I've been waiting and waiting and waiting all year for the RedSox to make a run. I've been expecting this team to put together an 8+ game winning streak on their way to the top of the wild card standings. I've said time and time again that this team has way too much talent to be a .500 team. But here we are on August eighth and the Sox are still treading water, fighting to stay alive in the playoff hunt. And although I stubbornly continue to hold out a smidgen of hope deep down, the reality of the situation is grim. Yes, a 5.5 game deficit in the wild card standings with the additional wild card seems manageable with 50 games still to play. But what everyone must realize is that there are five teams ahead of them. The Sox will need at least four of those teams to falter, or they'll have to play at an other-worldly rate, perhaps winning 35 or more of the 50 remaining games. With the talent on this team, I've believed all year that such a run was within reach. For precedent, just look back to last year when essentially the same roster put together a 37-18 record from July to the end of August. The difference this year is that for whatever reason, this team cannot for the life of them play with any sort of consistency. It's honestly baffling. In a sport that is based more on individual play than say football or basketball, their futility is making me re-evaluate this perception. With some exceptions, on a night to night basis, this team has played one of three ways, all of which we saw in the last series against Texas.
- Everyone plays well. The top of the lineup gets on base and the middle of the order drives them in. They'll show how dynamic and potent their lineup can be en route to scoring 7 or more runs. The starting pitcher is solid and the game is essentially in the bag by the seventh inning. I start to think that this team has finally turned the corner and will go on that elusive 5+ game winning streak (their longest of the season). Case and point, the 9-2 win against Texas on Monday.
- The offense shows why they have scored the third most runs in baseball. But the pitching sucks. Either the starter gets lit up, or the bullpen comes in and blows a lead. Case and point the 10-9 loss today in which Beckett got lit up for 8 runs and the bullpen couldn't preserve the tie.
- The pitching staff shows glimpses of their potential as the starter delivers a solid performance. But the offense shows that although they've scored a lot of runs on the season, they've had far too many games in which they've scored three runs or less. Case and point the 6-3 loss yesterday in which Lester was solid, although still not his 2010 self.
All in all it's been far too much of #2 and #3. They hit, but they don't pitch. They pitch, but they don't hit. When they do everything well, they can't put it together more than a few games. This isn't a team, it's several units who haven't gelled whatsoever. It's like the baseball gods are playing one big joke on me. Everytime I get my hopes up, they're crushed. I.e. winning to go a season high five games over .500, just to lose six of seven before the all-star break. The walkoff homerun by Cody Ross against the WhiteSox, a moment that I truly believed would ignite this team, only to be followed by a four game losing streak. Winning four in a row against the Yankees and Tigers, just to lose three of four to the lowly Twins. Like I said, it's baffling. Is the chemistry really as bad as the media says, and can that really trump talent? Or is it simply a matter of a bunch of under-achieving, over-paid losers? Whatever it is, I'm trying real hard to stop caring, although it's in my nature to never say never. I need me some Patriots to be reminded of what a team looks like.
