Time To Push The Panic Button?
Friday, April 08, 2011
After an offseason full of promise, the regular season has gotten off to a horrific start for the local nine. And it’s not just that they’re losing games, it’s how they’re losing them.
After not even being competitive in Texas, the thought was that the lowly Cleveland Indians would be just what the doctor ordered for Boston. That certainly was not the case.
After Josh Beckett and the Sox dropped the opener on Tuesday, they got a decent performance from Diasuke Matsuzaka on Wednesday. But, an absolute brain fart by veteran catcher Jason Varitek who failed to tag a runner out at home combined with another bullpen meltdown dropped them to 0-5.
Then, on Thursday, it was another excruciating loss to the Tribe. This time they lost 1-0.
After a horrible season-opener, Jon Lester pitched like the ace of the staff throwing 7 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits while striking out 9.
But the high-priced line-up couldn’t give Lester any run support. They managed just 4 hits off of Indian pitchers in 30 at bats.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox were asleep at the switch again defensively in the bottom of the 8th. Daniel Bard walked Adam Everett to lead off the inning. He stole second before Orlando Cabrera bunted him to third. Then, with 1 out, Asdrubal Cabrera worked the count to 2-1 before executing a perfect suicide squeeze bunt down the third base line.
The Red Sox were not expecting it as Kevin Youkilis had only one play and that was to first base. It gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead after 8.
Then in the top of the 9th, there were more mistakes by this high-priced version of the Bad News Bears. Indians closer Chris Perez recorded two quick outs before walking David Ortiz. Darnell McDonald pinch ran for Ortiz bringing J.D. Drew up to the plate.
Drew crushed a shot off of the leg of Perez for an infield hit but a horrible base-running blunder by McDonald ended the game. McDonald, who represented the tying run, rounded second base too far. Everett wisely threw the ball to Orlando Cabrera who tagged McDonald to end the game.
Swept again. This time by the lowly Indians. At 0-6, it’s the worst start for the Red Sox since 1945 when they started the season a franchise-worst 0-8.
Friday the Sox host the New York Yankees in their home-opener at Fenway. What type of reception will they receive from the home fans? “I don’t know,” snapped manager Terry Francona. “I’ve got more important things to worry about than how the hell they’re going to clap.”
Sounds like the frustration level in the clubhouse matches that of Red Sox fans. It should be an interesting weekend to say the very least.
NOTES:
-The Sox hope that a little home cooking will help turn things around. Boston’s next 10 games will be played at Fenway Park.
-Daniel Bard, the supposed closer of the future for Boston, is now 0-2 with a 16.87 ERA. It’s the second highest ERA on the staff behind Friday’s starter John Lackey whose ERA is 22.09 after his first start in Texas.
-Officials at both NESN and WEEI have to be cringing over the horrible start the Red Sox are off to. Last year, both stations suffered significantly in the ratings in the second half of the season when the Red Sox were out of contention. If this team digs itself too deep of a hole to climb out of, there won’t be a lot of New Englanders who will make watching or listening to Red Sox games a priority again this year.
-The upside for WEEI and The Sports Hub is that this 0-6 start has sparked tremendous sports talk from the “fellowship of the miserable.” Most of the venom from Sox fans seems to be directed at GM Theo Epstein for shelling out the type of money he has to John Lackey, Carl Crawford and J.D. Drew.
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