Red Sox geared up for playoffs

By Eric Maus Sports Central Columnist

Way to go, Theo Epstein.

Your Boston Red Sox are going to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

The once disastrous bullpen has been solidified with the additions of Scott Williamson (3.19 ERA), Scott Sauerbeck (3.86), and Byung-Hyun Kim (3.47).

And with Mike Timlin (3.36) and Alan Embree (4.28) in the mix, the Red Sox have assembled a bullpen the Yankees could only dream of having (with all apologies to newly-acquired senior citizen Jesse Orosco).

Much has been made about the Red Sox starting pitching not being good enough to carry them into the playoffs, which couldn't be further from the truth.

The Anaheim Angels won the World Series last year with a rotation of Jarrod Washburn, Ramon Ortiz, Kevin Appier, Aaron Sele, and John Lackey.

Washburn was their best pitcher during the regular season with an ERA of 3.15. The Rally Monkey was more menacing than the rest of that rotation.

The trio of Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, and Tim Wakefield gives the Sox three quality arms down the stretch. Martinez is what he is -- the best pitcher in baseball. While Lowe may never regain his form of last year, he has shown signs of coming around. The sinkerball pitcher has dropped his ERA has dropped from 5.34 on May 28 to 4.84.

Wakefield (8-5, 4.16 ERA, 122 strikeouts) is pitching fairly comparable to last year's Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito (8-8, 3.19 ERA, 94 strikeouts). And if John Burkett pitches like he has of late, this team has a rotation that could stack up against virtually any playoff contender.

Surely, some Bostonians will cry, "they need another startah!" The problem is there aren't any startahs out there worth trading for. Are Jeff Suppan, Bartolo Colon, or Kris Benson significantly better than anything the Sox have now?

The answer, of course, is no. Especially at the risk of giving up a Trot Nixon/Kevin Youkilis package.

If there are any pitching woes these final two months, they will be easily masked by this potent offensive attack.

Blah, blah, blah. I know, pitching wins. But you need to score runs to win ballgames. Just ask the A's and Dodgers.

Meanwhile, on the Right Coast, the Red Sox are crossing the plate at a historic clip. Led by Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra, Nixon, and Co., this Murderer's Row lineup is on pace to score somewhere around 1,006 runs, making them only the eighth team since 1900 to produce over 1,000 runs.

But let's still take cheap shots at Bill James' emphasis of on-base percentage. What a wacky stat that it is, huh?

What it all boils down to is this. The Red Sox easily have enough talent to be playing baseball come October. If the team plays .600 baseball until the end of the season, they will finish with 97 wins. That mark should get them into the postseason.

Then how about a World Series?

Article courtesy of Sports Central.