Fenway Park Is Electric Again — And the Red Sox Have a Clear Path to Host the Yankees in October And Should 100% Go For It

The Red Sox players, like a lot of people, play fantasy football. This weekend, they had team employees run the bases to determine the draft order. Some people buy a Cameo from Coach Gruden or Frank. The Red Sox did this. I laughed. It went mini-viral. Cool. 

But I can only imagine if the Red Sox still sucked what the reaction might have been on social media. Like, if they had kept that 32-46 pace, holy shit, the Hogdale hate video would have had 50 million views. 

There was a time, remember, when the Red Sox sucked. 

But despite what my moron co-worker Marty Mush might say or think, the Red Sox don't suck anymore. They won another series over the weekend, sweeping the Giants. As of Monday morning, our friends at DraftKings have them as one of the favorites to win the World Series. 

At 14-1, they're tied for the 6th best odds in all of baseball to win the whole thing. That's third in the AL behind two teams in their division, the Rays and the Yankees. 

The Red Sox' odds would be a lot lower if they were to host that first-round Wild Card series at Fenway Park. 

And that seems 100% in play. 

Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox. Getty Images.

Once the worst home team in all of baseball, the Red Sox are now 22-7 at Fenway since June 24. The place has been electric. 

Bill Simmons even noticed it from 3000 miles away, and he's not wrong. The Red Sox crowds have been awesome. Friday Night at Fenway has been a thing the last couple of years, and these night games are electric. Saturday night was an all-timer. 

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A quick refresher on the playoff format. Six teams get in per league, and the top two seeds get byes. Only divisional winners can get the bye. So the only way you host a Wild Card series is by winning a division or being the #1 Wild Card. 

In fact, Wild Card 1 and Wild Card 2 play in the three-game Wild Card round, with all three games being at home for the top Wild Card. So yeah, that means based on the current standings we get a rematch of the Red Sox/Yankees from last season, with all three games in New York. The Sox are just three games back, with 32 games left for both teams. 

The Red Sox should do whatever they can to catch the Yankees and grab that home-field advantage.

For the last two months, I think most Sox fans would have been okay with just getting into the postseason. But the way they're playing at Fenway and the potential of hosting the Yankees…the idea of getting that top spot is mouth-watering. 

And the path is there. 

Brian Fluharty. Getty Images.

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1. They're about to get some big-time players back. 

Roman Anthony has a .933 OPS as he rehabs at Double-A, and he heads to AAA this week - he could be back this week. 

Garrett Cochet is throwing in the outfield and is targeting to come back as a reliever at some point next month. Trevor Story and IKF…okay, they're coming back, but I don't know how much they'll help. And if either one takes Nick Sogard's roster spot, we riot. 

Anthony is the big name, and his return is a game-changer for the offense. 

2. The schedule.

The Red Sox have 32 games left. Just 13 of those are against teams currently in the playoffs. They have a nice stretch in September where they face the Angels and Royals in back-to-back series. 

Ishika Samant. Getty Images.

Of course, the biggest series comes this week, when they'll host the Yankees for four games in three days, including a day/night doubleheader on Saturday. That's a big one. 

But there's a path for the Sox to grab that top Wild Card spot and flip home-field to Boston for what will be a wild three-game series. 

I mean, listen to this shit. This is awesome. Three nights of this with the Yankees in town? DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO GET HOMEFIELD IN THE WILD CARD! 

Do the Red Sox feel that way? Do they think that having those three games is important enough to go all-out in the next 32 games? I'm sure ownership does - that's potentially three more home games and three more money-making chances for John Henry and Sam Kennedy. But how do Chad Tracy and Craig Breslow see it? 

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I actually started to say something different last night on Dirty Water - A Boston Sports Podcast. I started making the case that the team should take their time with Roman and the injured players, because they're 6.5 (!!!) games up on the Wild Card, they have some cushion and can make sure everyone is 100% for the playoffs. 

But once I started we started to look at the schedule, Mike and the Mad Hog style, it became clear: Sox can catch and pass the Yankees. And I started to change my tune. 

This morning I'm in full screw it mode - go for the #1 Wild Card and homefield. It might be the difference in advancing or going home in the playoffs. 

So yeah, that was a big topic on the podcast. As was the Fenway response to Rafael Devers, our hero Nick Sogard, the return of Roman and Story, Jake Bennett, Sonny Gray, another comeback win, and just so much more. 

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