The importance of tonights game
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| Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images |
Contributing Writer
When a season is 162 games long it is difficult to say that one game matters more than all the others, but tonights game may be an exception. With just nine games until the All-Star break the Red Sox see themselves seven games back of the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles. With the exception of yesterdays debacle of a game against Toronto on Canada Day the Red Sox have played good baseball for the last two series, against Tampa Bay and Toronto. The Red Sox have the chance to win their second series in a row and four of their last five.
Tonight is all about the response to yesterdays game. If the team comes out flat and gives away home runs like they are candy at a Fourth of July parade the season could be considered over. If the team comes out and plays with determination, has solid pitching and the offense contributes they could see themselves six games back with a huge three game series looming against the second place Yankees right before the All-Star break.
This team could show some life, and silence the critics that have been saying that the season is over before the All-Star game and that the Red Sox should be sellers at the trade deadline. Tonight's game should tell you all that you need to know about this team for the rest of the season. It is time to either lay down and get steamrolled by the division for the next three months, or it's time to stand up and play like the team that we expected them to be this offseason.
Will the Sox respond in a way that will make Red Sox Nation excited for the games leading up to and after the All-Star break or will tonight be a disappointment that makes even the most devoted fans cringe when thinking about the second half of this season. Leave your answers in the comments or tell me what you think on twitter by clicking here.
