A Tale of Two Seasons

It was the best of seasons; it was the worst of seasons. Who said that? Was Dickens a baseball fan? I know he was a big fan of Americana, having been warmly received here when he came for a visit. I think he went to the all-star game. But what was his favorite team?

Anyway, this has been a ridiculous month. Sox lost six road games in a row; then they came home and won every game in a seven game home stand. Then they went out west and lost five of six, including two of three to the lowly Mariners. So that’s eleven losses out of the last twelve road games, with two games in Baltimore this coming weekend. Needless to say, it will be hard for them to repeat if they cannot win on the road between now and October.

The frustrating thing is that, at various times, the team has looked unbeatable. Lester tossed that no-hitter against the Royals; Colon has had two very nice starts in a row; last night Wake gave up only one run; and Dice-K has cut his ERA almost in half. But still, the team’s ERA is up from last year, and the pen has been inconsistent.

Same is true for the bats. Everyone hot and cold. In April, Papi couldn’t buy a hit, and Manny was on fire. Of late, Papi’s been hot and Manny has cooled off. At one time, Youk and Pedroia were among the league leaders in hits, and doubles, and average, but on these recent road trips, no one has really been hitting that well. This streaky play has also been complimented, if that’s the word, by sloppy fielding. A couple of Pap’s blown saves can be attributed to errors; and he almost gave away his own save the other night with some careless play on defense.

I’d like to think that, just so long as we can get to the post-season, everything will be fine. Schill should be healthy by then, and really, all we need is for him to toss a few great games in October. Beckett started the year with some aches and pains, but one expects him to be unhittable, as always, come the fall. With Casey and Cora and Coco on the bench, Tito can rotate and rest the staring lineup, so that everyone stays fresh for the stretch run. That’s the plan, but with the AL East being so good top to bottom, there is no guarantee that the Sox will even make the playoffs. The time when the Sox and Yankees were pretty much guaranteed a spot in the ALDS seems to have passed. Right now, the Rays are on top of the division; the Yankees are at the bottom; but everyone is giving everyone else a hard time. Can you believe the Rays playing in the ALCS? Believe it.

Still, it could be worse. There have been some injuries, but nothing serious. There have been some slumps, but everyone seems to have bounced back, at one time or another. If you asked anyone in June of 2004 about the Sox chances that year, almost no one would have predicted much of anything for the rest of the season. So we’ll be patient. Maybe, just maybe, the Cs will win it all; KG will come to the park and throw out a first pitch; that will energize the Sox; and they’ll start winning on the road. How’s that for a plan?