Stick a fork in 'em

14-0, Blue Jays lead, top of the 7th.  Lester gave up 9 of those runs.  Pedroia is back on the DL.

Yeah, it's over.  If the pitching could be more consistent......but it's not.

And then there was today

I decided to spend the afternoon partaking leisurely in watching the Red Sox game.  My plan was going perfectly well right up until the 7th inning, when Bard took the mound.  At that point, the Sox were up 2-1.

My question at that very second was, 'Why Bard?  Isn't he more of an 8th inning kind of guy?'  He did just fine in the 7th and they brought him out for one batter in the 8th.  Said batter got a hit.  Bard was done.

Then they brought in Okajima.

Now, it might have been okay if Okajima had had an off-day.  But this was more of an off-day.  This was an off-day when he couldn't even pick up a bunt and throw someone out at first.  Youkilis got so jumpy that he was running across the entire diamond trying to get plays in case Okajima missed them (including one that Okajima blew because he cut Youk off).  Youk will get hurt if he keeps doing this and that we do not need.

Okajima gave up three runs in the 8th and the Mariners went on to win 4-2.

Good grief, Charlie Brown.  It was a pretty sad effort.

Time to bring out the 'Red Sox Annual Collapse' label.  And I was so optimistic yesterday!

Ugh

Now, the Red Sox bullpen is somewhat decimated right now, but I have to say that we need to rethink what is happening here. Remember Boof Bonser? Yeah. He had his first game last night and let's just say it was not impressive. The game was against Cleveland, we were down 3-0 in the 8th. Bonser failed to get any outs after four batters, was taken out and replaced by Nelson, we gave up a grand slam, and God only knows what else. When the carnage was over, Sox were down 11-0. That's right. Our bullpen gave up 8 runs.

Ugh.

Our bullpen has not been the strong point this year by a long shot.

Good people:
Manny Delcarmen (but he was recently pulled with a possible injury)
Daniel Bard
Jonathan Papelbon (who is on leave for family reasons)

Bad people:
Everyone else that has been involved in this revolving door bullpen.

Now thinking back to last season, the Yankees had a horrid bullpen (minus, of course, Rivera), and managed to get it together. So here's hoping.

Incidentally, Justin Masterson had a great game yesterday for the Indians. Much credit needs to go to him for the shut out -- he pitched the entire game.

Also, I heard rumors that the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. It's June 10 and finally hockey is over.

Red Sox atrocious in day games, possible reasons why

The boston.com website ran a story today about how the Red Sox are terrible in day games. My favorite theory is that Ortiz, Varitek, and Lowell are so old that they need afternoon naps.

Actually, an afternoon nap sounds good right about now....

Ignore previous entry. The time has come to panic.

Now I know that I vowed not to panic until the end of June. My logic was sound. My intentions were good. But all that has evaporated with the events of the past week.

First, the Rays swept the Sox at Fenway. At Fenway. In a four-game series. This is normally where we can play. Other parks are generally where we cannot play so well. Plus the weather was cold and the Rays were wearing stupid flappy hats to deal with the cold, including manager Joe Madden. They should get classy tuques, like the Patriots -- although admittedly, they would probably need them maybe once or twice per year.

Now, there was a glimmer of hope in Game 1 against the Rays. Beckett pitched well. It was 1-1 through 8.5, then the game was postponed due to rain. The next day, the game resumed and we went on to lose 3-1. The pitcher to blame was (not surprisingly) Delcarmen, so I guess he hasn't got 'it' back. Sometimes I wonder if he ever had it to begin with. Remember last season when he didn't suck? Did I dream that?

Then everything went pear-shaped. I don't want to think about how badly we lost. But like a good Red Sox fan, I thrive in the face of grimness. So the scores were: 6-5 (we got all of those runs late), 7-1, and 8-2. Yes, really. We were 0-30 with men in scoring position, or something like that (by which I mean we may have been 0-25. It was awful). In fact, we had last scored a man in scoring position on April 15 against the Twins, meaning that we almost went for a week without scoring a man in scoring position.

Now we are playing against the Rangers. They are not very good. In fact, their record is really not that much better than ours (they are 5-7, we are 4-9). But that's not even the bad part. We are in the 5th inning and:

• The Rangers are up 6-2.
• We have allowed 9 stolen bases. That's a record for the Rangers. That ties a record for us going back to 1913.
• Wakefield is a mess --> wasn't he good at some point last year too?
  

So yeah, you know what? It's okay to panic. Go right ahead. Remember last year when I proclaimed that the Red Sox were a freaking disgrace? We have moved into a whole different league of disgrace here. I've even gone so far as to bring out the 'Red Sox annual collapse' tag and it is only April.

