“We didn’t swing the bats real well this whole series,’’ said manager Terry Francona after yesterday’s 4-0 matinee loss to David Price. “Fortunately, Ells hit that home run’’ - Jacoby Ellsbury’s three-run homer won Tuesday’s first game - “or it would have been a worse series.’’
While you were sleeping Tuesday night, the Yankees crept into the top spot in the American League East.
This may or may not wind up being a big deal. We know the Sox aren’t going to go pedal-to-the-metal to finish first. It hasn’t been a priority since the inception of the wild card.
The Sox didn’t finish first when they won the World Series in 2004. And though they have qualified for the postseason in six of the last eight seasons, they have finished first only once in that stretch.
Shocking as it sounds, the almighty Carmine Hose have finished in sole possession of first place only once (2007) since 1995. You could say that the wild card was John Harrington’s lasting gift to this baseball town.
The consequences of first vs. wild card in the East are fairly well established. The team that finishes first is going to get Detroit, Cleveland, or Chicago and play three of the possible five at home. The wild card team is going to Texas and will play three of the possible five in Arlington.
Nobody likes the idea of a Game 5 on the road, and Texas scares the stuffing out of a lot of baseball folks (the Sox are 6-16 vs. Texas over the last three seasons), but facing Detroit’s Justin Verlander twice in a five-game series is not much of a reward for finishing atop the AL East.
This silent mini-homestand (three games in 28 hours) will serve as a great negotiating tool for Big Papi. Ortiz has bursitis in his right heel and will be wearing the boot probably for another week. Without Ortiz, the Sox did next to nothing against James Shields, Jeff Niemann, and Price.
“We’ve been hitting so well - to not hit the way we’ve been hitting all year is frustrating,’’ said Ortiz, adding that he might play in Texas next week. “I’m not gonna tell you we’re not hitting because I’m not in the lineup, but I’m part of this group.’’
