[BillyMac]

As the season winds down, despite their second place finish in the division, I feel very good about Boston's season. They have the fourth best record in all of baseball despite injuries to Schilling, Lugo, Ortiz, Lowell, Drew, Casey, Matsuzaka, Beckett, Wakefield, and Youkilis throughout the season. The trade of Ramirez didn't seem to hurt the Sox, although there's talk of Manny getting some MVP votes in the National League. Theo did a nice job picking up Bay, Kotsay, and Byrd to fill some holes during the later part of the season. No matter what happens to the Sox in the playoffs, the future looks bright. Youkilis and Pedroia will both get votes for American League MVP. Although he won't win it, Matsuzaka, will get some votes for Cy Young. Several young players have contributed this season: Lowrie, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Masterson, and Lester; and will be back next year.

As a fan of baseball in general, the playoffs have the potential to be very interesting. Will the Amazing Mets miss the playoffs again. Will the Brewers, a small market team, make the playoffs? The Yankees, without Torre, miss the playoffs, while the Dodgers, with Torre, have the potential to go far. Tampa Bay, and the Twins, both with small payrolls, have done quite well. And, how about those Cubs? Maybe this will be their year, as it was for the Red Sox in 2004. Imagine World Series baseball in Wrigley Field, the second best park in the majors. My supervisor is a bigger Red Sox fan than me (a proud fan since 1967), and he said that even he could get excited about a Cubs championship.