No denying these Sox are skidding
Just mediocre at the quarter pole
OAKLAND, Calif. — Take your pick, Red Sox fans.
Because as Dustin Pedroia sarcastically reminded the world yesterday, there’s no middle ground when it comes to the Red Sox.
Either the team is playing like “whale (doo-doo)” or it’s “the greatest of all time.”
Even though I’ve never personally laid eyes on choice No. 1, I’m all in anyway. Past the quarter pole, the Red Sox sport a 21-21 record that fits them like a cheap blazer. The look’s not flattering, either.
Outside of must-watch Chris Sale starts, games have become endurance tests. Thank goodness the Red Sox are still playing with maximum effort, but there’s no escaping the hard truth that with 10 games to go before June rolls around, their $197 million payroll has got absolutely nothing to show for it.
They are playing a mediocre, frequently boring brand of baseball and are in fourth place — fourth! — in the American League East.
After their 8-3 loss to the A’s yesterday, the Red Sox stubbornly rationalized their .500 record as nothing more than a fleeting sensation. It’s only May. There are 120 games left.
They’re right about the calendar. On the field, they’re not right.
“Because we’re not” a .500 team, Pedroia said. “That’s why you play 162. As a player in this environment, there’s ups and downs. The downs are, you’re lower than as low as can be — ‘ whale (doodoo)’? I don’t know — and the highest is you’re the greatest of all time. You’ve got to stay even, man and we intend on doing that.”
The Red Sox are way too even right now, with that record. After today’s series finale, they’ll be headed back over or under the ultimate measure of middling, but it won’t make a difference. They have to figure out a way to yank themselves out of being even-Steven.
That act may play in other markets, but not in New England.
Pedroia, in his 12th season, knows better than anyone that patience is not in great supply, even in late May. Just wait until the Celtics get eliminated. We’ll see how the team responds when it becomes the sole focus of a fan base that, if it has not already, is quickly coming to realize this Red Sox team has real problems.
“We’ve got a long way to go. Show up tomorrow and play hard, that’s why at the end of the season every team that wins is popping Champagne and having a good time because it’s not easy,” said Pedroia. “There’s tough times throughout the year. Obviously in the market we play in it’s magnified, so you know, right now we haven’t played very well so take your beating like a man and show up tomorrow and try to hand one out.”
The saying goes that you need two months of the regular season before you can get a gauge on what your baseball team needs. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest the Red Sox do not need to wait until June 1.
Their offseason plan of improved run prevention in the wake of David Ortiz’ departure is not working. Not only is the offense sputtering, but short starts like the one Drew Pomeranz provided yesterday — four innings, 97 pitches — is going to fry this already beleaguered bullpen before July arrives in all its sweltering glory.
“I don’t know, I’m not a scout. I’m a player,” said Pedroia about what exactly is wrong. “Our job is to show up and play hard. We intend on doing that.”
After Friday night’s loss, Sale himself said he was not going to panic because he believed the team’s talent would eventually show results. Outfielder Chris Young, a 12-year MLB veteran like Pedroia, echoed Sale.
“We feel like we’re definitely a better team than we’re showing, it’s just not working out right now,” said Young. “You’ve got to understand that it’s May and if we’re the team that we think we are, in the end we’ll be there.”
And what a whale of a tale that would be. Probably the greatest of all time.