Quick, someone get a muzzle for the fat lady...

She might not be singing just yet, but she's a hummin...

With Papi going back to Boston for testing (insert our heart attack here) it doesn't look good. That may be the final straw. Who can carry the offense with Manny out too? Yikes.

It doesn't look like they'll be able to survive until they get healthy. You can't call an MLB worst 8-19 record in Aug surviving...

Here is the AAA version of the Sox last night in Oak:

P - Kason Gabbard

Crisp
Cora
Loretta
Youkilis
Hinske
Lowell
J Lopez
C Pena
Pedroia


Let's just have Jeff Spicoli fill out the lineup card for Sept...

No Ortiz, No Manny, No Pitching, "NO DICE!"

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The Sox have 31 games left, with a 6 game defecit for the wild card and 7 game defecit for the AL East. In order to make the playoffs, the teams they are chasing would need to go 16-17. The Sox? Need to go 21-10 the rest of the way. With their current roster, that would be quite a feat. Don't hold your breath very long...

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The WBC affect?

Lets not pretend that this created the downfall of the Sox. While it did affect them, there are plenty of reasons they are in the state they're currently in.

The WBC has roughly 50 well known major leaguers on their rosters. Of those 50, we count 17 players that have spent significant time on the DL, had significant negative effects to their stats, or both. That's about 35% of players affected. Is the WBC to blame? Maybe. Would these players performed differently or been injured if they didn't participate? You decide. It just seems like 35% is a little more than a coincidence. Here's the list of players affected:

Bobby Abreu
Rafael Betancourt
Adrian Beltre
Jorge Cantu
Bartolo Colon
Lenny DiNardo
Derrick Lee
Brad Lidge
Esteban Loaiza
Jake Peavy
Wily Mo Pena
Albert Pujols
Alex Rodriguez
Huston Street
Mike Timlin
Jason Varitek
Dontrelle Willis
Victor Zambrano

The Yankee Euphoria...

For those of you that don't know what "euphoria" means: A feeling of great happiness or well-being, commonly exaggerated and not necessarily well founded. (Dictionary.com apparently doesn't like the Yanks either) Heck, even Shatner the ultimate "over-actor" isn't buying it...

Let's recap...

1) It's only August
2) The Yanks have plenty of time to blow it
3) As long as the Yanks are 3 games up with 4 to go, the Sox will be fine (2004 revisited)
4) Yanks pitching is not that good. It just didn't suck as bad as the Sox pitching over 5 games
5) The next 4 game set at Yankee Stadium will allow you to suffer at home in Sept.

While it has been so nice to hear from all of you regarding the Sox demise, there are still 40 games left. It really can't get worse for the Sox, and can't get any better for the Yanks. Don't expect all the breaks continuing to come your way...

But your Yankees just lost Mussina, at least for his next start. His track record late in the season isn't good. Ponson is horrible, and the Unit is an average #3 starter at this point. More pressure just got dumped on Wang.

Still confident? Riding high? Must be living in fantasy land...

You've just been set up for another fall Yankee Fans.


Only this time its from higher ground...

Has anyone seen our pitching staff?

Looks like it may not take those 24 games after all. If the staff continues to pitch like this, it will be over before the west coast trip ends. It's been awful. It's almost like they don't want it bad enough. Aside from Schilling, no one has shown any guts from the staff. And if the starter managed to pitch well enough for a win, the pen blows it. They should have taken 2 games from the Tigers and at least 2 from the Yanks. Bottom line is they didn't. They don't deserve to go to the playoffs right now. Who could they "out pitch" in a playoff series right now? It's not looking good folks. They may not be able to weather the storm until Wake & Tek return. Even then, it may not be enough. The real key is Beckett. If he manages to go on a run, they may be OK. The only problem is that he hasn't done it consistently all season, so why should it start now? Look for Wells to get the win today and stop the skid, at least temporarily. This team is still going to win 90+ games, but will it be enough? Unless they get hot soon, no. Lets hope this series is a wake up call.

For you Yankee fans out there, don't go printing those World Series tickets just yet. Everything went right for the Bombers in this series and nothing went right for the Sox "arms". How much confidence do you have in your staff with these #'s? The pen is what made the difference this weekend...

