Baseball schedule puts Red Sox fans in tough position: Fan’s view

The Boston Red Sox were unable to secure their playoff spot this weekend when they played four games against the Tampa Bay Rays. They lost three of the four games and that left the Rays just two games behind. Then on Monday the Red Sox managed to split a doubleheader with the Baltimore Orioles.

So coming into action on Tuesday, September 20 the New York Yankees lead the American League East by five games. The Red Sox are in second and the Rays in third a total of seven games back.

The Rays and Yankees will face off in a four game series the next three days. This brings about the question will Red Sox fans root for their arch rivals the Yankees?

Unless the Red Sox plan on winning all eight games they have left, which seems like a real difficult task looking at their rotation , they will need help to win the wild card. The Rays have ten games left, but seven of those are against New York.

As a Yankees fan I couldn't answer the question, so I took to social media and here are a few responses I received.

'As much as it pains me to say I will be rooting for the Yankees to sweep both series.'

'I agree. Think I just threw up in my mouth a little.'

'I am rooting for Rays. No way in hell would I EVER root for the Yankees.'

I must say I don't understand the thinking of the last person. Isn't the most important thing that your team makes the playoffs? I understand the rivalry and the hate, but what good does it do if your rival loses but you are the one that gets hurt in the end. There is little chance that the Red Sox are catching the Yankees for the division, five games is an awful big gap to close this late in the season. The odds say that Boston's best chance is at the wild card. So come Red Sox fans join the Yankee Stadium bleacher creatures when they chant Derek Jeter(notes).

Seriously there is a lot of baseball drama that will be played out over the next nine days. It will be fun to watch. I believe that no matter which two teams do make the playoffs that they can do some damage while there. It wouldn't surprise me to see the two teams that make it from the A.L. East square off in this year's A.L. Championship Series.

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