The only open dates for both teams are August 22nd (Boston will be between playing the Angels in Anaheim and KC in KC, we will be coming off a home series against the Yankees on our way to MN) and September 5th.

 

They can't screw around and think they don't have to play the game. It should be no factor in the AL Central race, but it could easily be a factor in who finishes with the second best record in the AL, in whether Boston wins the AL East, or even who finishes with the best record in the AL (had Boston beat us Sunday they would have been 5 games back of us in that category).

 

Neither date is great, but they are a lot better than having it hang over things at the end of September.

I heard Sep 5 at 1 pm, but now they say they don't know. I wish they would wait til the end of the year and only play it if it's needed in the standings. Sep 5th is between 2 home games, so I doubt Ozzie would send any starters

This is one that they will likely schedule for Oct. 2 to be played only if it makes a difference in the playoff race. The Sox could finish with 161 games (would be a real bummer if they went 99-62 and had a shot at 100).

 

This happened in 2000 with the Yankees. They went on a real bad run to end the season (losing 7 or 8 in a row I think). If Boston caught up to them on the last day of the season, they were going to have to fly to Tampa to make up a game down there before making the playoffs. The Red Sox lost on the Friday or Saturday game on the last weekend, clinching it for the Yankees and making the Tampa/NY game unnecessary.

 

You can see the standings here. The Red Sox were 3.5 games back with 3 to play going into a weekend series with the Devil Rays. If they won all three, and the Yankees got swept in their series, the Yankees would finish 0.5 games up, meaning they would be tied if the Yankees lost the Tampa make up game. Then the Sox and Yankees would have had to play another game in Boston to decide the AL East. It would have been a mess, pushing the playoffs back an extra two days, I believe. The Yankees did their part by being swept in their final series, but the Red Sox choked and were swept themselves by the Devil Rays to finish 2nd, 3.5 games out. (In the Friday night game, they blew a 4-0 lead and got eliminated).

If it turns out that the game would affect neither the playoff seedings, home field advantage, or anything else, then is it possible to just not play it? I think there's a good chance that if that's an option, the league will hold its cards and not schedule it until they know that a 1/2 game change in standings could change things.

 

On the other hand, what happens if the Red Sox wind up with the Wild Card due to some sort of Yankee surge or something like that? The 2 Sox play each other in a wrapup game of the season, and then immediately start a 7 game playoff series? Anyone up for an 8 game series with a practice opener?

I expect them to play it. The Red Sox will insist on it. Boston is sold out for the year so they can't just hand out rain checks to the full house from Sunday's game. They would need to [gasp!] refund money or at least credit next year's tix. Either would be out of charactor for any MLB team.