That Sinking Feeling
It’s August 10th, people. Do you know where your Red Sox are? And no, I don’t mean the bunch of imposters currently losing series to teams like the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and the godforsaken Kansas City Royals; I’m talking about the team that wiped the floor with the National League during interleague play; the team that boasted two aces and a lights out closer; the team with the Dominican Hammers bookended by the best OBP guys in the game, and last year’s most offensively potent catcher in the bigs. I’m talking about the team that was, once again, projected to make its fourth straight playoff appearance under the John Henry regime.
To paraphrase Tommy Chong, “They’re not here, man.”
This other Red Sox team – these pod people that have somehow replaced the players that held sole possession of first place for 41 days - have fallen six and a half games in the standings in less than two weeks, during what was supposed to be their easy stretch.
The thing is this Red Sox club has been a year long exercise in underachievement. The team boasts a damning 49-45 record against American League teams, and, were it not for the nice run against the inferior NL, we may very well be looking at a sub .500 club right now, jockeying for third place with Baltimore.
This team wasn’t just bit by the injury bug; it was practically devoured, but the same can be said about the Yankees, who are currently residing in first place, three games up, and rejuvenated by the sort of midseason deal that this decimated Red Sox team so sorely needed. It wasn’t so bad when we lost Wells, and Clement’s abilities are pretty much a wash with the other scrubs we’ve marched in to replace him. However, while losing Wakefield and Nixon hurts this team, Varitek’s loss is the death knell. The captain may have had a so-so year at the plate, but no one is as prepared and efficient behind it, and the lackluster performance of the Sox staff since ‘Tek went down has shown that.
Then again, one has to wonder if this team ever really had it in them to begin with. There was a lot of criticism toward the front office for not pulling out all of the stops to make a major move at the trade deadline, but maybe they saw something all along that we are only just starting to realize just now? The stretch against the NL that had made the Red Sox look so good this year was nothing more than smoke and mirrors, hiding a flawed rotation, a terrible bullpen, and an offense that, save for Papi and Manny, has been downright offensive.
Despite having the same win/loss record at this point this year as they did last year, the prospects of post-season baseball in Boston are grim. The wild-card race is tighter than it’s ever been, and, with the way the Yankees are playing, we may as well just hand them the division when they arrive in Boston for five games next weekend.
It’s sad to say, but it looks like we may as well give up on the Red Sox this year. After all, it seems like they already have.
It’s August 10th, people. Do you know where your Red Sox are? And no, I don’t mean the bunch of imposters currently losing series to teams like the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and the godforsaken Kansas City Royals; I’m talking about the team that wiped the floor with the National League during interleague play; the team that boasted two aces and a lights out closer; the team with the Dominican Hammers bookended by the best OBP guys in the game, and last year’s most offensively potent catcher in the bigs. I’m talking about the team that was, once again, projected to make its fourth straight playoff appearance under the John Henry regime.