Boston blog: Red Sox need to pull a Patriots D

The word right now in Boston (at least one version of it) is that massive change needs to happen for the team to stay competitive.

I think that this assessment is valid and that there do need to be some changes. While I don't want to point fingers at Francona, it is tempting because I felt like he had the wrong attitude into September. Things got very sloppy and that was exactly what I saw from most players in the series against the Angels. But then again, there was a real problem in production. So let's think that over...if I were Theo Epstein:

Staying: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youk, Martinez, Gonzalez (you can unload a few of the other 82 shortstops we have in my opinion, Gonzalez stepped in and did a great job). I think we still have Drew too.

Go: Varitek (sniff), Bay looks like he will be gone, is Lowell done with his contract this year?

Can Varitek shift to coaching in some capacity?

Pitching: keep Lester, Buchholz, Beckett, Dice-K. Wakefield, although he had a great season and has contributed immensely, is not a reliable option considering his age. I would rather have him as the Red Sox equivalent of Junior Seau: someone who can come in later if we need him. Look for another starter just in case. Also, we do have Tazawa.

Bullpen: this gets tricky. I would keep Papelbon, I'm still not convinced Bard has it to be the closer (give it a season or two). Re-evaluate some of the middle relievers. Figure out what happened to Delcarmen and if that can be corrected. I'm not sure how I feel about the rest of them right now. Billy Wagner is probably done.

[Speaking of Junior Seau, apparently he is coming back with the Patriots. Already!]

Contrary to what you might believe from earlier posts, nobody gets any nickels

The Red Sox lost today, meaning that they are done for the season, losing in 3 straight games. My loyalties now fall to the Twins (beat the Yankees!) and failing that, the Angels (beat the Yankees!).

My no-win World Series would be the Yankees vs. the Phillies. Not as bad as a Manningbowl. But still not great.

Oh, and Papelbon was the one who blew it, which seems like a great description of our unpredictability and streakiness (in a bad way) this season. Even our (usually) dependable guys just didn't seem to have it.

I think it's over

Mind you, if you had a nickel for every time I thought it was over....okay, you wouldn't have that much, but you would have more than a nickel.

I think the Red Sox are done. They are down by 2 games in a best-of-5, they are not looking great and they have hit 1 run in two games. Mind you, they are coming back to Fenway now, which could help. But their effort to date has been pretty lackluster, as it was for a lot of September. I said it before: the problem is that they are streaky. The hitters have been drastically up and down all season and it seems like everyone follows the trend. Baseball is a fascinating game since the season is so long and people will not play the same way throughout. However, I think that the last couple weeks of the season did not bode well - as many Red Sox fans feared - and now we are in a pinch.

I was watching the game on Gameday, but thought Beckett did well. And really, we should be able to generate more offense than 1 run for him. He may have 'unraveled' in the 7th, but allowing 4 runs is not exactly a complete meltdown.

Also, I don't think TBS wants us to win since they have that dramatic Adenhart commercial for the Angels and we have nothing (not that it wouldn't be great for the Angels to win in dedication to him. Or at least beat the Yankees should it come to that). But Joba Chamberlain has one, the Cardinals have one, the Angels have one...what about us? How about 'The Saga of J.D. Drew'? Or Alex Gonzalez seeks to make himself seem worthy? Or Francona recovers from food poisoning? Surely these are also compelling narratives.

Or maybe we should go into 'panic mode'

Jon Lester just got hit on the knee by a sharp hit straight back to him.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

Yankees are up 4-0. Also bad. But the Lester situation could potentially be much worse.

PS - Thank you Yankee fans for clapping out of respect. Bet you at Tropicana they would boo and ring cowbells.

PPS - He's walking off the field but then again, no one ever takes the damned cart.

PPPS - Papi went in with him. Best Red Sox ever.

'Streaky'

It described the Habs post-all star break, and now, I'm afraid, it is the moniker I have to apply to the Red Sox.

Having looked just fine prior to the current series against the White Sox, I was almost ready to leave PANIC MODE. But no. Then Byrd had a dreadful start (allowing 7 runs in Friday's game) and then Wakefield did not play the way he has been all season yesterday, leading to a 5-1 loss. Again, inconsistent is the best term for our pitching right now.

What's not helping is that suddenly the bats have been silenced as well. The Red Sox (as of the 3rd inning in today's game) have scored 2 runs in the series so far against the White Sox. Pedroia is hitting nothing this week and everyone else seems to be following his lead -- except J.D. Drew who just always has to be contrary.

