This afternoon, the Sox finished their three game series against the O's. Both teams squandered a number of opportunities to break the game open. The Sox loaded the bases in the fourth and fifth and came up with one run. Dice-K pitched on the edge all night, but got out of jam after jam. Even Jonathan Papelbon made it interesting in the 9th allowing the winning run to come to the plate before he got out of it. As a result, the Sox are back in first. Here are the keys for the Sox, as I see it, in the second half:
Dice-K: His struggles are well documented, and yet he's persevered. He holds a 10-1 record and 2.65 ERA. But as Jason Page from ESPN Radio put it, those numbers are fool's gold. He barely makes it out of 5th most starts because he's over 100 pitches. Batters are 0-for-11 against him with the bases loaded. That can't last, can it? Will his overworked arm be worth anything in the playoffs?
Big Papi: Best case scenario for when Ortiz gets back is that he injects some needed power into Boston's line up. The bats have been consistently good without Papi, but they are lacking that feared power hitter (with all due respect to Manny). The worst case scenario is that David struggles and Francona leaves him in the line up out of loyalty when another, more productive bat remains on the bench.
The Bullpen: Can Justin Masterson help these scrubs?
Jason Varitek: His value in calling games for the young pitchers is priceless, but what about his bat? He just looks horrible. Would it be worth it to rest him from time to time in favor of Kevin Cash? Cash is no Yogi Berra, but sometimes you have to try something new.
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