The Sox' race to the bottom

If the Sox aren't going to be in the playoffs, they may as well have the worst record in baseball. Then they get the top pick in next year's draft. The big prize, third baseman Pedro Alvarez from The U (of Miami), is one of those superb college hitters who supposedly needs very little time in the minors. He's the kind of guy who comes along once every ten years or so (from what I've read).

So with a no-doubter going #1 next year, where do the Sox stand? Well, this is a strange year. No teams have a winning percentage below .400 (not even very close right now) and only the Red Sox are above .600 (and just barely at that). That's fairly rare. The last time everybody was between .400 and .600 was 2000, when the Sox had the best record in the AL (thanks to an offense that put up almost 1000 runs), but they were swept out of the playoffs by the Mariners in the first round.

Anyway, right now only Devil Rays are worse than the Sox, and that's only by 1 game. But then the Marlins are a game behind the Sox, and the Pirates are a game behind them. Then Houston and others are a game behind Pittsburgh. As you can see, things are very tight and it's anybody's draft pick. All I know is that at this point I'm cursing every Sox victory and praising every loss.