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Prepping for the Storm Aheadby Cameron on March 27 at 3:38PM | comments (0)
[ comments (0) ] [ BallHype ] Take this as you will, but things look a lot different when you're .500 instead of 1.000, even after two games.With only a split in Japan, the Red Sox head back to the states facing one of the longest and most strenous stretches of opening games in recent memory. Actually, forget recent. Just memory, period. After all, when was the last time Baltimore wasn't involved in the opening two weeks of the season? Exactly, WMYM couldn't remember, either.  There's more Big Papi coming, but, alas, he'll still be clad in gray jerseys. (AFP/Getty)So, without further ado, let's check out the forthcoming sked, eh? Well, no sweat then, right? Just three games in Toronto against the Blue Jays with undetermined starters before a return for a home opener against what could be the best 1-9 lineup in baseball since the 1928 Yankees? Oh, and don't forget to factor in the home opener factor in Oakland and what is close to a cross-country flight to get from Oakland to Toronto. Look, WMYM isn't trying to be overly pessimistic here, but it's hard to look at that slate and the current flux in the starting rotation without wincing just a bit. Clearly, things could all work out, but the Sox could also easily be starting a nasty little 2-6 start in the face. We'll see. With that in mind, let's look at how things get rolling for the Yankees and Blue Jays, shall we? Yankees:From the looks of it, the Blue Jays don't have it too easy. Or at least much easier than the Sox. The Yankees? That may be the opening cake walk of the century, no? If New York doesn't build a large divisional lead - what with the Blue Jays and Sox beating each other up - it'd be shocking, wouldn't it? Now, there's always the other side of the coin, that a tough start naturally leads to an easier mid-season and, potentially, stretch run. Indeed, that's all well and good. But if the 2007 Red Sox season taught us anything, it should be that you can't underestimate a blazing start. Using an early slate against the woeful likes of Kansas City and B'more, Boston cruised to an early division lead when the Yankees scuffled, then buttressed it with a couple of midseason runs and held on. It was just more proof that it's easier to get a lead and hold it than come up the rail in a charge. Naturally, there are plenty of exceptions to that rule, but that would certainly be the rule to take exceptions from, rather than the other way around. So what do people think? Is this a quicksand recipe for disaster, as it looks like? Or is this just granting the Sox a shot at an early season proving ground, which would help essentially build booster jets and lift Boston to another strong regular season? Only time will tell, though the anticipation is enough to be crippling, isn't it?
Tagged: Bartolo Colon
| Baseball
| Blue Jays
| Daisuke Matsuzaka
| Jon Lester
| Red Sox
| Rotation
| Yankees
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