There’s no denying it, the Red Sox are in a major funk to begin the second half of the season. Their woes continued last night in Texas as rookie pitcher Tommy Hunter outdueled ace Josh Beckett to the tune of a 4-2 Rangers win.
Amalie Benjamin has the Red Sox pretty demoralized following this one. Sean McAdam notes that while the pitching got plenty of rest around the All Star break, apparently the offense is still on vacation. Joe McDonald says that even Josh Beckett “the stopper” wasn’t enough last night.
Ron Borges says that Nolan Ryan’s view of pitching is paying off for the Rangers. Jim Donaldson says that the Red Sox have the luxury of being able to afford mistakes like Julio Lugo. Kilgore has Josh Beckett taking the blame for last night’s loss, despite throwing a complete game. Borges has a Shaky first inning spelling doom for Beckett and the Sox last night. McDonald says that the Red Sox offense is officially kaput.
Adam Kilgore has Clay Buchholz getting called back up to start tonight in place of Tim Wakefield. McAdam has Tim Wakefield being placed on the DL with a back strain. McDonald has a sore back doing in Wakefield this time. He also has Clay Buchholz getting the called to replace Wake tonight. Alex Speier says that the AL East is unforgiving of slumps.
Lenny Megliola has Fred Lynn happy for friend and former teammate Jim Rice, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend. Dan Duggan has a Jim Rice retrospective.
Benjamin’s notebook has Wakefield getting placed on the DL. McAdam’s notebook says that it seems unlikely now that the Red Sox will deal a starting pitcher before the trade deadline. McDonald’s Red Sox journal says that the chances of a Halladay trade seem to be shrinking.
Misc
Frank Dell’Apa has the Nets the latest team interested in Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Duggan has Austin Ainge being named the head coach of the Maine Red Claws. Jonathan Comey hopes that Ainge has more to offer the Red Claws than just his name. Steve Solloway says that the younger Ainge is ready to make a name of his own.
Fluto Shinzawa has a healthy Matt Hunwick looking forward to getting back on the ice with his new deal. Joe Haggerty has more on the signing. Rich Thompson has Peter Chiarelli determined to get Phil Kessel signed next.
Glen Farley says that Tom Brady’s return is the key to the Patriots season. Christopher Price looks ahead to some training camp position battles. Mike Reiss has a look at the cornerbacks.
Bob Ryan defends golf as a sport.
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They cannot hit on the road this season.
Sox averaging 1 less run on the road than at home, while NYY ratio is 1:1 and TB ratio is somewhere in between.
More specifically, Ortiz, Lowell and Pedroia have been weak hitters on the road. I fully expect Pedroia and Lowell to come around, but not Papi. Papi was weak on the road last season too. If the Sox don’t earn home field advantage this season, than they have no chance of winning the WS and they might not anyways with no apparent leadoff hitter and with a weak Ortiz in the middle of the linup. They absolutely cannot enter next season with Ortiz as the starting DH.
I forgot to mention Varitek, another player that is tearing it up in Fenway, but doing nothing on the road and I don’t think anyone expects him to turn that around.
Dan, I’ll go you one better: this team is not making the playoffs, period, if they don’t make a major deal for a major bat by July 31? Where will they put him? Who cares? Make room for him–whoever he is. The current lineup has more holes in it than a wedge of fine swiss cheese, and it’s not good enough to advance this team–and it’s championship-level pitching staff–into October, where pitching rules.
I agree – the sky is falling. This team is probably the worst hitting team in the history of organized baseball.
I didn’t say that, however, it would be wise to remember that they play in a division with two other teams–New York and Tampa–with better offenses than they have. Tampa Bay’s pitching is just as good as Boston’s, and the Yankees’ pitching is better than it’s been the last couple of years.
Within the context of playing in the AL, and the AL East in particular, they aren’t good enough to make the playoffs with this lineup.
That is my firm belief.
Lance loves straw men.
Please don’t tell anyone – it’ll be our secret.