This Morning in Red Sox

Seems like people are sounding the alarm bell for the Red Sox this morning after losing two of three to the Yankees. “The Yankees did more than take two of three at Fenway. They took it to Josh Beckett, hammering Boston’s best shot at salvation,” ESPN writes.

And yet… the Red Sox still lead the wild card chase.

There’s a long way to go, and while I think the Yankees are the clear favorites in the AL East and baseball as a whole, anything can happen when you get into the playoffs. If the season ended today, the Red Sox would be there. I don’t get the panic, or the played-up Yankees/Red Sox rivalry that ESPN pushes on us — that if the Sox can’t catch the Yankees, they’ve lost the chance for “salvation.” It’s a great wild card race. Let’s enjoy that aspect of it. Eight teams make the playoffs, and the Red Sox have the sixth-best record in the game. Is that great? No. But it’s pretty freaking good, especially in that division.

I just want to make it clear, because one reader and commenter didn’t seem to understand, that I think the Red Sox will be competitive for the foreseeable future, and that I’m not counting them out for this year. I would love the addition of Billy Wagner, especially if it gets some of the relievers out of their comfort zones. Right now, Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcaaaaaahmen have been popping off about how the bullpen shouldn’t be shaken up right now. You can always get better, guys. I’ve had a window to the Billy Wagner experiment for the last few years now and I can say he’s a valuable addition — provided he’s not your closer. You’ve got literally nothing to lose by getting a left-hander who throws 100 miles per hour (or, at the very least, hard), and it doesn’t take a degree from the University of San Diego law school to know that.

But still: thinking about this team in the long run, it’s hard to see what’s on the ascent. Pedroia, for his youth, seems to be firmly established at a particular level, as does Youkilis. Only Jacoby Ellsbury, amongst hitters, seems to have much room for improvement at all. On the pitching side, Beckett is reliable, and Lester, I suppose, could improve, but other than that, all signs point to Daniel Bard. Actually, the pitching’s not terrible, with our prospects in waiting, but it’s not great, either. The hitting is particuarly scary.

All of this feeds into my bigger point: I think that Boston as *the* premier destination for baseball players in the non-Yankees is over. For years, Boston wasn’t even a premier destination for free agents… and then Manny signed. During the Manny/Ortiz era, it wasn’t hard to lure players. Now, it’s simply *a* premier destination, albeit one with strengths and drawbacks. To act as if people are going to come to Boston just because the Red Sox are good ignores the fact that a lot of other teams are good, too.

I don’t mind this at all: it’s a natural restoration of balance to the league, with the Sox a little higher than they were prior to 2004. But the crest of the wave is breaking. The new reality isn’t that the Sox are clearly the second-best team in the majors, it’s that they’re one of the best. I think the attitude of the fans should reflect that, and that they should act, in essence, as if we haven’t won anything yet.

Tomorrow, I’ll look at the pluses and minuses of playing in Boston.