Red Sox Report: Baltimore Blues

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

The Boston Red Sox simply don’t deserve to go to the playoffs!

It’s one thing to not win enough games against the Tampa Bay Rays against whom you are competing for the A.L. Wild Card spot. But it’s another thing to not be able to take care of business against the Baltimore Orioles in games that are important to you.

The Sox let the O’s get the best of them again last night in Baltimore, this after they lost 3 of 4 to the Orioles at Fenway Park last week. Need we remind the Red Sox that Baltimore has lost 92 games this year?

This was a game Boston not only had to win, they should have won it. Ace Josh Beckett was on the mound facing the immortal Tommy Hunter. It didn’t matter.

The Sorry Sox looked as sad Monday night as they have for the entire month of September which has seen the team go a dreadful 6-19.

Meanwhile, in Tampa, the Rays defeated the Yankees meaning that Boston is now tied with Tampa for the Wild Card lead with just 2 games remaining in the regular season.

Tuedsay night Erik Bedard (5-9, 3.50 ERA) gets the start for Boston against the O’s Zach Britton (11-10, 4.44). Tampa Bay will send Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.90) to the mound at home against the Yankees. New York will counter with Bartolo Colon (8-10, 4.02).

-So much for the player suggested line-up change. Carl Crawford has gone 3-20 (.150 avg.) since getting his wish to be moved up to the #2 spot in the order. The idea was for the speedy Crawford to follow Ellsbury and get on base so that the two speedsters could wreak havoc on the base paths. The problem is that you need to get on base in order to wreak said havoc. Crawford’s on-base percentage since being moved to second in the order is also .150 (I'll give you one guess as to how many walks Crawford has drawn in the last 4 games). In fact, for the season, his on-base percentage is just .290. He needs to be moved back down towards the bottom of the order while Adrian Gonzalez assumes the third spot in the order once again.

-Instead of adding insult to injury, the Red Sox added injury to insult in the bottom of the 8th when catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was hit with a foul ball off of his right shoulder while behind the plate. Saltalamacchia had his chest protector on but still had to leave the game with a sore right shoulder.

-The light-hitting Robert Andino continues to be a Red Sox killer. After beating Boston with his bases loaded triple off of Jonathan Papelbon in the 8th inning back on September 20th, Andino hit a 3-run inside the park homerun off of Josh Beckett in the bottom of the 6th last night. Jacoby Ellsbury tracked the ball down in deep center but was unable to hang onto it when he crashed into the wall at Camden Yards.