Red Sox: Shades of 1978?

We all remember what it was like.

It was Memorial Day, and our Boston Red Sox held a seemingly insurmountable 13 1/2 game lead over the New York Yankees. Fast-forward to the morning of September 22, 2007: the lead is now a minuscule 2 1/2 game advantage over the Bronx Bombers. How did this happen? Is there still time to prevent what would possibly be the most embarrassing collapse in baseball history?

Don't look now, old-time Red Sox fans, but we may re-live possibly the most infamous year in the star-crossed existence of the local nine: 1978.

To be fair, it's not as though the Red Sox have played horribly over the last 4 months; it's just that the Yankees have played better. Since the morning of May 28 (Memorial Day), Boston has gone a respectable 56-48. Unfortunately, the Evil Empire has posted a 67-37 mark, allowing them to chop 11 games off of the deficit.

2007: Baseball purists claim a team will only go as far as their pitching will take them. With a starting staff headed by Cy Young candidate Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield, Boston certainly had the arms to get them the lead. Couple that rotation with one of the league's best bullpens, and it's easy to see why they've had success. 1978: Dennis Eckersley, Mike Torrez and Luis Tiant all win at least 13 games, as Boston finishes 4th in the American League in ERA.

Interestingly enough, the 2007 edition of the Boston Red Sox represents the antithesis of the stereotypical Boston squad: all pitching, erratic hitting. Headlined by mega free agent busts Julio Lugo and JD Drew, the offense has been about as consistent as New England weather. One night the team can look like the '27 Yankees. The next? More like a little league squad going against the '27 Yankees. Still, they are currently 3rd in the AL in runs scored. 1978: With big stars Jim Rice (MVP), Dwight Evans, Carlton Fisk and Fredd Lynn anchoring the lineup, the BoSox finished 2nd in runs scored. However, the 2007 squad has already outscored their '78 counterparts ... and there's still a week left.

Despite boasting the best record in baseball for much of the season, so many out there think this team is doomed. Has there ever been a Boston baseball team that's done this well, yet been so scrutinized? So many think Boston will go the way of the 2000 Giants, 2002 Athletics and 2006 Yankees: teams with the best record in baseball who get ousted in the first round.

In New York, things could not have started any worse for the Yankees. The most potent lineup in baseball could not overcome a starting rotation that was in shambles (a situation which ultimately led to the desperate signing of Roger Clemens). Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu were all slumping badly, and the bullpen was getting taxed to the point of exhaustion. Unfortunately, it's the Sox go-to guys out of the 'pen (Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon) who are showing signs of fatigue. And Lugo and Drew have failed to get it going, whereas the Yankees trio has picked up the slack.

As I sit here this morning, Boston is clinging to a 2 1/2 game lead. This is not 1978. The cast of characters has obviously changed, as has the mindset of both the Sox and Yanks, with Boston exercising their demons in 2004. Heck, baseball now has a wild card, meaning the 2nd place team will still make the postseason in all likelihood.

But do you really think blowing a seemingly insurmountable lead would not effect the psyche of the Red Sox? The 1978 team didn't get a chance in the playoffs. The 2007 team is almost a guaranteed lock for the postseason; the final week will let fans know how they will head into it: a shell-shocked team, or one on a roll.