Red Sox Miss PAT, Lose 14-13

After last night's loss, Sports Illustrated's David Sabino tweeted this:

The Red Sox wanted this loss more.
— David Sabino (@SI_DavidSabino) August 24, 2012

And it's true. The Red Sox did more to lose this game than the Angels did. Franklin Morales, Clayton Mortensen, and Alfredo Aceves sucked. And the defense was shabby.

The offense scored. But as we've seen all year long, when one part of the team excels, the other part cancels out the good performances. Pedro Ciriaco (4 for 6), Jacoby Ellsbury (3 RBI), Dustin Pedroia (double, homerun, 5 RBI), and Cody Ross (homerun) did their job. Adrian Gonzalez could have done better. As a unit, though, the Sox offense did what should have been more than enough.

It wasn't.

Guys like Morales and Felix Doubront have come down to earth. Earlier in the season they were pitching above their weight-class. They've since regressed to the mean.

Then there's the bullpen. To be fair, they've been overworked due to the inability of the starters to go deep into games. But the bullpen was built to fail from the beginning.

Get rid of Papelbon, convert Bard to a starter (not because you think it's a great idea, but because you don't want to sign a proven starter), sign Andrew Bailey, and it's no surprise that the bullpen hasn't been great.

Last night Aceves blew his 7th save. He has a 2-8 record. Even after blowing the save, he allowed another homerun. Bailey has missed most of the season due to injury (which he's always been susceptible to), but he's looked poor since returning from the DL. Mark Melancon has been a complete load.

This bullpen sucks.

This team sucks. They're 7 games under .500, 8 games under .500 at home, 9 games in the loss column out of a Wild Card spot. They'll host the Kansas City Royals, who are only 3 games behind the Sox in the standings.

Jon Lester faces Bruce Chen. Chen has 2 more wins than Lester. This should be a win, because Lester's been decent lately and the Sox hit Chen well. This Sox team finds ways to lose, though.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Collapsing Before September

The Red Sox are now 9 games in the loss column out of a Wild Card spot. Even the Mariners are ahead of them. Crawford is on the DL, the pitching coach has been (finally) canned, and barring a miracle - along with a series of disasters for other teams - this season is essentially over. We're just waiting for the math to finalize it.

Clay Buchholz "just didn't have it" last night. How many times have we said that about Red Sox pitchers this year? Too often, these starters have shown up to work "without it." Whatever it is. I don't know about you, but if I failed at my job and told my bosses "I just didn't have it tonight," I'd soon be looking for a new job.

The Red Sox offense also "just didn't have it." The lineup has had to endure a number of injuries this season. They've still managed to score a respectable amount of total runs, they just don't score them with any consistency. It's either 3 or less, or 8+ runs.

When does Jacoby Ellsbury get some scrutiny for his disappointing 2012? He missed time to injury, but when he's been healthy he's managed a .249 average, an OBP below .300, and a slugging percentage below .350. He's stolen 6 bases. So even when he's in the lineup, he's been absent.

The Red Sox send Franklin Morales to the mound tonight. He faces CJ Wilson. Wilson hasn't won a game since June. The Angels are 1-8 in his last 9 starts. So maybe the Sox can score a few runs. But will it be enough with Morales on the mound?

Photo Credit:
Jim Rogash/Getty Images

HOW LONG CAN THE SOX STICK WITH LACKEY?

At least last year, Lackey ate innings. He was a disappointment, and had some bad starts, but he had some semi-decent ones, as well. In 2010, we expected him to be a #3 guy, maybe even #2 calibre. In 2011, we figured he'd at least be a serviceable #5, and hopefully a #4. Right now, however, he doesn't even look like a Major League starter.

He had some good starts against AL West teams, but even they got to him yesterday afternoon. 10 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings. He wasn't fooling anyone. He never fools anyone (except Theo Epstein). 2007 was his best year, and he's declined ever since then. And I'm starting to think that he's washed up.

