The Sox are pretty lousy these days.<\/p>\n
Anyway, today’s game got me thinking about how far they will really have to go to not just right the ship but come out as the winner-by-default we all know they can be. Even on their current 3-7 skid, the Good Guys are still only 3.5 games out, which is not exactly insurmountable.<\/p>\n
The Sox are five under .500 as I write this, and even if we assume a mere 83 wins takes the division (not exactly an impossible scenario) they’ll need a 68-61 showing from here on out. Again, not impossible but looking more and improbable with each squandered gem<\/a> and every call for Greg Walker’s head<\/a> – and even worse considering the Sox’ best stretch to date has been a three-game win streak.<\/p>\n Three games. Glory, it seems, is still attainable.<\/p>\n As the 2006 Cardinals (World Series Champions, at that) taught us, eighty-three win seasons for the ages are not built on the backs of 9-2 runs. That particular squad, in fact, won eight in a row once but lost seven in a row twice. It seems likely the Sox are capable of at least one of those things. So they’ve got that going for them.<\/p>\n Of course, that Cardinals team never ran into the Toronto Blue Jays. And, you know, they found a way to beat the Tigers too. <\/p>\n So what have we got to hold on to? At best, they can claw their way to a painfully average season; at worst, the whole division will collapse on itself and five under will miraculously become the new ten over.<\/p>\n