Projo Sox Blog

The Red Sox were trailing the Blue Jays, 5-2. The Rays, recipients of a Greg Gross grand slam off Sidney Ponson, were leading the Yankees, 4-1. The Twins were in the midst of a doubleheader destruction of the Orioles. All this was occurring on the heels of a blowout Boston loss to Toronto, and a blowout Tampa Bay win in New York, on Saturday afternoon. The Rays' A.L. East lead appeared ready to balloon to four games -- five in the loss column -- while the Sox' edge over Minnesota in the wild-card chase would shrink to four in the loss column. The division race seemed suddenly lost, with the Sox forced to focus on defending their rear flank rather than mounting a charge at an increasingly distant frontrunner. (And is that Toronto surging up from the pack . . . ?)

Funny, isn't it, how things change?

The Sox' comeback in the nightcap, which resulted in a 7-5 victory and a doubleheader split that's recounted here by Joe McDonald, went hand-in-hand with a a Rays' stumble at Yankee Stadium (Tampa Tribune) that resulted in a 6-5 Tampa Bay loss. Then Paul Kenyon tells us of how Jon Lester outdueled Roy Halladay yesterday while the Rays were losing again in New York (Tampa Tribune) . . . and, coincidentally, the Twins were falling in Baltimore. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

The upshot: Jonathan Papelbon (top) -- and the rest of the Sox -- are happy again. The wild-card lead is once again a robust 6 games with only 13 to play. (I also think we can all agree the Blue Jays are, in the words of Colonel Potter, finito.) And the A.L. East deficit is down to a single game, two in the loss column, as the Sox head to St. Petersburg for a series that may decide the division title.

As Sean McAdam wrote Saturday night, "in a matter of seconds, the complexion of a playoff race [changed]."

Indeed.

GLAD YOU'RE NOT: Papelbon hasn't exactly been lights out lately -- he blew a crucial save last Tuesday against Tampa, nearly blew a 4-1 lead yesterday and has seen his ERA rise from 1.62 to 2.11 in his last three appearances -- but he says, "Truly and honestly, I'm not worried about it at all." (Boston Herald)

I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING: He's got 200 hits and 50 doubles -- with the season still two weeks from the finish line -- but yesterday Dustin Pedroia, in Kenyon's words, showed exactly "why he is a serious candidate for American League MVP." The Boston Herald's Michael Silverman says Pedroia was one of a number of Sox who used their heads in yesterday's victory . . . such as stealing a call on Lyle Overbay in the ninth (right), which choked off a potential game-winning Toronto rally.

THE RECIPE: Tony Massarotti worried late last week if the Sox were good enough to generate offense against the quality of pitching they'll be facing in the postseason. (boston.com) Yesterday's performance against Halladay may be the blueprint for how they'll approach it.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT: It helps if your own pitcher holds down the other team while you're grinding it out against an ace. Jon Lester did just that yesterday (Boston Globe), which is why, writes Silverman, he's become the Sox' No. 1 starter.

IGNORING THE PAIN: Though Mike Lowell is still feeling the effects of his strained right oblique, it hasn't affected his defense. Kenyon reports that he made what may have been the play of the day with one out in the ninth yesterday.

MEDICAL REPORT: Kenyon tells us Julio Lugo is feeling better. McAdam and McDonald tell us J.D. Drew isn't.

JUST HOW THEY DREW IT UP: But J.D. hasn't really been missed since Coco Crisp continues to scorch the ball. (Boston Herald)

PROVIDING RELIEF? Bartolo Colon didn't pitch badly in his return to Boston Saturday night, and McAdam reports the Sox are looking at him as a possible bullpen arm in the postseason.

NO, THANKS: Ignore the misleading headline. McAdam tells us the Sox' interest in free agent-to-be A.J. Burnett "would seem to be limited."

REMEMBER WHEN? The weekend started with a Tim Wakefield masterpiece in the rain, as he pitched eight shutout innings in a 7-0 victory Friday night. (projo.com)

ON THE DOORSTEP: The Hardball Times' Chris Jaffe says Jim Rice is "going [into the Hall of Fame] and there's nothing in this world that will stop it from happening.

THE TIME OF OUR LIVES: You can only be in a pennant race for the first time once. That's why the Tampa Tribune's Martin Fennelly thinks it "It won't ever get better" for the Rays and their fans than it will over the next three days at The Trop. They're coming off a 3-6 road trip -- which, had it not been for the two miracle finishes in Boston, would have been 1-8 -- but Joe Maddon thinks "there will be a revival" once the team gets home.

ALREADY REVIVED: WEEI.com's Alex Speier looks at how the Rays got so good so fast.

RIDE WITH THE TIDE AND GO WITH THE FLOW: Bugs & Cranks' David Chalk loves his "beloved Devil Rays" with an admirable passion. Still, he found time today to salute -- sort of -- "the resilient New England fan."

If the guy went to the trouble of changing the name on the jersey, lame as his effort was, shouldn't he also have figured out a way to change the number?