Anyway, the Sox just can't breach that .500 barrier. It's about to get scary. In order to reach the 100 wins Sox fans thought they were predestined to attain, they'd have to play .656 baseball. Which isn't ludicrous. So it's not time to abandon ship. The Sox have 131 games left to eat into that 4 game lead the Yankees hold.

At least Crawford is looking like a Major League hitter. Gonzalez got that elusive 2nd homerun. Ortiz is hitting. They just need more people to show up and work. And they need to start looking at replacements for Lackey.

Sox host the Twins tonight. Wakefield's listed as the starter, opposing Scott Baker. The Twinkies are 11-18, have scored the fewest runs in baseball, and allowed the 3rd most. This should be a good weekend to collect some wins.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX CONTINUE OWNERSHIP OF ANGELS

The Red Sox own the Angels. The Sox are now 14-15 overall, and more than a third (5) of those wins have come against Anaheim. And I'll take that. Because wins are at a premium right now.

Another Quality Start from Lester, his 6th straight. He's just so solid that it's unreal. Pretty much every start, he'll give the a team a good chance to win.

Crawford is finally hitting. That average of his is up to .194, close to the Mendoza line, close to his weight (215). The Sox finally hit some homeruns. Gonzales got his long-awaited 2nd homer, and that's a big relief. Ortiz got his second in 2 days, and Scutaro hit his first of the season.

Unfortunately, the Sox only have 2 more games against Anaheim this season, both this week. And until they consistently win games against teams that aren't the Angels or Blue Jays, I'm not going to fully believe that they've turned any corners. They're 8-1 against the Angels and Jays. 6-14 against everyone else.

Beckett faces 1-3 Ervin Santana tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX IN HEAVEN AFTER SWEEPING ANGELS

The Sox are only one game below .500 and they owe it all to the Angels. Remember last year? The Sox owned Anaheim, going 9-1 against them. So while I'm happy the Sox are now only 3.5 behind the Yankees, and have a record that's not too shameful, beating the Angels is old news.

Lackey beating the Angels doesn't impress me. But Daisuke beating them does. Then again, Daisuke's problem has been consistency, and two great starts don't demonstrate that a consistency problem has been solved. I'm not aboard the Daisuke bandwagon yet. And won't be for some time.

One thing the Sox have thoroughly demonstrated with this 8-1 run, is that pitching wins. Even if half the lineup is slumping, even if the bullpen is shaky, good starting pitching makes winning easy. Crawford is still hitting below his weight, Lowrie's the only guy hitting over .300, and it seems like a new middle-reliever struggles in every game. But the wins keep coming so long as the starts are good.

To continue this roll, Buchholz needs to step up. He's lost his confidence, he's been obsessing with baserunners, and allowing homeruns. The offensively challenged (3rd fewest runs scored in baseball) Orioles present Buchholz with an opportunity to re-establish his place in this rotation. He's the only starter yet to register a Quality Start.

He faces 3-1 Zach Britton Tuesday night in Baltimore. And yes, Britton is a lefty.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX FINALLY GET BIG HIT

It took 11 innings, and countless missed opportunities, but Adrian Gonzalez finally got the big hit that propelled the Sox to victory last night/early this morning. Angels pitchers issued 11 walks and gave up 8 hits, but Sox' hitters were useless with runners in scoring position, finishing 2 for 18. Gonzalez's 11th inning double, and a 2 run single from Ellsbury in the 6th were the only hits with RISP for the Sox.

Beckett continued to master the strike zone. His only significant miscue came in the 8th, surrendering a 2 run homer to Torii Hunter. In his last three starts, Beckett's pitched 22 innings and allowed only 3 runs (1.23 ERA). At the moment, he's the Ace of the staff. Which is good because Buchholz looks shaky.

Will it last? I don't know. But right now, Beckett is my first choice for a must-win game.

This is the first time the Sox have strung two road wins together. Better late than never.

Jon Lester faces Dan Haren tonight. Haren is 4-0, but he's another righty. So that's nice.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo