The next 24 games will decide the season...

After a nail biting 3 game sweep of the O's, the Sox find themselves only 1 game back of the Yanks and 2 games out of the wildcard behind the surging Chisox. What a difference a few days make.

The good news is we should know if the Sox are a playoff team in the next 3 weeks or so. Why? take a look at their upcoming schedule. It's a doozey...

Detroit - 3 games
Yanks - 5 games

West Coast Trip:
Angels - 3
Seattle - 3
Oakland - 3

Back Home:
Toronto - 3
ChiSox - 3

That translates into a 24 game stretch from hell, with only 1 day off. Wow, the average of those teams is at a 66-51 record. At least most games are at home. The upcoming double header on Fri and a day game on Sat will be brutal.

While the Sox seemed to have found themselves offensively, pitching is still a concern. Schill, Beckett, and Wells need to be outstanding. Lester is probably where he'll be at the rest of the way, giving up 3-5 runs per game over 5 innings. The Jason Johnson experiment may be over (hopefully), and we'd like to see Phil Seibel get a shot until Wake returns (which is at the end of this stretch). Put Johnson in the pen.

The bullpen continues to struggle and need the starters to go longer. The return of Varitek wouldn't hurt either. Now the rehabbing Foulke has been put back on the shelf and we may never see him again. These guys need some rest, and only the starters can provide it.

So, what's going to happen? They should be fine if they win 14 games. It's do-able but tough. If Schill, Beckett, and Wells all pitch well (all 3 excel in big games), they'll only need to steal a couple games from Lester & the #5 spot.

The Yanks have a similar road, with the only differences against Minnesota & Baltimore. Chisox & Minnesota face each other 6 times during this stretch.

Bottom line is that no one has an easy road. But the ones standing after this stretch will be there at the end. It won't be easy catching the leaders in early September...