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Sox lose, Yanks win, trip stalls

E-mail|Link|Comments () Posted by Tony Massarotti, Globe Staff September 20, 2008 09:10 PM

So, how does it feel to have the Yankees on your minds again?

Losers to the Toronto Blue Jays by a 6-3 score today, the Red Sox moved no closer to a playoff spot despite Minnesota's loss to the Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. Why? Because the New York defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the penultimate game at Yankee Stadium to move past the Twins and into sole possession of second place in the wild card race, meaning there will be no celebration for the Red Sox in Canada Sunday, either.

The magic number remains at 2.

The Sox play Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees play Sunday night, which means that the Red Sox could not possibly secure a playoff spot until late Sunday at the earliest; to clinch Sunday, the Sox would need both a victory and a New York loss.

As for today's game, there wasn't much to it. Toronto built an early 5-0 lead behind Roy Halladay and held on for the win, despite a brief Red Sox rally that trimmed the gap to 5-3. Amalie Benjamin and Adam Kilgore will have the bulk of coverage from that game, and we'll be postin here in the middle of the morning tomorrow, as usual.

Look at the bright side: You can watch the Patriots (vs. Miami) today without missing any type of significant Red Sox victory, and there is now a decent chance that the Sox will clinch their fifth playoff appearance in six years at home.

How's that for optimism?

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Tony Massarotti

wonders if Billy Wagner and his agent actually communicate.

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Updated: Oct 14, 05:01 PM

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Tony Massarotti is a Globe sportswriter and has been writing about sports in Boston for the last 19 years. A lifelong Bostonian, Massarotti graduated from Waltham High School and Tufts University. He was voted the Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by his peers in 2000 and 2008 and has been a finalist for the award on several other occasions. This blog won a 2008 EPpy award for "Best Sports Blog".

Tony's Top 5

NFL power rankings

Broncos. OK, we�re convinced. Kyle Orton is now 26-12 in his career as a starter. Josh McDaniels looks like a real coach. And the defense is much improved.

Saints. Went into Philly and beat the Eagles, went into New York and beat the Jets. Better defense than we thought. Right?

Vikings. If you�re a Vikes fan, Brett Favre should scare you come playoff time. But in the regular season? So far, so good.

Colts. Don�t look now, but only three teams in the NFL have allowed fewer points than Indy. And have we mentioned the quarterback?

Giants. They can run, pass and play defense. And did we mention they�re well-coached? Who needs Plaxico?

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Updated: Oct 14, 05:02 PM

Featured Comments

Sox pitching depth hits bottom

The real reason for concern is that key pieces of the 04 and 07 winning teams are old and rusty. Ortiz, Lowell, Varitek. Is there a baseball "Cash for Clunkers" program? Trade them in for new models.

Bob

'Big Papi' revealed as a myth

Wow....no sugar coating here, huh Tony? It is bitterly disappointing to confirm what I think most honest Red Sox fans must have at least suspected. Does it change anything? Not really. Again no honest Red Sox fan really believed none of the Home Town players were involved with this, did they? Baseball could have ended this whole story years ago by just making "The List" public. Instead, it will continue to trickle out over the next 10 years and we'll never get past this.

Steve from Plattsburgh, NY