4 Games - 25 runs: Starters - 18 runs, Pen - 7 runs

Starters: Avg 5IP, 4.5 runs

Wang 6IP, 3ER
Ponson 3IP, 7ER
Unit 7IP, 5ER
Mussina 4IP, 3ER

Good luck in any playoff series with that pitching...

At least the Sox pitching can't get any worse, the only way to go is up. How far up is the question...

The next 24 games will decide the season...

After a nail biting 3 game sweep of the O's, the Sox find themselves only 1 game back of the Yanks and 2 games out of the wildcard behind the surging Chisox. What a difference a few days make.

The good news is we should know if the Sox are a playoff team in the next 3 weeks or so. Why? take a look at their upcoming schedule. It's a doozey...

Detroit - 3 games
Yanks - 5 games

West Coast Trip:
Angels - 3
Seattle - 3
Oakland - 3

Back Home:
Toronto - 3
ChiSox - 3

That translates into a 24 game stretch from hell, with only 1 day off. Wow, the average of those teams is at a 66-51 record. At least most games are at home. The upcoming double header on Fri and a day game on Sat will be brutal.

While the Sox seemed to have found themselves offensively, pitching is still a concern. Schill, Beckett, and Wells need to be outstanding. Lester is probably where he'll be at the rest of the way, giving up 3-5 runs per game over 5 innings. The Jason Johnson experiment may be over (hopefully), and we'd like to see Phil Seibel get a shot until Wake returns (which is at the end of this stretch). Put Johnson in the pen.

The bullpen continues to struggle and need the starters to go longer. The return of Varitek wouldn't hurt either. Now the rehabbing Foulke has been put back on the shelf and we may never see him again. These guys need some rest, and only the starters can provide it.

So, what's going to happen? They should be fine if they win 14 games. It's do-able but tough. If Schill, Beckett, and Wells all pitch well (all 3 excel in big games), they'll only need to steal a couple games from Lester & the #5 spot.

The Yanks have a similar road, with the only differences against Minnesota & Baltimore. Chisox & Minnesota face each other 6 times during this stretch.

Bottom line is that no one has an easy road. But the ones standing after this stretch will be there at the end. It won't be easy catching the leaders in early September...

Royal Sweep! Did you twist your ankle jumping off the bandwagon yet?

Can things get much worse? Well, yes, but it really doesn't feel that way. The Sox are now 12-15 since the break. Ouch.

Whats going on?

It's certainly not the competition. Cleveland 49-64, Tampa Bay 47-68, and KC 41-73 represent the league's worst. The Sox went a combined 3-7 against them.

Is it the absence of Tek? They are a combined 2-7 since he went down. Does 1 player have such as significant impact on a pitching staff? Probably not to that extreme, but some.

Is it the offense? They've averaged just under 5 runs a game with a .277 BA. It's not Ortiz and Manny, they've been tearing it up since the break. Lowell has struggled (.200 BA), and also out of the catching spot.

Is it the rotation? There's the "Tek factor" and the rocky return of Wells. Johnson pitched well his last outing, but Lester continues to struggle. Opposing teams have averaged 5 1/2 runs a game with a .296 BA.

Is it the pen? Are the youngsters hitting the wall? Papelbon, Delcarmen, and Hansen are not what they were a few weeks ago. Timlin has not returned to his old form since the injury. Tavarez & Seanez have been non-factors. Do the recent pen meltdowns make all the other problems look worse? Take away 3 or 4 recent losses and they're still in first...

Is it the lack of talent from the trade deadline? Let's say the Sox pulled off the Abreu and Lidle deal. How much does it really help them right now? Put Lidle in Johnson's spot and Abreu in Wily Mo's spot. It's a wash right now. Apparently there are some in the clubhouse that were disappointed by the lack of a move (see - veterans that don't have many opportunities left). Don't you find it hard to believe that the front office is so enamoured with its young talent they wouldn't make a move? Please. Theo traded Nomar - the face of the franchise at the time. Would he hesitate to trade a couple young arms for an Oswalt? No. Bottom line is that we don't know what deals were proposed. These deals always look good on July 31st, but how often do they make a difference? Other than 2004, good luck finding one.

So what is really happening here? It's a combination of all those things. Remember that this team has persevered without a 4 & 5 starter basically all season. Your #3 starter was struggling and still sits on the DL. Lester has been OK but only gives you 5 innings. Johnson, Snyder, Pauley, Gabbard, etc didn't exactly give you quality starts. Now the pen is starting to show signs of wear because the starters can't go 6 or 7 innings. Throw in the Tek injury and the dominoes are starting to fall. All the breaks and late game comebacks have disappeared. Anything that could go wrong, is going wrong.