SMALL PLEASURES: The Yankee season has been reduced to celebrating milestones -- Derek Jeter continuing his climb up various all-time Yankee hit lists (New York Daily News) -- and punishing transgressions -- Robinson Cano (right, AP Photo) being benched for a lack of hustle (New York Post) Peter Abraham applauds Joe Girardi for finally taking a stand on the uninspired Cano but says he should have done it in April or May, when it meant something. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

I THOUGHT CHANGE WAS GOOD: Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record writes that the Yankees' managerial switch from the easygoing Joe Torre to the more intense Joe Girardi was supposed to tighten things in the Bronx. Instead, points out Klapisch, the Yanks "are sloppier and less disciplined than ever and Girardi seems powerless to stop it." A major-league scout told Newsday's Ken Davidoff that he'd never seen a Yankee team as listless and passionless as this one.

ONLY FIVE?: In a New York Post column on foxsports.com, Joel Sherman gives five examples of why the Yankees' season went bad.

YOU'RE REALLY OUR IDLE: Carl Pavano had to leave yesterday's game because of a stiff left hip. (mlb.com) "In other news," writes Abraham, "fall is coming and the sky is blue."

A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS: The New York Daily News reports Rep. Charles Rangel, aided by the team and the city, lobbied the IRS for tax changes that would save the Yankees $66 million.

THAT SETTLES THAT: Carlos Zambrano (left, AP Photo) quieted all concerns about his arm by throwing the first Cubs' no-hitter since 1972 in Chicago's victory over the Astros in Milwaukee. (Chicago Sun-Times) Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan calls Zambrano a magician: "He made the Astros' bats disappear and created the illusion that the hope surrounding the Cubs this year might actually be real."

NEUTRAL? DON'T TALK ABOUT NEUTRAL. YOU KIDDING ME? They were in Milwaukee, as everyone knows, because of Hurricane Ike, but the Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice says playing the games so close to Chicago -- the site was supposed to be neutral -- was "ridiculous." He blames not only Bud Selig for scheduling the games there, but Astros owner Drayton McLane for clinging to the delusion that they could have played in Houston this weekend and delaying the rescheduling process, which vastly limited the number of available options once everyone succumbed to the inevitable.

N.L. RACES: We may be ready to declare a winner in the Central, as the Cubs now lead the free-falling Brewers by 7 1/2 . . . Milwaukee is in danger of missing the playoffs entirely. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports "[the] Brewers' September collapse reached epic proportions" with a doubleheader loss in Philadelphia that completed a four-game Phillie sweep and enabled them to tie the Brew Crew for the N.L. wild-card lead . . . On the other side of the fence, of course, they prefer to see it as another rousing Phillies comeback. Rhode Island native Jim Salisbury says it's beginning to feel like 2007 again (Both stories Philadelphia Inquirer) . . . The Brewers' two losses even enabled the Astros -- who, don't forget, were no-hit yesterday -- to pick up ground in the wild-card race (Houston Chronicle); they now trail by two . . . The Phils are just a game behind the Mets in the East, though it's two in the loss column, after the New York bullpen imploded again yesterday in a 7-4 loss to the Braves (New York Daily News) . . . The Dodgers and Greg Maddux dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker in Colorado (Los Angeles Times) but still lead the West by 4 1/2 because the reeling Diamondbacks found yet another way to lose, stranding an astounding 17 runners in a 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Reds. (Arizona Republic)

PARTY POOPERS: David Pinto reports the Cardinals' slide is wreaking havoc on the massive-tie scenario. (Baseball Musings)

A.L. RACES: Make that A.L. race, since we've already covered the A.L. East and wild-card chases and the West has been won. The White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Tigers (Chicago Sun-Times) and now lead the Twins by 1 1/2 in the Central.

WELL, ONE OTHER RACE: The Angels are pulling away in the bid for the A.L.'s best record (and home-field advantage throughout the postseason). They now lead the Rays by 3 1/2 after yesterday's win over the Mariners. (Los Angeles Times)

NOT IMPRESSED: Beyond The Box Score's Peter Bendix says the Halos aren't as good as their record and their future "does not look rosy."

MILESTONE REACHED: Francisco Rodriguez broke Bobby Thigpen's saves record Saturday night. (Los Angeles Times)

ANOTHER VOTE WON: Add Pinto to the Tim Lincecum-for-Cy Young crowd. (Baseball Musings)

LOCAL BOYS: Matthew Carruth of FanGraphs has a nice little piece on Rocco Baldelli.

HERE AND THERE: The Orioles are starting to think Garrett Olson may be too nervous to pitch in the major leagues (Baltimore Sun) . . . Milton Bradley is fighting Dustin Pedroia for the batting title but may not get enough at-bats to qualify (mlb.com) . . . Two teams ready to leap into the offseason hunt for CC Sabathia: The Angels (si.com) and the Phillies (mlb.com) . . . Steve Stone is replacing Darrin Jackson in the White Sox' television broadcast booth, giving Hawk Harrelson a new partner next year (Chicago Tribune) . . . Phil Hughes is rejoining the Yankee rotation (mlb.com) . . . Jason Isringhausen plans to pitch in 2009 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) . . . Kevin Gregg wants the chance to reclaim the closer's role for the Marlins. (Miami Herald)

OLD FRIENDS: Brian Shouse is at the center of a controversy involving Ned Yost's strategic decisions (Fire Ned Yost) . . . The Diamondbacks have finally removed the struggling Brandon Lyon from the closer's role. (East Valley Tribune)

-- ART MARTONE