It took the Red Sox until the 8th inning of last night’s game to put together some offense and I just hope the hitters can continue to produce.  But now that the Wild Card berth into the 2009 Playoffs is securely in hand, perhaps this is a team that needs to rest.  The offense has looked flat over the past couple of weeks and it’s difficult to pin down why a team with this much talent and success for the majority of the season has given such lackluster performances over the past few weeks.

As I have stated for the duration of the season, the success of this Red Sox team will hinge on pitching.  Buchholz poor start last night was disconcerting, but he has looked good since being called up from Triple-A in July.  I assume that he will rebound from last night’s performance and continue his success as the third starter in the Red Sox rotation, which makes the reemergence of Daisuke Matsuzaka that much more important.

Daisuke, since returning from the disabled list, has looked like the pitcher he was two years ago rather than the struggling right-hander who was lambasted in the press at the beginning of this year.  He looks to have regained his command and his confidence, as evidenced by his performance in the Bronx this weekend. Daisuke threw 115 pitches and allowed 1 run over 7 innings against aYankee lineup that features a hitter in the bottom third of the lineup (Cano) who is batting .320 with 25 homeruns.

Since his return from the disabled list on September 15th, Daisuke has an ERA less than 2.00.  Much has been made of his unorthodox new approach to warming up before the game and between innings.  While this may have an impact on his command, I think focus on 3 or 4 different pitches, rather than trying to throw his whole arsenal, has lead to his improved results.

Despite the recent struggles of the Red Sox against the Yankees, we should remember that this team went 2-1 against the Angels this month and is 6-1 against the Tigers this year.  We probably all need some rest this week, but one week from today I expect everyone to be in postseason form.

Zack Greinke didn’t really impress me last night. He pitched well and maybe I caught him on a bad night, but to me he didn’t seem dominant. Greinke has may have the lowest ERA in the AL since Pedro Martinez in 2000, but he doesn’t strike me as the dominant force that Pedro was during his statistical peak. Don’t get me wrong, Greinke pitched very effectively but he was not the unhittable beast on the mound that Pedro or Clemens (or even Johan Santana) were during their reign of dominance.

He only gave up two hits in 6 innings but struggled with his command and, with 5 strikeouts, it’s not like he was punching tickets up and down the Red Sox lineup.

He reminds me of a right-handed Roger Moret. He has that long and lean frame but good speed on his fastball. Let me reiterate that this assessment is based on seeing him pitch once, and he was effective. He’s had a great season, but I need to see more from him before I call him a dominant pitcher.

The Yankees have clinched a playoff spot and will likely end the season with the best record in the American League, but don’t expect them to take their foot off of the throttle and coast into the post-season. The Yankees know that they may meet up with the Red Sox again in the postseason and will want to try to set a tone this weekend. I don’t expect to see any starters rested, the Yankees will be hitting on all cylinders and try to beat the Red Sox.

In terms of a match up against the Yankees, be it regular or post season, I still like the Red Sox chances against the New York Yankees. I still feel that we have the best pitching of all of the likely playoff teams, but to win against New York, the pitching staff can’t make any mistakes. The Yankees have a great hitting lineup and love hitting in their new (home run friendly) ballpark.

The Red Sox need to play hard this weekend and wrap up a playoff spot.

It was a big win last night for the Red Sox because the Angels are a team they are likely to see in the post season.  I know that people have argued that Brian Fuentes’ pitch to Nick Green was a strike, but the bottom line is that if the umpire calls it a ball - it’s a ball. In my opinion it was too close to take, but the walk still counts.

The single that ended the game was a situation where the outfielder (Rivera) didn’t make the play either because of inexperience or lack of interest.  During my era, I am diving for that ball because I know I have a very good shot at throwing out the runner if he tries to tag from third and score the winning run.  As a matter of fact, as long as the catcher can hold onto the ball, that runner will be out.

It gets a little easier for the Red Sox after this series, but it gets tougher for the Texas Rangers who now sit 6.5 games back in the Wild Card Race.  Daisuke, during his last start, looked like the pitcher he was 2 years ago.  The Red Sox may finally be putting all of the pieces together after 5 months of disorganization… just in time for October.