Where do we go from here? They'll need a run similar to 2004 to get back in the playoffs. The skid is not over folks. Wells needs to regain his old form, Wake needs to come back strong, and someone other than Ortiz & Manny needs to step up offensively (Wily Mo?). The question is if this team can weather the storm. It certainly doesn't look good right now. Hang in folks, there's still a long way to go. Let's just hope things turn around before its too late...

The Cardiac Kids...

Another 9th inning comeback. This time it wasn't Papi. Of the 7 walk off hits this season, he has 5 and now Loretta has 2. Your 2006 Sox are now 2nd (believe it or not) with 31 come from behind wins. Hard to imagine anyone else has more, but certainly not more dramatic than what we've seen lately. How can you leave the park early or turn the TV off before the game ends?

The latest rumbling is that the Sox are going after the Orioles catcher Javy Lopez. Apparently he's been put on waivers (was actually asking to be released) and supposedly made it thru waivers all the way to the Sox. They should be able to claim him ($9M salary probably is what got him thru) and not have to give up much to get him. How does this affect Varitek? Probably not as much as you may think. Lopez is a free agent at year end, so he'll be gone. Tek won't come back until at least the first week of Sept, and he wouldn't be as compelled to rush his recovery. Mirabelli is not an everyday player, and will need to split duty anyway (Huckaby hitting just above .200 in AAA is not overly appealing). Once Tek does return, he probably doesn't go back to 4 days on and 1 off either. With the expanded roster in Sept, it makes sense to carry 3 catchers especially when one of them is a thumping right handed bat off the bench. He's been very unhappy in Baltimore and a change of scenery should benefit him. The only questions surround his diminished role once Tek returns and the Sox willing to pony up the rest of his $9M. it only makes sense to do this deal right away.

Wet Balls?
Yup, thats what some opposing players are saying about the baseballs at Colorado's Coors Field. The Rockies are being accused of soaking their balls or storing them in a humidor prior to games. This reduces the flight of the ball especially at that high altitude. Are they really altering the ball, or is it better pitching in 2006? You decide - take a look at stats both home & away the past few years:

2006:
Home: 4.03 Era / 87HR (projected)
Away: 4.32 Era / 53HR (projected)

2005:
Home: 5.13 Era / 84HR
Away: 5.07 Era / 91HR

2004:
Home: 6.27 Era / 110 HR
Away: 4.72 Era / 88HR

2003:
Home: 5.07 Era / 117HR
Away: 5.35 Era / 83HR

Looks like their pitching is just plain better by looking at their HR's allowed on the road this season. If the numbers hold, they will give up more home runs at home than last season. Even if they are "un-juicing" the ball, aren't their hitters at the same disadvantage?

Trade Deadline:
Are you that upset about the Sox not making a move at the deadline? Without knowing specifics of deals, we can't understand why there are so many questioning the front office. The Sox are noted as deadline losers. Are the Sox that enamored with their farm to not make a deal? No. Theo is a smart guy and has shown in the past he's not afraid to move the face of the franchise (see Nomar). But for the most part, deadline deals rarely make a difference. Other than 2004, when did a July trade make a difference in the same year? The percentages are against it and asking prices are sky high with all the teams still "in" the playoff chase. Would you rather a front office that made a knee jerk reaction? How much would Cory Lidle excite you if the Sox landed him? Kip Wells? Jeff Suppan? Please. The deadline is about difference makers. Does Bobby Abreu really make a "difference" or put them over the top? Would he for the Sox? No on both counts.

Another thing we've been hearing all season is that the Sox should have pulled futher away from the Yanks. The Yanks have had significant injuries and had to rely on their young players. Unless we missed something, the Sox have one of their best records at this point of the season since the 70's. They've also had significant injuries including starting pitching. They are relying on their young talent (Lester, Papelbon, Hansen, Delcarmen, Wily Mo) in major roles to carry them. These teams have been very similar all season with the Sox holding a slight edge. The national media is caught up patting the Yanks on the back for staying with the Sox. Well folks, how about recognizing that the Sox stayed on top with a patchwork rotation and injuries of their own? Guess that "perception" is everything...