BOSTON _ It's Aug. 24 and the Yankees have a 7 ? game lead over the Red Sox in the A.L. East. It's Aug. 24 and Boston is atop the wild card standings by two games over Texas.
It's Aug. 24 and the Red Sox believe there's still plenty of baseball to be played.
After Boston dropped the series finale to the Yankees, 8-4, Sunday night at Fenway Park, the Sox' Kevin Youkilis did not want to talk standings and league leaders. He wanted to focus on the present and the club's upcoming opponent, the Chicago White Sox.
"I don't know how many times I have to reiterate that I just play day to day," he said. "I'm not here to talk about the A.L. East. I'm not here to talk about the Wild Card. I'm just here to talk about the day. I don't think like that. Others guys might, but I'm thinking about tomorrow and winning a ballgame."
As long as Terry Francona has been managing the Red Sox, the team has played by that philosophy where the task at hand is just as important as the bigger picture. That mentality has worked, but with the inability to consistently mesh all aspects of its game, especially of late, Boston needs to in a big way.
"As a team we're not in sync," said veteran third baseman Mike Lowell. "When we hit good our pitching hasn't been there and when our pitching is stellar, we haven't been hitting and we need that to go hand-in-hand to get hot. Everyone was questioning our offense, but our offense did a good job this series. Hopefully we can continue to swing the bats against Chicago and see how it plays out."
The Sox have scored 51 runs on 68 hits in the last six games, so it's a positive sign the bats are getting hot at the right time. The pitching has been good, too. Sunday night starter Josh Beckett struggled for his second straight start, which is unlike him. Still, his teammates are not too worried about the fierce competitor as the season progresses.
The right-hander just proved he's human - again.
"The bats are there," said Youkilis. "If it's not one thing it's another. We didn't get the Josh that we're used to and hopefully his last two starts will be what it is and we'll move on. Hopefully the next one will be a good one to get his confidence going and push him through September."
Lowell knows it's not as simple as pushing a button to have every aspect of their game on the same page. Sometimes it just happens. But it needs to happen very soon despite the club's one-day-at-a-time mentality.
"Sometimes it does just happen," said Lowell. "It's not something we say consciously, 'Okay now we're going to pitch well and hit well.' Everyone wants to do well. Josh didn't go out there today and say, 'Hey, I want to give up runs.' He's going in there hoping to shut them down. It's something that just happens and hopefully we can ride it for a while. We're going to need that to happen. This is a crucial part of the season, so hopefully we can play well."
The good thing is the Sox have Tim Wakefield returning to the rotation on Thursday. Clay Buchholz has been pitching extremely well and will get the nod on Monday against the White Sox.
"We're capable and Josh is going to be fine," said Lowell. "His last two starts he wasn't happy with doesn't mean he's not a good pitcher. He still has the ability to shut down any offense. We have the capability, whether or not we're going to do it, the crystal ball still looms, I guess."
It's Aug. 24 and there's still 39 games remaining in the Sox' season.
"We're okay," said Francona. "We don't need to reassess our team or anything like that. We know it's late night tonight and the White Sox are already sitting there waiting, but we're okay. We just need to come out and play. Our guys do a good job of that."
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