Cue the Funeral Music

R.I.P. Red Sox 2010 Season. By dropping 2 of 3 at the Trop, the Sox have ceased to be relevant in the AL East race. All that's left to do is play out the string. The weekend was frustrating and disappointing, but let's get real here: The Sox are without Youk, Pedey, Cameron, and Ellsbury for the rest of the year. While we'll never know what a healthy Cameron would have contributed, Youk, Pedey, and Ells would have greatly helped both the offense and the defense had they not been felled by one injury or another. The bullpen is woefully short of reliable arms. The horses just weren't there for a playoff run.

When the Sox started playing really good baseball in May and June after a very shaky April, it looked like they would really have a chance, even without Ellsbury or Cameron. However, once the injuries started to pile up and Pedey and Youk ended their seasons prematurely, it left the Sox absolutely no room for error. Add to that a bullpen which was not improved one iota in the offseason and the in-game tactical deficiencies of Tito that make winning close games with teams like the Rays an uphill battle. The lack of bullpen depth explains the 5-10 record in extra innings.

Tip your cap to the efforts of guys like Nava, Kalish, McDonald, Hall, and Lowrie for doing all they can to contribute. However, they are not Ells, Pedey, Youk, or Cam. I'm not sure whether the fact that the Red Sox are not at least 10 games back by now is due to them hanging in there or the Yankees and Rays not winning often enough to put more distance between them. However, I expect the distance to expand some come September, unless the Sox decide they want to play spoiler now that they're no longer relevant in the pennant race.

I try not to think about what might have been if the injuries hadn't happened and they had picked up a decent bullpen arm or two, either last off-season or the July 31 trade deadline. Perhaps if their position players had stayed healthy, they would have felt it worthwhile to fortify their 'pen. Who knows? When all is said and done, it will be a season of what ifs, much like 2006. I can only hope that 2011 plays out much like 2007, but lots of changes have to be made for that to happen. I'll get into exactly what changes in another blog. We can only hope the Red Sox' 2011 is not nearly as snakebit as their 2010.