Monday, May 19, 2014

No Way To Sugarcoat a Brutal Weekend

An absolute crap weekend for the Red Sox, as they got swept by the Detroit Tigers, who have the best record in baseball, and sure proved that at Fenway.

Jon Lester pitched a decent game on Friday, but John Lackey and Jake Peavy didn't on Saturday and Sunday. The Tigers outscored the Sox 13-3 in the three-game series. It marked the first time since the Bobby Valentine Disaster of 2012 that the Red Sox have dropped four straight games.

Sure there's no shame in being beaten by the best team in the game. But this moribund offense continues to cost this team games. The 6-1 loss on Saturday night was the 9th time this season the Red Sox had scored just 1 run or less this season.

More brutal numbers: 10-14 at home and 7-9 in the month of May (after a losing record in April). It was the second weekend they have been swept at home this year (first was by Milwaukee in the opening weekend in April).

And as everyone and his uncle continue to point out, the Sox remain only 3 games back of New York, despite being 20-23. The AL East is still very tight, but it is clear this team needs an offensive jump start. Way too many guys not hitting even close to what they did last year. I can't see any trade of significance coming any time soon, as the prices are just way too high right now for anyone of quality.

So it appears that Sox brass may just have to ride this sluggish offense out. It can be brutal to watch, especially this past weekend. Sure, the season is far from over, but the way the game ended last night, with the last 10 Red Sox going down in order, sure had the feel of a game of no consequence in late September.

Let's hope that doesn't become a reality this year.

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