The Red Sox lost their 5th straight game on Tuesday night, but thanks to a Rangers loss to the Angels the Sox also clinched the American League wild card spot. They will square off against the Angels next week in the division series.

Despite the recent losing streak, the Red Sox can thank an otherwise hot September for helping them move well past the Rangers in the wild card race, which turned out a lot less close than most imagined it would be a month ago. Red Sox starting pitching is in shambles right now, but they hope to start the playoffs with a healthy Josh Beckett and John Lester, whose knee is still healing from that hit he took against the Yankees.

Who would have thought in early June that it would be David Ortiz who would guide our way into the playoffs? Ortiz was so wretched at that point in the season it seemed like charity just putting him in the lineup. Since July 6, Ortiz has more home runs than any other player in the American League and is approaching 30 on the season. That’s pretty amazing considering he had approximately 1 home run in the first half. I’d like to know if there are any other players in the history of the game who have had such a contrast between the first and second half of a season while playing full time.

Tags: boston red sox, david ortiz, jon lester, josh beckett, playoffs

Josh Beckett is a last minute scratch for tonight’s game against the Blue Jays. He experienced back spasms on Sunday. Michael Bowden will get the start instead, his second start in the majors.

Tags: boston red sox, josh beckett, michael bowden

Curt Schilling has announced that he’s not planning to run for the U.S. Senate seat that has been empty since the death of Ted Kennedy last month. There were a few obstacles holding him back, including the fact that he’s an Independent and might not have been able to run on the Republican ticket. Also, state polls showed he was only favored by about 30% of potential voters.

I was worried about a Schilling campaign. He was a great pitcher for us and his 2004 postseason was nothing short of heroic, but his political ideals are pure idiocy. His courage on the field in no way resembles the cowardice he showed by backing George W. Bush, even as Bush terrorized the American people by convincing us that “hairy brown men” were going to attack us because they hated “our freedom”. Schilling was paraded around by Republicans during that time of turmoil because he was the easiest pawn to manipulate and he was the only Republican who could rightfully attach the word “fearless” to his name.

Enjoy your retirement, Curt, and stay out of my government.

Tags: curt schilling, politics, red sox, senate

The Red Sox have cooled down over their last 2 games and lost to Zach Greinke and the Royals last night, but they moved a little closer to a playoff berth with some help from the Texas Rangers, who lost to Oakland, 9-1. The Red Sox remain 7 games up on the Rangers in the wild card race with just 12 games remaining. That means if the Red Sox win just 5 of their remaining 12, the Rangers would have to win all 12 just to tie for the wild card.

The Yankees unfortunately became the first team to clinch a playoff spot last night with their win over the Angels. If the Red Sox heat up again they have a shot of reclaiming the AL East lead, as the two teams play a series against each other before the season is over.

Tags: playoff, rangers, red sox, yankees, zach greinke, zach grienke

The Red Sox beat the Angels in dramatic fashion last night and the Rangers were swept by the A’s, meaning the Red Sox are now 6.5 games up on the Rangers in the wild card race with just 18 games to go in the season. If the Red Sox play .500 in those 18 games the Rangers would have to win 16 games. The Red Sox finish up their series against the Angels in Fenway tonight before packing for Baltimore for a weekend set at Camden Yards.

Coming next week: the annual Red Sox Magic Number countdown

Tags: boston red sox, magic number, texas rangers, wild card

Tim Wakefield will receive yet another cortisone shot to relieve some of the back and leg pain he’s been having, with the hopes that he’ll be able to pitch next week at Baltimore. Wakefield received a shot days before his last start against Chicago, in which he lasted 6 innings in a losing effort. I think we might be witnessing the final death throes of a pitching career that had many flashes of brilliance but never quite reached the top echelon of today’s greats. It’s still amazing to think that just a few months ago Wakefield was named to the All Star team for the first (and probably only) time in his career.

Tags: all star, baseball, boston red sox, career, injury, tim wakefield