Sunday Night Baseball

Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays (-142, 8.5)

Despite being ravaged all season with 24 disabled list-stints and 832 man games lost to injury, the Red Sox entered the series with the Rays in pretty decent shape.

Compared to their recent predecessors, the Sox are right where they should be on this date. At 73-55, their record is nearly identical to the 2004, 2005 and 2009 clubs. They are better than the ill-fated 2006 squad, and not as good as the 2007 and 2008 teams, both of who had at least 76 wins at this point of the season.

It’s GM Theo Epstein’s contention that it takes 95 wins to make the playoffs in the American League East. Entering this series Boston is on pace for 93.

Not bad for a team that has four more games remaining with Tampa and six more against the Yankees.

“We definitely need to play well. This is one of the times we can really control stuff on our behalf, and not hope that other teams help us out. So we need to definitely go in there and play well,” Epstein said.

Regardless of where they finish, bench boss Terry Francona should be in the running for the Manager of the Year award.

They're already a different team from the Red Sox we've come to know, and you can see it in Francona's disposition. He likes this team a lot, and he's not afraid to say it.

"I love them," he said. "Not because of what has happened (with the injuries), but they're trying to win every day. That's what you ask guys to do, to try to win."

OUR DOCTORS ARE KILLING US

With team MVP Dustin Pedroia and his fractured left foot back in a protective boot, it appears he is done for the season.

Coupled with the fiasco of Jacoby Ellsbury's premature return after he fractured four ribs and had a fifth fracture go undetected, the burden of accountability has fallen squarely on the Red Sox medical staff.

It’s fair to ask why both Ellsbury and Pedroia appear to have placed themselves at risk of further injury when neither should have been playing. And also why OF Mike Cameron will soon be going under the knife after club officials maintained all season they didn't believe an operation would be necessary.

All of which brings up to a lot of finger pointing. Raising questions about the care of its players brings to mind a similar time and situation when former Red Sox SS Nomar Garciaparra’s declared, “Our doctors are killing us.”

RED ROOF

Tropicana Field protects fans from soaring temperatures as well as the rain and violent storms that can arise in the blink of an eye during the sultry, summer months in St. Petersburg.

Protection aside, the rafters and catwalks that support the roof over their heads cost the Rays a valuable win earlier this month, one that may come back to haunt them at season’s end.

When Minnesota’s Jason Kubel popped a fly ball that struck the A-Ring designated catwalk, a two-out, not-so-routine pop fly allowed the winning run to score, it was a result that could be potentially devastating to a club that is competing in the AL East race.

“I know it works both ways, but to lose a game in a pennant situation like that, because of a roof, truly indicates why there's a crying need for a new ballpark in this area, regardless of where they put it," cried Rays manager Joe Maddon.

"It just needs to be a real baseball field where, if you lose the pennant by one game and look back at a game like that, because the roof got in the way, we'd be very upset."

Maddon makes a strong argument. No one wants the fate of a season to be affected by a roof.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Unlike editions in the past, the Rays head into crunch-time with the valuable benefit of experience.

Entering its final 35 games of the season, including 13 against its closest competitors (the Red Sox and Yankees), Tampa feels comfortable knowing it won the 2008 American League championship.

“I don't know that it makes it any less stressful or easier, but that unknown component is no longer there," said Maddon. "You know what it feels like and you know what it looks like.

"And the thing I'd like to believe is that you understand you don't have to get any smarter or any better, just come out ready to play every day. That's why we always talk of playing the same game regardless of the date… you don't want anything to change."

ARMS RACE

Free agent acquisition John Lackey (12-7, 4.51) toes the rubber against James Shields (11-11, 4.78) in a battle of right-handers this evening.

Lackey has dropped eight of his 12 road team starts, with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP (walks + hits per inning), this campaign.

Lackey has thrived against the Rays, posting a 12-3 mark with a 3.54 ERA in his career team starts against Tampa Bay.

On the flip side, Shields has struggled against the BoSox, sporting a 4-13 career team start record with a 5.01 ERA.

Shields is 6-7 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in his 13 team starts at Tropicana Park this season. Tampa is 14-6 in Shields’ last 20 starts during the month of August.

Posted by: experts.covers.com