It’s almost over—the season that is. The Toronto Blue Jays are technically in it since they are 10.5 games back in the AL Wild Card, but their season is really over. There’s only a few weeks of baseball left—in the regular season—and they have many teams to climb over. How about the Red Sox? They have crashed. It’s going to take a monumental effort to make the playoffs. First, they need to stop losing games. Second, they need to start winning against good teams. Finally, they need the teams ahead of them—Yankees or Chiacgo White Sox and Minnesota—to start losing.

Today, these two teams go at it and one will be putting another nail in the other’s coffin. This is a four game series that could end up 2-2 and cementing the fates of both clubs. If either of these clubs is going to gain ground, one must win 3 of 4 or a complete sweep. Anything less will simply be treading ground while the teams above them rise up further. The Red Sox traded away David Wells for practically nothing. Was this a sign that they believe the season is over?

Kyle Snyder is making the start for the Red Sox. He’s 3-3 with a 6.91 ERA. The Red Sox really need Synder to pitch deep into the game. Getting into the fifth—yes, the fifth—inning has only happened once so far and he’s taxing the bullpen too much. His last outing was against mediocre Seattle. He only lasted four innings in that contest. He gave up six runs over eight hits to the Mariners. In an interview, Snyder said, “The bottom line is I wasn’t able to get the job done.” You can say that again.

The Blue Jays Ted Lilly is making the start. He’s bounced around so much that I can’t keep track. The only thing I can remember is that when he pitched for the Yankees, he always looked like he was going to cry—but that’s a story for another day. Lilly is 11-11 with a 4.78 ERA. However, at Boston he is 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA. He seems to love pitching at Fenway Park. He faced the Red Sox in April of this year and shut them down by allowing a lone run over seven innings of work.

The Blue Jays are favored in this one. They are -145. The Red Sox are a +130 dog. The Red Sox won yesterday’s contest 6-4, so they are 1/3rd of the way to the goal. They really need to win 3 of 4 to have a shot at staying in the playoff hunt. Another win by the Red Sox and the Blue Jays can call it quits.