| Power Rankings |
| Date | Ranking | Previous |
| 07/22/2008 | 3 | 5 |
| Their problems are more easily fixable than those of any bona fide contender in the game: Get everybody healthy -- like 2007, with liberal September vacation time doled out to players stricken with hangnails -- and get a lefty for the 'pen ... While I accept that Jacoby Ellsbury is a hunkthrob of the highest order, he's the obvious candidate to sit when David Ortiz reenters the lineup. Good luck selling his benching to the bleacher trollops, though. |
| 07/09/2008 | 5 | 4 |
| This is a season low, but they shouldn't be down for long. It was a month ago (or more) we suggested Justin Masterson would make a great Joba Chamberlain setup man. Right-handers can't touch Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon sorely needs that bridge. Clay Buchholz and Bartolo Colon (back) are more than capable to handle the No. 5 starter's role. |
| 07/01/2008 | 4 | 3 |
| We will give the Rays their due right now, but long term the Red Sox will be the ones to beat. Their struggling offense better un-, um, mess themselves with road trips to play the first-place Rays and second-place Yankees this week. |
| 06/24/2008 | 3 | 2 |
| They have lost three of four at home, which is something they are not accustomed to. This is just a temporary fluctuation, though, and they will be right where they want to be come July. |
| 06/18/2008 | 2 | 2 |
| Big Papi is out; Dice-K was down; Manny was hobbled for a brief time. If you aren't going to catch them now, you should just forget about it. |
| 06/10/2008 | 2 | 4 |
| So much for chasing the Rays. They took Tampa's best punch and the Rays swung and missed, literally. That Justin Masterson guy really looks capable. |
| 06/03/2008 | 4 | 1 |
| The loss of Big Papi hurts, but this is one team that can overcome it. Dice-K should be back next week and they already had some of the best pitching depth in baseball. It will be interesting to see if they decide to Joba either Justin Masterson or Clay Buchholz in the second half. They really need a setup man for Jonathan Papelbon. |
| 05/27/2008 | 1 | 1 |
| They get a mulligan in Oakland, since they came into that sweep having won seven consecutive games. A favorable upcoming schedule and a three-game set vs. the baseball-leading Rays early next week should keep the Red Sox on top for awhile. |
| 05/20/2008 | 1 | 1 |
| Is this team charmed, or what? Remember that disappointing 2006 where they refused to make a deadline deal because they didn't want to trade prospects like Jon Lester ('08 no-hitter), Clay Buchholz ('07 no-hitter) and World Series heroes Jonathan Papelbon and Jacoby Ellsbury? Uh, they really knew what they were doing. |
| 05/13/2008 | 1 | 1 |
| Clay Buchholz's hot-and-cold nature is something they can put up with. Young pitching is erratic -- even Jonathan Papelbon proved human over the weekend -- but it can be oh-so good from time to time. No-no good, in fact. Buchholz will be fine, as will the recently vulnerable Red Sox. |
