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...