Escape From New York…

Red Sox Roundup – While a series sweep for the Sox was oh so close, as a fan or a player you have to be satisfied with the outcome of the series, and the for that matter the road trip as a whole. Our beloved team managed to win all three series and return to Boston with a 6-3 record. Yes, it was tough loss in the final game of the Yankees series, but Boston will now enjoy 20 of the last 29 games it plays at home. A place where they are playing a sizzling .704 winning pct and only bested by Tampa Bay’s .720 clip.

As for the competition, Minnesota currently 2 ½ games back, and is in the midst of 14-road swing with 6 games still remaining, and 16 of it’s final 28 on the road. It’s not a cupcake schedule either, running into the likes of Tampa Bay, Chicago and Cleveland, a team that is currently on 10-game winning streak.

The Yankees, who are currently 6 games back of the sox, have a much taller hill to climb. 16 of their final 29 are on the road. For Yankee teams of the past that might have not been a big hurdle, however it’s the strength of schedule that really is the problem for the bombers. For example, tonight they start with Toronto and Roy Halladay, then they’ll also see Brunett as well. After that it’s on the road for 10 games against division leading Tampa Bay and Los Angeles with Detroit and Seattle sprinkled in before coming home to see Tampa Bay and Chicago waiting for them. Even the last six, all on the road will be in the hostile environments of Toronto and Boston. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out those odds, and they are very, very bad.

And finally there’s Tampa Bay. Here’s a team that has overachieved at every turn, has overcome adversity at every corner and has played with guts, desire, and pride of a true champion. Here’s where the water gets murky for the frontrunner though. 17 of it’s final 30 will be on the road. As I noted earlier with the Yanks and Minnesota, both teams are in for some tough sledding. However, Tampa Bay might have the highest hill to climb of all. Not only do they see Boston 6 times, they’ll see New York for 6 games, Minnesota for 4 games, and Toronto for 3. Plus, if the race for the division becomes tight in the last week, Tampa will have to earn it’s first division title on the road as the final 8 games will come against division foe Baltimore and then to Detroit.

It should be interesting.

Money Update – The last couple of days have been a boon to the gang here at “One Coin At A Time. In total we came up with an amazing 4.26 in bills and coin. The highlight of the two endeavors was this dollar bill. It was found on the Mousam Trail, a local urban path that runs several miles through Springvale and Sanford. It must have been covered for a while as it has experienced some deterioration, however, all of the serial number information is intact. We also scored one wheat penny in hoard of coins. It was a 1950 S.

Good Night and Good Hunting!

Money Totals for 2008 - 181.74
Money Totals since Jan. 2005 - 702.47