If the Bruins Lose Game 7, We'll Only Have the Painful to Watch Red Sox to Entertain Us

It's mid-May. If the Bruins win Game 7 against Montreal Wednesday night, then we'll have at least two more weeks of playoff hockey to entertain us. Hopefully more. That would be fantastic because right now the Red Sox are almost too painful to watch.

They're 19-19 after losing to the Twins Tuesday night. With 124 games remaining, the Sox would need to play .629 baseball the rest of the way in order to equal last year's total of 97 wins.

The 8-6 loss to Minnesota Tuesday night is a perfect example of the difference between this year and last. Last year the Sox found ways to win such games. This year they find ways to lose them.

Jake Peavy allowed 6 runs in his 4.1 innings of work. The Twins did most of their damage in the 2nd. They were a triple shy of the cycle in the frame and they scored 5 times.

David Ortiz chipped away at the lead, hitting solo homeruns in the 1st and 4th, an RBI single in the 6th, and was part of a 3-run Sox rally in the 7th with another RBI single. The Sox tied the game at 6-6 in the 7th, although they also left the bases loaded. AJ Pierzynski struck out looking (which is odd for him). Pierzynski was 0 for 2 with RISP, he struck out 3 times, and grounded into a double play. My dislike for him is growing into hatred.

The Sox bullpen kept them in the game until Andrew Miller pitched the bottom of the 9th. With 2 outs Chris Parmelee hit a walk-off homerun.

So a bad start from Peavy. The Sox scored 6 runs but blew an opportunity to score a very important 7th run. And a reliever gave up a 2-run homer in the 9th. Just a perfect recipe for losing baseball. Each group of players found a way to lose.

Last year, when a starting pitcher failed to go 5, the bullpen saved him. When the 2013 Sox had the bases loaded with 2 outs in a 6-6 game in the 7th, they seemed to always get a hit. This year they have AJ Pierzynski being useless. Last year there were runners on base when Ortiz hit homeruns. Last year the Sox didn't have .232 hitting Grady Sizemore batting 5th.

I'm going to introduce something new to my Sox posts. It's a Blame Pie. A percentage of responsibility for each Red Sox loss will be attributed to players (and perhaps coaches). So here's the Blame Pie for Tuesday's 8-6 loss:

Jake Peavy - 55%
Only went 4.1 innings, allowed 6 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks.

AJ Pierzynski - 20%
0 for 4, 3 strikeouts, GIDP, 0 for 2 with RISP

Andrew Miller - 20%
0.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 HR

Will Middlebrooks - 5%
0 for 4, 2 strikeouts, stranded Bogaerts on 3rd in the 2nd

The Sox and Twins will provide between period entertainment during Wednesday night's Bruins game. Felix Doubront (1-3) faces Kevin Correia (1-4).

Photo Credit:
Craig Lassig/Associated Press