Even with Sunday’s disappointing and depressing Patriots/Jets outcome, there is still plenty 
of reason to be happy, that being the Boston Red Sox. Left for dead by many after a four-game sweep by the Yankees in early-August, Terry Francona’s charges are showing all the doubters why they should just let the season play out before making bold claims.
There’s a reason why the word ‘believe’ was so important back in 2004 and 2007. This team does not die, no matter how many times people forget history and assume that they will.
So here are 10 Red Sox-related numbers and factoids I came across as we enter the regular season’s final two weeks. Let this ease your Patriots-related pain, at least for a little bit. It’s going to be a fun October.
All numbers are going into Monday.
– Boston has 14 games (7 home/7 away) remaining with no off-days.
– Heading into 2009, they won 93 games or more in six of their last seven seasons, making the postseason in four of them. They currently sit at 89 wins.
– The Red Sox are 52-22 at home and an even 37-37 on the road.
– The Red Sox have a 99.9 certainty of making the playoffs, just behind the Yankees’ 100%. Their all-important magic number is seven.
– AL Central leading Detroit has a 77.5% chance of making the postseason, the lowest of any divisional leader by a long shot. The Angels (the team Boston would play if the season ended today) have a 99.2% chance.
– Everyone that thought John Farrell was to blame for John Smoltz and Brad Penny excelling elsewhere should have to revoke their pink Boston hats. The starters have allowed three runs or less in 13 straight and have an 8-1 record and 2.18 ERA during that time.
– Josh Beckett’s 201.1 innings this year are the most he’s thrown since 2006 when he threw a career-high 204.2 frames.
– Since giving up five runs on May 26th in a loss to Minnesota, the highest amount of runs Jon Lester has given up has been four – which happened one time in a late-July win. He’s lost just once in his last 16 starts.
– Since joining the Red Sox on August 1st, Victor Martinez’s batting average has jumped from .283 to .297, along with his slugging (.461 to .477) and on-base percentage (366 to .378). In September, he’s batting .370 and has a 19-game hitting streak heading into Sunday. He is just two RBI short of his 3rd career 100-RBI season.
– Finally, the Red Sox are just five games behind the Yankees in the AL East. Back in August after that sweep and in subsequent weeks, Boston winning the division seemed to be so far-fetched it was ridiculous.
Not anymore.
Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog on the MVN Network. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].
*Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
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