What is the Matter with you People?

Seriously folks, is there is anything sadder than these WEEIdiots whining and crying about the Red Sox only being on top by four games in the middle of August? Oh yeah, that Bozo the Clown look-alike on the commuter rail this morning talking about how it was time for the Red Sox to play for the wild card. Umm, yeah, we want to lose about 7 or 8 in a row real quick, get out of the division lead, and focus on keeping up with Detroit and Cleveland. How I restrain myself from punching these idiots is a source of much wonder.

Earlier in the season I predicted that the Sox will win the division by ten games. I said it again two weeks ago, and I will continue to stand by it today and until it is mathematically impossible. What, the Yankees are going to continue scoring nine runs a game? Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens started guzzling from the Fountain of Youth? Someone call Ponce DeLeon (wait, I remember him pitching for the Pirates, Cardinals, and White Sox in the late 80s and early 90s, no? Oh, that was Jose DeLeon!) and tell him the Yankees found the fountain of youth (as a sidebar, toss a bottle to Georgie, he looked half-dead the last time I saw him on TV catching a game at the Stadium).

Look, the Red Sox have too balanced a line-up, too quality a rotation, and too deep a bullpen to be down long. There are still a ton of games to play, and the while the Yankees are streaking back to where they should have been all along and the Red Sox are returning to where they statistically should be (If you are not aware of the various methods to calculate a teas expected wins and losses based on various formulas included runs scored and allowed, you desperately need to go to http://www.baseballprospectus.com. Seriously, go there when you finish reading. No, not now, but at the end of the posting. Ahh, whatever, just go there sometime.) The Yankees and Red Sox should have pretty similar records all things being taken into account. The Yankees offense scores more, the Sox have better pitching. As it is a 162 game season, things usually revert to the mean over the course of the season. The Red Sox are not going anywhere, and the Yankees will not play .700 ball the rest of the season. Sorry, but these idiotic Red Sox fans act like the Yankees are going to win every single game. Nope, not going to happen.

I try (and this is coming from a guy who is in a bad mood all the next day if the Red Sox lose, but I really try) to look at only the past ten games when looking at the standings, not daily wins and losses. I figure 160 games divided by 10 gives us 16, or the same number of regular season NFL games. So the Sox have a 16 game schedule just like the Patriots. Now I know the Patriots can go 0-2 and win the Super Bowl, so I have to believe that the Sox can put up a stinker for 20 games and still crank out the AL East. Rather than obsessing over every single game, I break the season into chunks and try not to obsess over every single win or loss (though I think I sleep better when the Sox win).

Please, stop burning those Eric Gagne jerseys and crying about Jon Lester having a so-so outing. The Sox will finish on top of the AL East, should have a fun playoff run, and hopefully get back to the big game against the sacrificial lamb out of the National League.

* * *

Comments