Down to the Wire

Story of Red Sox' September: Here, Jacoby Ellsbury can't make catch, resulting in Robert Andino inside-the-park HR

The Red Sox and Braves have folded when it matters most. But they're not out. Once far and away the two wild card leaders, these two ballclubs have fallen apart down the stretch and have put themselves in must-win situations against teams that aren't playing for anything. With only two games left for all four teams, the Red Sox, Braves, Rays and Cardinals will duke it out for the right to play on into October.

On the first day of September, the Boston Red Sox led the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games, and were actually a half game up on the Yankees for the AL East lead. It was almost a given Boston was in and would be a major threat to take the title to Beantown. While it is still a possibility, a 6-18 month is not a way to get that going. On the other hand, the Rays have played steadily, going 15-9 in September en route to tying the Sox. Now, Boston plays their final two games against the basement dwelling Orioles, who have had a knack for beating contending teams recently. The Rays finish against the AL's top seed, the Yankees, who don't have anything to play for and are starting relief pitchers. If the Sox and Rays finish with the same record, get ready for another Game 163.

The Cardinals have played themselves back into contention but will need some help from the 100-win Phillies to play on. Still a game back on the Braves with two left, the Cards need to take care of the Astros and hope the Phils beat the Braves at least once to stay alive. Going 8-16 this September, like the Red Sox the Braves are also on the verge of a historic collapse.

About five weeks ago I wrote a blog post stating if baseball wanted September races, second place team would have to have extraordinary Septembers. That didn't necessarily happen; while the Rays and Cards have certainly played well, much of the end-of-season urgency can be largely attributed to the slides by the Sox and Braves.