1-0? It Might as Well Have Been 10-0

I hope you all will excuse me here. I need to vent.

I watched yet another pathetic display by the Boston Red Sox offense on the road tonight, an absolutely brutal 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners, the worst goddamn team in Major League Baseball.

And I can feel nothing but sorrow right now for one Tim Wakefield. He pitched an absolute gem against Seattle, and threw just one bad pitch all night that Yuniesky Betancourt hit over the wall for a third inning home run. Wake threw just 94 pitches in the complete game loss, allowing just five hits while striking out six. Another game he should have won, if the damn offense would bother to show the hell up.

This is a lousy, overrated Seattle Mariners team. They had lost seven straight going into Tuesday night, and their pitching had simply gotten destroyed in Detroit and New York. But here come the Red Sox, playing like crap on the road, just the tonic Seattle needed. Erik Bedard pitched a fine game tonight, and take nothing away from him, as he went seven innings and struck out nine. But he had been awful in the month of May, going 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA going into this game this month. And historically, he's not a Red Sox killer, as his lifetime record against them is 4-4 with an ERA just over 4.00. He's a good pitcher, but he's been struggling as of late.

But the Red Sox offense did diddly tonight. Two hits, both in the fourth inning, and it was wiped out by a double play. And on this road trip, I have noticed a disturbing trend. In four of the six games, they did not get their first hit until at least the fourth inning (including tonight). They look awful starting out these games, and except for Monday night, they fall into a hole they can't get out of. Even worse, when the other team goes up 1-0 it seems like they are in trouble.

I know, I know, it's still just May. But the away record is simply abominable: 11-19. That is totally unacceptable from a team that has eyes on winning a second straight championship. They have now lost 10 of 12 away games since they beat up on the Tigers in Detroit earlier this month. They fall behind on the road and it seems like the game is over, no matter what the score. They are wasting some fine pitching performances, like the one from Wake tonight. They are now 1-5 on this 10-game swing away from Boston, and have to sweep all four games in Baltimore to make it a .500 trip. I won't bet any money on that happening.

And losing series to crap teams like the Seattle Mariners makes it all the more frustrating to watch. You have to beat also-rans like this. No excuses.

My rant is over. Thank you for your indulgence.