Only 4 Red Sox Go to Johnny Pesky's Funeral

David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Vincente Padilla. Those are the 4 Red Sox who went to Johnny Pesky's funeral on Monday. The rest of them couldn't be bothered.

This story is the straw that has broken the camel's back. It sums up who the Red Sox players are, it demonstrates the problem the Red Sox Front Office has (making excuses for players not attending), and it shows that this team simply doesn't care. They didn't care last September, they don't care about winning games, they don't care about the late Johnny Pesky.

And the players have the gall to be upset that the media and fans are talking about this funeral. The players have no right to be upset with anyone but themselves.

How is it that Vicente Padilla has been with this team only a few months, and he makes the effort to go to Pesky's funeral but long-time Sox players don't? Where were Josh Beckett, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, and Jacoby Ellsbury?

Pedroia says that his wife is pregnant and could give birth any day. The last time she gave birth there were complications, so perhaps Pedroia's absence is pardonable.

What about everyone else?

A busload of ushers, ticket-takers, and security were able to find the time to get to the funeral. These are people with full-time jobs who made the effort to pay their respects to Johnny Pesky. The Sox players were off on Monday.

Red Sox Information Minister Larry Lucchino defended the players, pointing out that they had a late (early Monday) arrival time after losing to the Yankees Sunday night, that the buses to the funeral that the team provided were essentially full with staff, and that players would be paying tribute on Tuesday by wearing the number 6.

More excuses, more player-coddling, more stories.

This organization, from top to bottom, has an excuse for everything. So many outside factors seem to conspire against them. The schedule, the wind, the umpires, the official scorer, the media, et cetera. And now current Sox players can't be bothered to attend the funeral of a man who has been a part of the game and this team for 6 decades? On an off day?!? BECAUSE OF A LATE NIGHT AND FULL BUSES?!?

Johnny Pesky was rolling over in his grave before he was buried in it.

Thank you, Red Sox. Thanks for these lost seasons. Thanks for the shame. Thanks for desecrating those uniforms, for befouling a city with the stench of apathy, stale Bud Light, and Popeye's chicken bones. Thank you for not caring about the death of a man who cared more about the game and winning than the entire 2012 Red Sox combined.

Thanks for nothing, you bastards.

Broken Red Sox Welcome All-Star Break

The Red Sox are 3-8 in their last 11 games. They were 7-2 in their previous 9. That's 10-10. They're a .500 team capable of brilliance one week, then shameful performances the next. Every part of the team is talented but unreliable. It balances out over a long run. And the result is a 43-43 team.

Actually, they're a 32-23 team when their best pitchers are on the mound, and an 11-20 team when they're two worst starters pitch. Those two worst starters are Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. The Sox are a .582 team when anyone else starts. They're a .355 team when either of these guys pitches.

The Sox haven't won a Josh Beckett start since May 26th.

This isn't an aberration caused by bad luck or poor run support. These two pitchers are simply not pitching well. They're pitching poorly, and not just for two guys who were expected to pitch well. Beckett's ERA is 4.43. Lester's is 4.49. The ERA for the entire American League is 4.04. So both of these guys have ERAs that are about 0.40 higher than the League average. That's bad.

This weekend, Beckett and Lester failed. I heard some analysts applauding Beckett for settling down and going 5 innings on Friday, but he lost the game in the 1st inning. And then last night, Lester couldn't even go 5 innings. These two pitchers don't put the team in position to win very often.

There's no denying their talent, but there's also no denying their failure.

And that's the story of the Red Sox as a whole. You can point to injuries, and count down the days until Jacoby Ellsbury returns. But the two best pitchers on the team have ERAs that are about 10% higher than the AL average. How are you supposed to win when your most talented players are playing worse than the League's average talent?

Not to mention you have a middle-reliever who is obsessed with Mark Teixeira. Your best hitter is concerned about his contract. And your bullpen is a patched together mess that's one loose thread away from disintegrating.

During the All-Star Break, the Red Sox will be playing the most consistent baseball they've played all season long.

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How Bad Are the Red Sox?

The Red Sox grounds' crew didn't even put a tarp down yesterday afternoon. There was a 90% chance of rain, but a 100% chance that the Sox were not going to play on Sunday. And who could blame them.

The 3 inning, 14 run collapse of the bullpen on Saturday was almost humorous. The ways this team finds to lose ballgames seems too surreal to be true. To be up 9-1 in the 7th inning and still lose. How is that possible?

With this team, though, it's expected.

This team finished 3rd place last year, and what did the Front Office do in an effort to improve? Lose a closer, lose a short-stop, fire a manager, lose a GM. Should we be surprised that this team is struggling?

It's not Bobby Valentine's fault. He inherited a circus. And even if you change ring leaders in a circus, clowns are still clowns. But I don't think that Character is the problem with the Sox. At least not the biggest problem.

There simply isn't enough talent. Vicente Padilla was on the scrap heap for a reason. The Red Sox haven't acquired a sought-after reliever since Keith Foulke. They sign a bunch of question marks to fill in their bullpen depth chart and hope one or two work out. Then they move their 2nd best reliever to the rotation.

This team is a mess. On the field, off the field, everywhere. They don't score runs consistently. They've already lost twice when scoring 9+ runs. Their bullpen is horrific. The rotation is still questionable.

This team sucks. Only the Royals have a worse record in the AL.

They're in Minnesota tonight. Bard has been skipped and Lester will be starting. He'll oppose Jason Marquis. I think the Sox are desperate for a win, and putting Lester on the mound gives them a good chance of getting one.

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Red Sox Making April Seem Like September

Vicente Padilla had the second best pitching performance for the Sox in Detroit. Need I say more?

No. But I will anyway.

A pair of horrible starts from Beckett and Buchholz, combined with inconsistent hitting, and one unbelievably shitty bullpen resulted in a Detroit Tigers sweep. Just like in September, the Sox are finding different ways to lose.

Alfredo Aceves gave up the winning hit in Thursday's loss. Yesterday he blew a 3 run lead. Mark Melancon also blew a save yesterday, and now he's 0-2. It's April 9th and the Sox have a reliever that's 0-2. That's sadly impressive.

One bright spot was Padilla's 4 scoreless innings. He might earn a chance to be in the rotation if he keeps up that good work.

I'm hearing some clamoring for Daniel Bard to be installed as closer. Maybe that will eventually happen, but right now the Sox need starting pitching. Because while the bullpen ultimately blew yesterday's game, a good start from Buchholz would have allowed the Sox to cruise to a blowout victory. Bullpens lose games. Starting pitchers win them.

And you know who should be the closer...

Jonathan Papelbon.

People in Boston were far too complacent and docile when the Sox didn't re-sign the best closer they've had in a long time. Everyone who wants Bard to close should also get angry at the Sox for not retaining Papelbon.

The Sox go up to Toronto to face the 2-1 Jays. Doubront faces 21 year old Henderson Alvarez.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo