Off Day Post

Tampa lost yesterday to KC and are now tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Yanks now head to Boston, while the Rays continue their vacation . . . I mean, series against KC. Personally, I hope the Rays take the division. I say this for two reasons. First, I'd rather play Minnesota in the first round than Texas. Second, I like the idea of the Rays wearing themselves out for a division title that is basically meaningless. We have playoffs now, not just a regular season and a World Series, so winning divisions only matters to the extent it gets you in the playoffs. Reaching the playoffs, however, is a non issue for both the Yanks and Rays, so if the Rays want to expend a bunch of energy for a prize they've actually already achieved (since what is important is the playoff berth, not the division), I say go for it.

These next three games in Boston will be played up because of what happened 6 years ago. Of course I'm referring to Bush's reelection, which was precipitated by Boston winning the World Series. Sorry, it had to be said. But it also must be said that what happened 6 years ago has nothing to do with this team. Every time we play Boston now we have to hear about the ghosts of 2004. But there are no ghosts. Boston is not in our head. They haven't dominated us or anything like that. And while there is still a rivalry there, you don't worry about how you're going to take a series from a team that in a few days will be watching you play from their luxurious leather sofas in some swanky condo or Vegas hotel room with whatever 18-22 year old company they've paid for for the evening. We've already failed to line up our pitchers just the way we want so the important thing right now is to rest our guys, especially those who have been hurt recently, and be prepared to enter the playoffs rested.

Sure, we need to worry about momentum. After all, you cannot play successful baseball without momentum. That's why if you even have the slightest of losing streaks, your season is over. Oh, wait. That's bull$#!%. Never mind. With a team this old, rest is a greater concern than momentum. These guys know how to win, but they don't know how to be 23 again.