Aftermath: The Red Sox are just as bad...well almost.

Despite the inspiring 3-run walk-off by Ortiz, waking up the echoes of 2004, when the Sox were just unbeatable in Fenway, Chowder-nation's team went on to lose game 2 in a rout, leaving the Yankees just 1 game back after their worst stretch of the season. If it were not for Ortiz's heroics, the Sox would have been swept at hone by Texas, even as the Yanks suffered the same indignity courtesy of the A's. The way the Sox lost this series evidences weaknesses that rival, though they by no means surpass the Yankees. They lost game 1 because their newest pitching god, John Lester, looks like he might not be up to the role just yet; they lost game 3 of the series because David Pauley blows and a bullpen manned by the likes of Rudy Seanez and another of the great young hopes, DelCarmen, isn't any great shakes either. In short they have no number 5 starter and no bridge to Papelbon. Sound familiar. They almost lost game 2 of the series because Josh Beckett go rocked yet again (4 runs in 5 innings). That makes four bad outings in a row for their number 2 starter, whose ERA is at 5.26. Does any of this sound familiar? Meanwhile their no. starter has an ERA about a run and a half higher than the Yankees no. 1 starter; their number three starter has a record that is three full games (5 in the loss column) behind the Yanks' no. 3 starter; and their number 4 starter (Clement) has been even worse, with a much worse record, than mr. mediocrity, Shawn Chacon. Where they have been superior all season long, even when the Yanks had Sheff and Matsui, was in the consistency of their offense, and nobody would have predicted that at the start of the year. The reason? They try to get hits, with only Ortiz, Ramirez and Varitek looking to drive the ball (and Varitek is proof that approach isn't for everyone). Loretta, Lowell, Youkils, Crisp, Nixon. They all try to put the ball in play. Their as slow on the bases as their fans are in the head, so they can't really play small ball. But since they take the contact approach on every at bat, abnd never give up at bats to inattention or impatience, they are in non-stop practice for those game turning RISP situations and are, as a result, as proficient at converting them as the Yankees are hopeless.

Oh yeah, the Sox don't play like my grade school team in the field either. Toady's game at the stadium was lost on miscues by Damon-Cabrera, AROD, the king of the errant throw, and Proctor, who in addition to pitching like shit can't field little hoppers cleanly. After the game Damon actually said that they had put a good game together but couldn't close the deal. "We'll overcome this," he promised. Well, if he and his teammates continue to regard any game in which they commit 2 errors, one of them crucial, one passed ball, and two other fielding misadventures, both leading to runs, as a "putting together a good game," then I daresay they will never overcome this.


Still, the Sox are just bad enough that if the Yankees could get with the program Torre talks but doesn't pursue, they might be able to stay in the race for awhile. Of course that assumes that AROD actually starts hitting. They can win in this depleted state but only if he starts stepping up like the superstar he's supposed to be and helps to carry the team. The saga of the shrinking AROd continued today witha tidy 0-3.

Quick notes:
Can someone tell me why with Andy Phillips so hot Torre takes him out for 2 games in a row?
The more regularly Bernie plays in the field, the more he breaks down at the plate. Where is Bubba? He was supposed to be back by now, and whether Torre knows it or not, they need him.
For that matter, where is Dotel? How many fucking rehab outings does this guy need? He's a reliever for Chrissake! If he's throwing thirty pitches and he's doing okay, let him throw them at the stadium in place of Proctor or Farnsworth.