Hear that? Aretha Franklin is warming up her pipes. The fat lady is beginning to sing. And for most Red Sox fans, including myself, we never thought we'd be saying that on the first day of September. But losing three straight must win games to drop your hometown team from 4.5 games back to 8 games back will do that to a baseball fan. This season has had some good moments, and it's had some bad, but ultimately the sinking feeling that most Sox fans got during the offseason played itself out onto the field. For better or for worse, this was a transition year. And as the lowly Orioles continue to shovel the final bit of dirt into the grave that has become the 2010 Red Sox season by knocking Lester around the park, let's see what happened to make this all come to a head.
First off, the thing that crippled the Red Sox the most this season was injuries. It started with Mike Cameron (he's missed 84 games so far this year and won't be back after season ending surgery). Then Jacoby Ellsbury soon followed (114 games and likely out for the rest of the year). Then Josh Beckett (12 starts). Then Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, and Clay Buchholz (22, 55 and out for the year, 4 starts respectively) were all injured in one trip to San Fransisco. The final blow to this team was the loss of Kevin Youkilis (26 games and counting), leaving the Sox with a depleted lineup (Darnell McDonald and Bill Hall have been practically every day players on this team. I'm just as depressed as you are) without the services of their 1,2, and 3 hitters. Not to mention that even role players such as Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek missed significant time, hurting the team's depth. And it showed. The Red Sox went from scoring about 4.5 runs per game in April to nearly 6 runs per game in May and June. It wasn't until the rash of injuries in July that the Sox came back to earth. In August, they scored a measly 4.3 runs per game, their worst monthly total yet. And just when the injuries looked like they were subsiding, and Pedroia and Ellsbury were on their way back, they get hurt again. It's just been too much to bear.
But that's not the only reason for Boston's struggles this season. The bullpen has been absolutely HORRENDOUS outside of Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon. Let me put it this way. It's like when you go to a restaurant and order a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. You eat it, and it's terrific, right down to the last noodle. Then a week later, you go back to that same restaurant and order that same plate of spaghetti, only this time you take one bite and immediately feel like your going to puke your brains out. That first order of spaghetti is the 2009 Red Sox bullpen. The second order? The 2010 Red Sox bullpen. And the sad thing is, I wasn't exaggerating at at all. With the exception of one and a half meatballs (Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon at times) the Sox 'pen this year is the worst plate of spaghetti I've had in a long time.
Another reason that the Sox have been down this year is the work of Theo Epstein. Yes, I'm very much aware of the Adrian Beltre signing. In fact, The Panther has been one of the only reasons for me to watch the Red Sox this season. But other than that, Theo's moves this offseason have come up short. Lackey hasn't come close to living up to his billing (or his contract for that matter. I just realized I'll be a junior in college when his contract is up. Great.). Cameron barely made it through a quarter of the year before shutting it down for good. Scutaro has performed admirably out of the leadoff spot in Ellsbury's absence, but he hasn't performed up to his numbers in Toronto and has been a liability defensively for stretches. Plus he proved once again you never should sign players to term, high priced extensions in the middle of the season (I'm looking at you Josh Beckett), and failed to address the bullpen at the trade deadline when the team desperately needed help in that area (Oh, and Kerry Wood has been lights out since he signed with the Yankees. I will now take a nap on red hot coals.). He's made it clear as day that this is a transition year. If I had to give him a grade, I'd say he'd get a C. And that's being generous.
Yet another reason for the Red Sox being out of the race so early is the under performance of their two highest paid pitchers, Josh Beckett and John Lackey. Combined, they are 16-12 in 43 starts with a 4.98 ERA. Not exactly what you expect from a duo making a combined $30.8 million this year. Throw in the fact that this team has not been an offensive juggernaut by any means this year and relied on that this team was built on pitching, then Lackey and Beckett have been downright awful.
I had some fun with this Red Sox team. I enjoyed David Ortiz's return to prominence. I had fun watching Clay Buchholz contend for the Cy Young (an award he deserves but probably won't get). And I LOVED watching Adrian Beltre play every day. And I admired how the team which was so depleted scrapped and clawed and battled to stay in the race as long as it could. But between injuries, under performing pitchers, and seemingly careless personnel moves by the front office, this team couldn't quite make it to where they wanted to be. It's a shame. For now, it's looking like I'll be uttering a phrase well known to Red Sox fans everywhere: "Wait 'til next year".
But I can't help but wonder what could have been.
_____________________________________________
Question for the Boston Sports Fan? Email him @ bosox102@hotmail.com
