Time For Red Sox To 'Rise And Grind'
BOSTON (CBS) -This is it for the Boston Red Sox.
No more talk of winning 100 games (they would have to finish 14-0 to do that). No more of the "we'll be fine there's plenty of baseball left to play" stuff. No more Yankees talk.
As Jonathan Papelbon has said in the past,"It's time to rise and grind!"
As the weather turns from summer warmth to a fall chill this weekend it's time for the Red Sox to put up and shut up.
David Ortiz is wearing a back brace, Adrian Gonzalez has a calf strain, Kevin Youkilis has a sports hernia and hip bursitis, and the injuries go on and on...
Doesn't matter.
The Tampa Bay Rays are in town, and you have a playoff berth to claim.
The matchups don't look great as the Rays come to town for the four most important games of the 2011 Red Sox season.
Thursday: Kyle Weiland (0-1, 6.75) vs Jeremy Hellickson (12-10, 2.96)
Friday: Josh Beckett (12-5, 2.49) vs James Shields (15-10, 2.70)
Saturday: Jon Lester (15-7, 3.07) vs Jeff Niemann (10-7, 3.97)
Sunday: Tim Wakefield (7-6, 5.13) vs David Price (12-12, 3.40)
Doesn't matter.
The Red Sox need to be desperate. They need to play with a sense of urgency. And that includes everyone on that roster. They all need to step up and go for it. Terry Francona needs to manage like his job depends on it. Dustin Pedroia needs to lead.
Read: Dan Roche's Sports Blog
It's time. Time to play like a team that wants to win it all.
Tampa Bay is coming into Boston loose. They have nothing to lose; they were a team that was written off due to the loss of Carl Crawford, Rafael Sriano, Carlos Pena and others in the offseason. They can come in here and have fun.
So can the Red Sox. But there season depends on it.
There is only one thing matters at Fenway this weekend: winning.
