Gut Check Time

It is not a playoff game tonight at the Trop but when the game enters the 6th inning Red Sox fans will be resting easy or reaching for the panic button. If Josh Beckett returns to being the dominant pitcher he was a month ago then the Nation will know that they will have a team that can travel far into the month of October with a solid rotation and and offense that can produce. If Beckett struggles again then the Red Sox will have a serious issue on their hands without much time to find an answer. A third bad outing in a row for Beckett would signal some sort of injury or problem similar to what happened last year.

A win by the Red Sox would, for the most part, take the Rays out of wild-card contention and make it a two team race with the Rangers. It should be fun.