Is that headline possibly right?
I know that all MLB teams are made up of professional players and any team can beat any other team on any given day. But the Sox go 0-3 against the Kansas City Royals (08/08/06 @ KC L 4-6, 08/09/06 @ KC L 4-5, 08/10/06 @ KC L 4-5) after going 1-2 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (08/05/06 @ TB L 5-8, 08/06/06 @ TB L 6-7)? The Red Sox will have to work hard to make a lower low than this. At least when you lose to the Yankees, you lose to the Yankees. But if you believe in regression to the mean, then it has to get better.
Keep in mind that winning takes a lot of luck too. In 2004, not a single Red Sox starer missed a start during the season. This year, I think only Schilling and Beckett can say that. And Beckett has been hurling Charlie Brown straightballs lately.
It looks like the young gun pitchers miss the counsel of Jason Varitek behind the plate. The starters miss – well – everyone. The middle relievers miss middle relief.
The Sox can’t win every game by a David Ortiz walk-off home run, and if you live the [fill in blank here], you die by the [fill in blank here]. I heard that Manny Ramirez has zero extra-inning home runs in his career. Can that possibly be true?
I think the Sox are getting out-scouted at the moment, which is part of the problem. When Beckett pitches, it looks like the hitters know what is coming. And tonight, Schilling gave up 11 hits, 10 of which were extra-base hits.
Oh yes, nearly every position player has been injured or on the DL this season.
And somebody please tell NESN’s Tom Caron to slow down and STOP YELLING. And WEEI’s Jerry Trupiano to retire. And WEEI to boost their signal. I live 25 miles from Boston and can’t get the Red Sox on the radio at my house!
But Wily Mo is hitting rockets, which is fun to watch.
So the glass is half full. It can only get better from here. Varitek, Nixon, Wells, Foulke, and Wakefield recover from their injuries, the Sox got on another 10-game win streak, and win the wild card going away.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
