pawtucket shuffle dropped Chris Smith back in Boston last night.

THEY'LL JUST KEEP ON LOOKING TO THE EAST: Rotoworld.com reports the Red Sox are one of three teams -- the Mets and Braves are the others -- interested in 22-year-old Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa.

THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE: The fans are ragging on them (Rays Index), but, in the words of Joe Maddon, "They are the Yankees. And they're very talented." So the Rays appear to be feeling the weight of the pressure (right), at least a little, after last night's 7-2 New York victory at The Trop (Tampa Tribune), a night in which the Yanks "looked more like the team they thought they'd be . . . [and] the Rays looked like the team they hope they don't become." (St. Petersburg Times)

AND YOU TALK THAT WAY FOR A REASON: SpliceToday's Russ Smith -- a Red Sox fan -- thinks the Rays' angst is justified, since "the prudent maxim is that you don't celebrate until the Yanks are four games out with just three left to play."

UNCHARTERED TERRITORY: The Rays -- or at least their media -- are very aware that they're boldly going where no Rays have gone before. And, if John Romano's column in today's St. Petersburg Times is any indication, they're a little nervous about it.

AT LEAST, RELIEF: At least the Rays have Troy Percival back to help them through it all. (St. Petersburg Times)

AGAIN, RELIEF: Joba Chamberlain pitched 1 1/3 innings last night in his first bullpen stint since being activated, and the Yankees -- who want to keep his workload at 140-150 innings in 2009 -- say they may follow the same reliever-first/then-starter pattern next year that they instituted this year. (New York Daily News)

CASH'S MEN: The New York Post reports the Steinbrenner brothers want Brian Cashman to return as general manager.

RULES OF THE TRADE You buy low and you sell high. Therefore, says Peter Abraham, the Yankees should hang onto Robinson Cano, whose standing -- at least with the fan base -- couldn't be much lower right now. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

A-JOKE: The new blog No More A Rod - The Movement Begins digs up some fun facts on its least favorite player . . . or maybe you didn't know Alex Rodriguez was having the 20th-worst clutch season since 1974.

SPARE US THE MISERY: ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra thinks J.P. Ricciardi's reign as Blue Jays GM has been "supremely disappointing" and that if he were a Toronto fan, "I [wouldn't] want to see articles about how J.P. plans to address next year unless it's about how he's searching for work."

THE ULTIMATE BLIND SQUIRREL: Like flies to a pig -- or something -- controversy seems to stick to A.J. Pierzynski. But FanHouse's Tom Fornelli actually sides with A.J. after his latest slice of madness, this one with the Indians' Cliff Lee.

GO ASK HIM: When Lee won his 20th game Monday night, he became the Indians' first 20-game winner since Gaylord Perry in 1974. Reached at his North Carolina home, Perry said he was delighted Lee had reached the milestone because "I've been answering questions about 20 wins for 34 years, so I'm glad it's somebody else's turn." (Cleveland Plain Dealer) He was joking, he was joking . . .

WIZARD OF WESTWOOD: For making Manny Ramirez (left) and Casey Blake appear out of nowhere, the Los Angeles Times' T.J. Simers says Ned Coletti is the Major League Executive of the Year.

A.L. RACES: The White Sox and Twins remain tied for the lead in the Central, but they lost ground in the wild-card standings and now trail the Red Sox by four . . . Chicago's defeat last night -- 9-3 to the Indians (Chicago Tribune) -- was the more costly, since the White Sox also lost Joe Crede to recurring back problems and Ozzie Guillen says he's probably out for the season . . . But Minnesota's defeat was the more frustrating, as the Twins blew a 5-1 lead and lost to the Blue Jays, 7-5. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

N.L. RACES: The other Chicago team also lost a game and a player last night, but this one may have more far-reaching implications. Carlos Zambrano had to leave after five innings because, in the words of manager Lou Piniella, his arm "wasn't feeling good." He'll get checked out today. The Cubs, meanwhile, fell to the Astros in 11, 9-7 (Chicago Tribune), but remain 4 1/2 ahead in the Central because the Brewers lost to the Mets in 10, 6-5 (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . The Mets' victory (New York Daily News) and the Phillies' 4-0 win over Washington (Philadelphia Inquirer) leaves New York ahead by two in the East, but Philadelphia closed to 4 1/2 behind Milwaukee for the wild card . . . In the West, the Diamondbacks' lead is down to 1 1/2 as they lost to the Cardinals, 8-2 (Arizona Republic), while the Dodgers -- behind a Manny Ramirez home run -- beat the Padres, 8-4. (Los Angeles Times)

THESE FEELINGS I CAN'T EXPLAIN: Rockies manager Clint Hurdle says he doesn't really know why, but he "[chooses] to hate the Dodgers." (FoxSports.com)

HANDICAPPING THE FIELDS: FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry takes a look at what lies ahead in September.

HERE AND THERE: The Orioles say Jeremy Guthrie, who has the dreaded "dead arm," won't make today's scheduled start against the Red Sox (mlb.com) . . . Jeff Kent's knee surgery went well and there's a possibility he could play again this year (Los Angeles Times) . . . Ben Sheets says he doesn't think he'll miss his next start despite the left groin tightness that forced him to leave Monday's game against the Mets after five innings (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Gerald Laird says if the Rangers aren't going to make him the No. 1 catcher -- and, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia around, they're not -- then they should send him somewhere where he can play every day. (Dallas Morning News)

OLD FRIENDS: Rich Rundles, who was traded by the Red Sox to the Expos in 2001, has finally made it to the majors; he was called up by the Indians (mlb.com) . . . The Royals have activated Ron Mahay (rotoworld.com) . . . Brandon Moss hit a home run and had his first career three-hit game in the Pirates' win over the Reds (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) . . . The Marlins' Anibal Sanchez has allowed 14 runs in his last 14 1/3 innings. (rotoworld.com)

AND FINALLY . . . Pinto has dug up the perfect theme song for Dustin Pedroia. (Baseball Musings)

-- ART MARTONE