The Red Sox still have a 2-game lead in the wild card race, but they need to start playing like it's September because in case they don't own calendars, IT'S SEPTEMBER, PEOPLE!

A post that doesn't mention a NE QB -- past or present -- at all

There are some things in life you think you can rely on. Then there is Josh Beckett. With the Red Sox on a tear and everything apparently coming together, Josh Beckett has now become unreliable. Take last night's performance against the Rays. He allowed 5 runs in the first three innings. Sure, we caught up, only to be heartily decimated by Evan Longoria (yes, again, what is it with that guy?!?). But still, it would help if we weren't in a 5-run deficit in the first place!

Beckett got better as the game went on, which makes me think that maybe he should just pitch one or two 'practice' innings before the game actually starts. Either way. I'm not back to PANIC MODE yet, but we need him strong in September!

Red Sox keep everything very interesting

Yesterday there was cause for PANIC in Red Sox Nation because Wakefield was scratched from the rotation. Even I was feeling a bit of the panic mode over that one because I feel that we will need him playing well to get us to the post-season.

Then out of nowhere, and I literally mean nowhere, Paul Byrd shows up and shuts out the Blue Jays for 6 innings. Remember him? We signed him last year as a potential add to our pitching staff, then didn't really need him. Apparently he was sitting around until July or something, then got a call and came back, playing some games in the Gulf League (in Fort Myers, FL) and Pawtucket. Suddenly, he goes in for a start and blam. Chalk up a win for him. Oh, and we brought in our new acquisition Billy Wagner as well, who shut them down in the ninth to end the game. Red Sox win 7-0 and sweep the Blue Jays.

I don't really know what to make of the Red Sox pitching situation anymore. Take Tazawa. He shuts down the Yankees - the Yankees! - at Fenway Park. Then gives up 7 runs in two innings to the White Sox in his next start. Beckett, who has been looking very strong all year, begins giving up lousy hits and seems unable to win against power teams. Out of nowhere, Paul Byrd pitches a shutout. I've always said that I like the Red Sox because baseball is rarely boring with them. The pitching over the past week may be a new height of not-boring for this team.

In good news, Wakefield (who has -- strangely enough -- been the most consistent pitcher this season) is getting a cortisone shot tomorrow, so may be back soon.

Red Sox Nation is in PANIC MODE

So I don't know how I missed this, but the Boston Globe did a survey back on August 17 to see how Red Sox fans felt about post-season chances this year. The results:

52.7% voted 'It's OK. As Jason Bay joked after Sunday's loss: "We should probably just pack up the season and call it a year, huh. Half-game back, might as well fold the tent."'

47.3% voted 'It's over. We're only going backwards at this point. Didn't Brady look great Thursday vs. the Eagles?'

Yay on Jason Bay's quote.

PS - Brady didn't look so great against Cincinnati. He even said so himself. I mean, apart from the fact that he just looks great in general, of course.

PPS - I don't know what's up with the font change (I mean, I know I changed it to try and get it uniform in this post, but no idea why I can't get it to match the blog in general). This one is called 'Georgia,' which seems about right since this week is also my 'Georgia Pies Tribute Week.' Long story.

Gagne of the Year

I am hereby inaugurating a new award in baseball. It is called the 'Gagne of the Year.' Awarded to the most recent pitching acquisition who turns out to be a complete disaster. Of course, this award is in honor (?) of Eric Gagne, who was so brutal during the 2007 playoffs that the only safe time to play him was when the Red Sox had a 5-run lead late...that way he would be unable to blow it in the case of a grand slam.

This year's 'Gagne of the Year' goes to Brad Penny. Not only has he pitched quite incompetently late in the season, he capped off his awfulness tonight by conceding 6 runs to the Yankees in the first two innings. Final score: 20-11 (that was 20-11 for the Yankees of course...there was no last-minute comeback here).

Congratulations (?), Brad Penny.

Wakefield pitched tonight in Pawtucket as part of rehab. His comments:

"I feel very comfortable that I can pitch in the big leagues again." He added that he felt well. "Physically, I feel great."

We want -- nay need -- you to come back. Please come back. Please!

Posting on Red Sox meet-up group in Tampa

Sent on the email list today:

'Just saying hi from Boston. Not only do I get to watch the games on Nesn but I get to see 3 hrs of pre and post game shows delving into the sorry state of the Red Sox at this moment. The Nation in Boston is in PANIC MODE.'

Incidentally, this comes after a series sweep against the Blue Jays with Bay, Ortiz, and Drew apparently deciding to wake up and hit some baseballs.