Boston Red Sox: Whey They Aren't Locks for the AL Crown

When the Boston Red Sox acquired first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Carl Crawford prior to the 2011 season, practically everyone crowned them as not only the next American League champions, but the next World Series champions.

I was one of these people.

But, as the San Francisco Giants proved last season, the game of baseball is won on the field, not on paper.

This season, leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, the Red Sox are still in first place in the AL East, but they haven't proven to be worlds ahead of the Yankees.

In fact, they may not even be the favorites at this point.

Now, a lot can happen between now and the trade deadline, and between now and the end of the season for that matter, but at this point, the Yankees' chances of not only winning the division, but winning the American League title, aren't as improbable as they once seemed.

Here are five reasons why the Red Sox aren't locks for the American League pennant.

5. Offense

A lot was made about the Red Sox's acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, and for good reason: they are among some of the best hitters in baseball today.

But did we forget the Yankees are always an offensive juggernaut?

Even with the additions of Gonzalez—the best hitter in baseball this season—and Crawford, it's not like the Red Sox were going to outscore the Yankees by a boatload this season.

In fact, nearly 95 games into the season, guess how many more runs the Red Sox have scored than the Yankees?

A whopping total of 34 runs (insert sarcasm here).

To break that down for you, the Red Sox (94 games) have scored 0.3 more runs per game than the Yankees (93 games).

As you'll see later in this slideshow, that small difference could be easily made up during the playoffs given the Yankees' strengths this season.

4. Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera may be 41 years old now, but he's not called one of the greatest closers to ever play the game for nothing.

The guy simply knows how to pitch.

He's a 12-time All-Star and a five-time World Series champion.

How is he pitching as a 41-year-old this season?

Just fine.

Rivera, in 38 games this season, holds a 1.75 ERA. He's converted 24 of his 28 save opportunities.

Moreover, Rivera's postseason resume speaks for itself. He holds 13 MLB records in the postseason, including lowest career ERA (0.71) and most saves (41). He also holds the record for consecutive scoreless innings in the postseason (34 1/3 innings).

When you're heading into the postseason, there's no better closer in the game of baseball than Mariano Rivera...even today.

3. Derek Jeter

You don't earn the nickname "The Captain" for nothing.

There have been a lot of team captains in Major League Baseball history, but Derek Jeter is one of the greatest the game has ever seen.

Fresh off his 3,000th career hit, there's no amount of superlatives, comparisons or good press that can ever truly encapsulate what Jeter has done on the field in 16 1/2 MLB seasons.

Like Rivera, he was born for the postseason, born to capture five championship rings, born to etch his name into baseball folklore.

He's a 12-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop.

He has a career batting average in the postseason of .309, and he's hit .351 in the World Series, which is absurd. Look across practically every major offensive statistical category in the postseason record books, and Jeter's name is near the top of the list in almost every single one.

People say Jeter is declining as he gets older, and that's fair to say, given he batted .270 last season and is batting .267 this season.

What people forget is that he still hit .344 in last season's playoffs.

2. Starting Pitching

Who would have thought, coming into the 2011 campaign, that we would have anything good to say about the Yankees' starting pitching beyond ace C.C. Sabathia?

After all, upon the departure of longtime Yankee Andy Pettitte, the Yankees looked all but finished, especially faced up with the offense of the Red Sox.

But, as mentioned before, that's why you play the game.

Thus far, the Yankees are ranked 11th in the majors in ERA, with a 3.69 ERA. They've done this with a starting rotation that included veterans A.J. Burnett and Freddy Garcia (who all but appeared done for) and a second-year player by the name of Ivan Nova.

Heck, they've even gotten contributions out of Bartolo Colon.

On top of that, Phil Hughes is coming back from injury, and the potential is always there for him to blossom.

As for the Red Sox?

Their starting pitchers have a 4.14 ERA this season, good for 22nd in the league.

The crazy thing is, Josh Beckett has had an incredible bounce-back year and Jon Lester remains solid, yet the team ERA has still suffered.

Part of that has been Clay Buchholz's back problems (not to mention backups filling in for him), but it mostly lies on the struggles of John Lackey, Tim Wakefield (how long can they keep trotting him out there?) and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Just mention the name John Lackey to any Red Sox fan this season and they'll tell you to get the hell out and never come back.

1. Bullpen

Think hard, really hard, about the last team that won the World Series that didn't have a good bullpen....

Yeah, kinda hard to remember one, isn't it?

That's because that's virtually a fantasy world.

The postseason has proven to us time and time again that you have to have a good bullpen if you stand any chance in the later innings against top teams in the league.

You probably know where this is going Red Sox fans....

This season the Red Sox have an average bullpen, ranked 14th in Major League Baseball in bullpen ERA (3.50 runs per nine innings).

The Yankees?

They're ranked fifth in the league, with a 3.13 ERA.

Of course, the Yankees are led by closer Mariano Rivera, but Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has actually been excellent this season, as well.

It's about the rest of the bullpen.

Players like David Robertson, the four-year veteran with the 1.21 ERA and 18 holds.

Or Luis Ayala, who has a 1.59 ERA in 27 appearances.

A solid bullpen is critical in the postseason and, as of now, the Yankees have the better one.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the Red Sox appeared destined for a World Series championship before the season, there's a chance they may not even make it out of the American League, and the Yankees, who were supposed to fade away as their veterans got older, are in position to win yet another title.

But, then again, the second half could prove different.

Once again, it's not about what you see on paper, but how it's drawn up on the field.

The Yankees have played better than the picture suggested before this season.

We should have known the writing was not on the wall.

It never is in baseball.