How About That Dontrelle Willis ? Sava.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

NO! The Red Sox are going to win the division, and the A's will take the wildcard.

[Charlemagne120]

Just keep saying that "This is the year for the Sox, this is the year for the sox"...i love em they are my AL team but its not gonna happen...the curse is already setting in. September will come and the record will take a shot

[Imran Siddiqui]

This year they've made some quality moves though. Solidifying the bullpen and all. There are talks they may be getting Garcia in a three way deal with the Reds (Cincy sending Boone to Seattle, who sends Garcia to the Red Sox, who send Fossum and Youklis to the Reds). AND they have the best offense in baseball by far!

[Charlemagne120]

I believe ur overlooking the Atlanta Braves Imran

[FrustratedPoet]

I don't think he is.

Go Sox!

[Imran Siddiqui]

I believe ur overlooking the Atlanta Braves Imran

I'm not. The Red Sox have the best offense in 50 years, IIRC.. when you look at total bases and batting average. They may have cooled a bit in recent weeks, but at the All-Star Break they had EIGHT regulars in their lineup batting over .300. Millar was only batting .290, IIRC.

[H Tower]

Not yet! You gotta at least do this for 3 years straight to be considered the 'next great pitcher'.

same thing with Pujols as well, one great year does not make you Barry Bonds

[Lawrence of Arabia]

They are only 2.5 games behind the Yankees, and they play each other 7 more times until the end of the year. After the series with the rangers, they face baltimore, anaheim, toronto, and Tampa Bay for a combined 26 games, seatlle and the A's for a combined 14 games, and 7 games against Cleavland and the White Sox. Its a pretty easy schedual.

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by H Tower
same thing with Pujols as well, one great year does not make you Barry Bonds

What does 3 great years make you?

[H Tower]

3 years gives you a shot at being the next Barry Bonds

[Imran Siddiqui]

Let's compare shall we?

Batting Average
BOS - .294
ATL - .285

On Base Percentage
BOS - .363
ATL - .352

Slugging Percentage
BOS - .504
ATL - .481

Runs
BOS - 660
ATL - 613

Total Bases
BOS - 1928
ATL - 1807

Hey, Atlanta is a great hitting team (they have more HRs than Boston).. but Boston does have the better offense.

[Imran Siddiqui]

3 years gives you a shot at being the next Barry Bonds

Yep .

There are a lot of examples in baseball history where a player was great for 3-5 years and then got injured or just tailed off. One of the more famous modern examples is Don Mattingly.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

THe Sox need just two more elements: another good starting pitcher, and a closer, and they are set to go.

[Imran Siddiqui]

They got a Closer... two actually .

Kim and, now, Williamson.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

They arnt using either as a closer.