Date with Destiny?

After a game that almost lasted longer than the NFL lockout, the Boston Red Sox pulled off a thrilling victory in extra innings to pull ahead of the Yankees back atop the American League East standings once again late Sunday night.  Taking a page from Ellsbury’s recent playbook, Josh Reddick decided he would play the role of late-game hero for the Sox this time.  It was the 70th victory for the Sox as they are the first team in the AL to reach that win total.

It was a remarkable, come-from-behind triumph that included yet another blown save in the career of Mariano Rivera.  The blown save was the 14^th against Boston for the reliever anointed as baseball’s greatest closer ever.  That number is, by far, the most against any one team and along with the continued dominance against ace pitcher, C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees have to be worried about this match up moving forward.  But, apart from all the theatrics and late-game heroics, there could be something much more significant behind this early-August, regular season win against the hated rivals.

With the victory the Red Sox are now 10-2 through the first twelve games against the New York Yankees.  This means that regardless of how the final six games of this series play out, the Red Sox have clinched the season series.  This is noteworthy for two reasons. 

 

Because of the razor thin, close race in the division, if the two teams were to end the year with identical records, the tie breaker would be owned by Boston and they would then clinch the division along with home field advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs and potentially for the second round as well.  Secondly, and more importantly, the last time Boston won the regular season series against the Yanks was all the way back in 2004… And I think we all know how that season ended up working out.

There’s an almost undeniable air that surrounds this team.  It’s a mystique that has been attached to them ever since the signing of Carl Crawford and the acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez this winter.  There was a sense that this team could be something really special and so far they are right on track.

At their current pace with a record of 70-43 after 113 games, the Boston Red Sox are on course to win 101 games.  In their storied franchise history this has only happened three other times and has not occurred since 1946.  That year they won 104 games.  The other two instances were in 1915, when they won 101 games, and their best regular season record of all time was in 1912 with 105 wins.

While it would be difficult to draw comparisons from records nearly a century old, the Red Sox made it to the World Series in each of those seasons and won the World Series in two of three years in which the feat was accomplished.  The only season that did not produce a title was in 1946 when they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.  Take it for what it may be worth, but when talking about potentially historic seasons, history can be your only reference. 

The bottom line is there is a lot of baseball left to be played – 49 games to be exact.  Through the agonizing lows and euphoric highs experienced cheering for the Red Sox, we have learned that nothing is certain and only to expect the unexpected.  Therefore enjoy this team and celebrate in the excitement that will surround the anticipation of their championship aspirations.  Though hope has always endured among the Fenway faithful, unlike before the 2004 season, history also now appears to be on our side.