On The Outside

Let's face the facts:  The 2012 Boston Red Sox are a mediocre, streaky team.   They don't adapt to adversity very well, as evidenced on the disastrous West Coast road trip they just finished, where they looked jet-lagged the whole way.   Their bats, evidently, didn't make the trip as they hit an abysmal .200 in the Pacific time zone.   Not the kind of stuff you want to stay up late for now, is it?   This trip came after they started to come into their own at home, going 7-2 against Miami, Atlanta, and Toronto.

Where has the offense gone?   Nava, who looked like a legitimate starting major leaguer from May to mid-June has come crashing down to earth and once again looks like the quad-A guy who was all but forgotten last year through this year's spring training.    Pitchers are adjusting to his new plate approach and he's getting rung up a lot more on called third strikes.    Pedey's thumb is bothering him once again.   Until today, Papi had long ball #400 in his head.   Gonzo may have the quietest hitting streak in Red Sox history.   Middlebrooks got antsy at the plate in RISP situations, then pulled a hammy trying to steal a base, forcing the likes of sub-Mendoza Punto into the lineup.    Salty has been moved in and out of the cleanup spot, but strikes out too much to be a good fit there, despite his impressive power numbers (16 HR so far this year, matching his total for all of last season).    Aviles has also cooled down big-time at the plate.   Kalish is rusty from his year lost to injury and belongs in AAA.   

  The pitching, aside from Dice-K's Monday night meltdown, did a decent job on the trip--that is when they weren't facing ax-grinding former Sox outfielders in Oakland (Coco "Benched in '07 ALCS" Crisp, Brandon "Shipped to Pittsburgh in the Manny-Bay deal" Moss, and Josh "Trade Bait for the Closer Who Has Yet To Throw a Pitch This Season" Reddick).    Apart from some blown saves by Aceves and some defensive clownery by Salty, Aviles and Kalish, among others, it was mainly the offense that was to blame for the embarrassing 2-5 record.  

 It doesn't get any easier when they get back to Fenway, with the Yankees in town for 4 games, including a Saturday double-header.   Things could get really ugly in Beantown if they lose 3 of 4 or get swept.    Fair or not, Red Sox Nation still has September 2011 fresh in their minds.    (It's really not fair to the players and coaches who were not with the team last year and had nothing to do with it, but the core of the team remains the same).    After climbing to third place, the Red Sox are now in a tie for 4th with the Blue Jays and could soon be sitting alone in the cellar if the Yanks have their way with them this weekend.    

 The streakiness of this team will keep them hovering around the .500 mark and will, in all likelihood, keep them out of the playoffs for a third straight year.   These aren't the Red Sox of the previous decade.   They've gone retro and they're starting to look like your parents' and grandparents' Red Sox.   At least my hometown Nationals are having themselves one helluva season so far.   When was the last time (if ever) DC had a respectable baseball team?