By: Dan Podheiser, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It was the one that got away.
In a Red Sox season filled with ups and downs, a depleted roster that takes up an entire hospital wing and gutsy performances from the most unlikely suspects, the entire thing could come down to one horrible inning.
Carrying a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning in Toronto on Thursday, Boston was set to sweep the Blue Jays and head into its tough series in Texas just three games behind the Rays in the wild card and four and a half back of the Yankees in the division.
Instead, Jonathan Papelbon decided to employ his Jekyll and Hyde act again — something Red Sox fans have seen far too often in 2010 — and the Sox ended up losing on a walk-off sacrifice fly, 6-5.
The Red Sox gave up a full game in the race, something they can’t afford to do when they’re chasing the two best teams in baseball.
As for the Rays, who lead Boston by a comfortable four games in the wild card race — they got to look forward to a nice three-game set at home over the weekend against the last-place Orioles. And while [...]

By: Ian Tasso, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
With opening day just one week away, we’ve reached the top 5 Red Sox questions for the 2010 season in our top 20 countdown.
5. Do the Red Sox have enough in then middle of the order to win this season? (Eric; Amherst, Mass.)
Yes. They lose a lot of shots over the monster going from Bay to Cameron, and they lose plenty of rockets into left going from Lowell to Beltre. I’ll even go on a limb to say they lose a litte pop with Scutaro in the nine-hole rather than Gonzalez.
But even so, a lot of people forget who really is in this lineup: an MVP, one of the most potent bats in the AL in Kevin Youkilis, the second best hitting catcher in all of baseball (who’s finally here for a full season), and the MLB’s leading base stealer. Not to mention David Ortiz – who, even with last year’s struggles still slammed the American League’s 4th most home runs post-All Star Break with 16.
After all, with the pitching they feature, it’s not like they need a Yankee-style batting order. The days of 10-8, 15-9 wins are most likely behind us. But does this [...]

By Ben Barker, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
When the Boston Red Sox take the field in 2010, New England will see a local nine unlike any other this decade. The days of back-to-back homeruns from Manny and Ortiz are gone. Even the replacement for Manny is gone. In a winter that was supposed to be centered on bringing back Jason Bay, Theo Epstein quietly put together one of the more balanced teams in the league – with defense as the foundation.
Opting to go with pitching and defense over high-powered offense has caused the term “run prevention” to be tossed around quite a bit.
And while the Sox were taking the road less traveled, the all too predictable Yankees once again flexed their financial muscle. Instead of bringing back Matsui or Damon, the Evil Empire added Curtis Granderson to a lineup that already boasts sluggers like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Those three bats alone should produce close to 110 homeruns for the Yankees this season.
Beating out the Yankees for the AL East title could be a daunting task for Tito and the boys in 2010. But should we expect to see the Red Sox in the playoffs at all? The answer is yes, and this [...]