In honor of Dave Roberts...

... who in a mere 3 second dash from first to second made every Red Sox fan sit up and believe
...who only played 3 months in Boston and didn't play an inning in the 2004 World Series, yet is as beloved as any sports figure in Boston history...

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 31

In honor of Derek Lowe...

Who had one of the strangest careers in Red Sox history...
Everytime you thought you could count on him, he'd stink...
Everytime you write him off, he'd be dominant...
And when his 7 years in Boston ended, he was an All Star closer, started an All Star game, saved 42 games one year, won 21 games 2 years later...
Threw a no hitter...
Clinched the 2003 Division Series out of the pen...
And won all 3 clinching games of the 2004 playoffs...
And whose last game as a Red Sox was clinching the World Series (what a way to go!)...

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 32

My dad thinks the Giants will still win... and he might be right!

The Giants swept the Marlins in front of an intimate gathering of friends and family in Miami on Monday. A meaningless game? Well my dad doesn't think so! He thinks this is the first step in the Giants wild and amazing finish to capture the NL West crown!

OK, on first glance it looks like an overly optimistic Giants fan is refusing to accept his team has the third worst record in the NL and are 15 1/2 games out of first.

And it might seem plain batty to think of a scenario where the Giants not only win enough games to win, but also leap frog 4 other teams... ESPECIALLY when the Diamondbacks magic number to eliminate the Giants is only 22.

But let's indulge my dad.
Let's say the Giants go on a major tear and only lose a single game a week for the rest of the season. With 37 games left and 6 weeks remaining, the Giants will have to go 31-6. They'd finish 86-76... which isn't even the worst NL West Champion record in the last 3 years! (Remember the Padres only had 82 wins in 2005.)

Tough, but possible.
Then the Diamondbacks would have to go on a major slide... 14-22 in their last 36 games. A bad slide, but not impossible.

What about the Padres? They just have to play a game under .500 the last 39 games. With their lack of offense, that's not unimaginable.

How about the Dodgers and Rockies? Heck, they don't even need to post losing records. The Dodgers going 22-16 and the Rockies going 23-15 would put them a game under the Giants pace!

So maybe my dad is right!
Maybe the Giants can rampage to finish a respectable 86-76... which mind you is a better record than the 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals tallied in the regular season.

Now my dad also thinks Bonds will hit 40 MORE homers this year.
We can admit, that is crazy, can't we?

In honor of Rich Garces... AKA El Guapo

... look at this man's picture. Can you believe he was able to put down "athelete" under occupation?

Well he had a gut, but he could pitch too!

And in his honor I announce

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 34

(Yeah I know Big Papi is also #34... but I am only honoring FORMER Red Sox!)

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY!

It's late August now so looking at the potential playoff picture isn't such a futile act.

Here's some intriguing facts:

1. As of this morning, NO American League playoff team from 2006 has a playoff spot this year. Take THAT people who claim baseball doesn't have the parity of the NFL! That's right, as I am typing this, the Twins, A's, defending AL Champ Tigers and even the surging Yankees would be playing golf right now.

2. Only 2 playoff teams from last year are back... The Mets, to the surprise of nobody are back in the hunt and are now separating themselves from the pack after a midseason scare. The Padres are in position for their third straight postseason berth. Nobody is calling them a dynasty... not until they can win more than one game in October.

3. There are some matchups that FOX must be drooling over! Certainly a Mets/Cubs NLCS will bring in big ratings. Red Sox versus anyone would be big, especially the Angels where they get the LA Market. The possibility of a 1986 rematch between the Red Sox and the Mets must be the best case scenario for Fox. Mets vs. Angels would have the East and West coast audiences. Cubs/Red Sox would have more spice if they were both still searching for that allusive title, but would bring in the ratings nonetheless. Cubs versus Indians would be two classic downtrodden franchises where SOMETHING will have to give. Cubs vs. Mariners would have Lou Piniella going back to Seattle...

4. There are some matchups that FOX must be dreading Angels vs. Diamondbacks? Mariners vs. Padres? YOU try to promote that!

5. Who would be the aging veteran who has never won a ring that people can latch on to for sentimental reasons? Kenny Lofton of Cleveland has played in the post season for 10 of the last 12 seasons... and somehow remains ringless.
San Diego's Trevor Hoffman is only missing a World Series title for his Hall of Fame resume.
Also Paul Byrd, Vlad Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, Richie Sexson, Jose Vidro, Carlos DelGado, Shawn Green, Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, Jason Kendall, Ted Lilly, Tony Clark, Mike Cameron and Brian Giles

6. Of this bunch, who do you think is winning? I'm sticking with my pre season pick of the Angels winning it all, beating the Mets in 6 games

7. Will this be the final playoff lineup? Probably not. The Yankees are a better team than the Mariners and will probably overtake them. The Tigers have a good shot of overstepping the Indians. But they are 15-23 since the break and had better get their act together.
Who knows who is going to come out of the NL Central... neither the Cubs nor the Brewers are exactly playing like world beaters. Somehow the Diamondbacks seem like the surest bet.

8. Aren't you scared the Red Sox are going to blow it? That's why I love Tampa Bay on the schedule as much as I do!

Who is Matt Holliday?

He's the guy who might very well win the National League Most Valuable Player... that's who he is!

Now I had heard of him before this year, but he seemed like just another talented hitter toiling in Colorado... padding his stats and never playing a meaningful game.

But here we are with about 40 games left to go in the season and somehow this guy has put together not only the best all around stats, but somehow is playing for a contending team!

The Rockies are only 3 back of the Wild Card and are that dangerous kind of team... the kind that nobody takes seriously and therefore has nothing to lose.

The Angels and Marlins each won a World Series this decade with that attitude.
And here is Colorado, with their humidor now making sure the game isn't played in zero gravity, boxing out for position with the slumping Dodgers, the all pitch/no hit Padres, the inconsistent Phillies and the playing with one hand around its neck Brewers.

The Rockies are one of those franchises that I just can never see winning a World Series... kind of like the Rangers and the Devil Rays. Hell, I can barely see them making the playoffs, save for the swinging from their heels 1995 Wild Card team.

But here they are.

Why count out the Rockies?
Especially with Matt Holliday batting .335 with 21 homers, 95 RBIs and a .967 OPS!

Seriously, who else should be MVP?
Pujols had a slow start and the Cardinals are still a sub .500 team, Rick Ankiel's heroics notwithstanding.

David Wright has been inconsistent, Ryan Howard has been hurt.

That leaves Jose Reyes, Prince Fielder and Matt Holliday.
They tend not to give it to speedsters like Reyes and the Billy Brewer isn't the only one in Milwaukee sliding... that leaves it to Holliday.

And it shows you that the National League is not lacking in young superstars (include Hanley Ramirez in that group as well.)

And it also shows you how badly baseball promotes its own stars.
Seriously, if Matt Holliday walked into your office tomorrow, would you know him?
If he was in full uniform and said "Hi, my name is Matt Holliday!" would you know him then.

Man, I should run this game.

In honor of Joe Morgan and Morgan's magic...

... who took over for Johnny Mac

... and woke up a sleeping Red Sox team with one of the most dynamic months in team history

... and who I saw lose twice in Oakland during the 1988 Playoffs, but still made Red Sox Nation proud

... who, as a former Walpole snow plow driver, captured all of our imaginations that a regular guy could manage the Sox to two division titles in three seasons...

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 35!