Synchronicity

I must have started my last post before Teddy started his, but he must have finished first.

He certainly upended my whole Teddy-doesn't-write-about-the-Red-Sox thesis statement, but to clarify, that was meant as an observation, not a criticism.

I had known in a non-sabermetric sort of way how much better the Yankees were doing than the Red Sox this month, but kudos to Teddy for documenting things in detail.

In light of his remarks, I won't dismiss the move of Drew to the leadoff spot as a desperation move, and stand by what I wrote earlier. Youk, Mikey, and Tek have all had better-than-expected seasons and belong in the 5-6-7 spots, but they haven't shown much this month, so I won't argue that, either.

I think the wisest thing I can say right now is that both teams are flawed - the Red Sox did a better job of hiding that at the beginning of the season, and now they've been exposed. The Yankees' have flipped the script on that this month.

I read a piece in "Sports Illustrated" today which called the Red Sox the only bona fide superpower in baseball right now, which made me squirm.

Now, I'll listen to national writers call the Patriots a superpower anytime, anyplace (and leave the local writers to nitpick at perceived deficiencies) but I'm uncomfortable with a national writer annointing the Red Sox thus.

I haven't looked at the Red Sox once this year and seen a bona fide superpower - I've seen a wildly inconsistent offense, a pitching staff that's asked to do too much, and some gaping, cavernous holes in the bullpen.

The Yankees have a lot of the same problems - which makes those 8.5 games less of a margin than a lot of people think it is.