The Wild Bunch

August 7-13, 2002 - Baseball Weekly

Cliff Floyd's arrival places the Red Sox squarely in the wild-card race.
What can put them in : Overwhelming offsense is their best hope and certainly more than wishful thinking. Few teams can match the firepower of Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, Nomar Garciaparra and Cliff Floyd if all are going well.

What can keep them out : The Red Sox have three 10-game winners, but that includes John Burkett and his 4.35 ERA. His recent slump is reminiscent of his second-half fade for Atlanta last year. Frank Castillo pitched his way out of the rotation, and the tinkering with the bullpen (Alan Embree, Bobby Howry) isn't the stuff of playoff berths. (go to list)