The Boston Dead Sox

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Sunday, May 09, 2010

By: Scott Cordischi

Somebody please stop the fight! It’s getting out of hand. They say that pennants can’t be won in April or May which is true. But they can be lost! And the Boston Red Sox are playing their way right out contention not just in the AL East, but also in the Wild Card race.

The Sox’ early season problems have been well documented here and everywhere. If it’s not the offense, it’s the pitching. If it’s not the pitching that fails, then it’s the defense. It’s always something.

After Saturday’s games, Boston was in fourth place in the division trailing first place Tampa Bay by 7.5 games, the Yankees by 7 games and Toronto by 3 games. Hardly the start that Red Sox management expected from this team.

We can point the finger of blame wherever we want to. Injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron certainly haven’t helped, but that’s no excuse. Their line-up is a donut with one big hole in the middle. Big Papi is a shadow of his former self and Manny is not walking through that door anytime soon according to Rick Pitino.

They rank 23^rd in ERA as a team thanks, in part, to Josh Beckett who isn’t even pitching like a fifth starter, much less an ace!

Defense was supposed to be a real strength yet they rank 12^th in baseball in fielding percentage and have a pair of catchers who couldn’t throw out a base stealer if they used Little League rules and allowed the runner to start only after the ball crosses home plate.

Some of these things will improve as the season progresses. But will they improve enough to overcome the deficit they have already created for themselves? Probably not.

Consider these numbers: the Red Sox are 1-8 against the Yankees and Rays this season. Pretty bad, huh? Did you know that all nine of those games have been played at Fenway Park? Ouch!

As much as it pains me to say it, I freely admit that the Red Sox are clearly inferior to the New York Yankees in 2010. Or, as Pedro Martinez would say, “the Yankees are their daddy!” Those aren’t easy words to utter for a Red Sox fan. But it’s the truth. And it has been quite a few years since I have felt that way this early in the season.

I guess the good news is that, for the first time in quite a while, Sox tickets may be more available this summer than in the past. Sad, but true.