Well if Tuesday night’s contest hurt because it felt like an opportunity squandered, last night’s loss hurt because it was just plain demoralizing. Demoralizing in that some of the most talented Red Sox once again failed to make any sort of impact, demoralizing in that some of the least talented Red Sox are still counted upon to fulfill roles for which they are wholly unsuited. Last night was September 28, the Red Sox were in a tie for the American League East lead and Kevin Millar started at 1st Base. A team with serious aspirations does not allow that to happen, not this late in the year. If a team with serious aspirations does in fact allow that to happen as the Red Sox did last night (and countless other nights this season), then someone ought to address the incompetence that provokes one to believe Kevin Millar should have a serious role on a championship caliber club.

For me, one of SoSH’s very best, DieHard3 sums it up.

When it comes right down to it, all Francona could do about the pitching was rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. I have grave doubts that anything they did would have dramatically changed the result. For instance, last night. I agree it was questionable whether to have Schilling pitch the 7th. Anybody honestly think any combination of Hanson, Bradford, and Myers would have held the Jays scoreless until the 9th? And, if they did, what’s the chance of Timlin blowing the save? Ultimately, a moot point.

For what could be a fine reason, Theo Epstein decided not to upgrade the pitching staff at the trade deadline. I don’t really think you can fault that either. For a season, we horded prospects who look like they can be difference makers instead of squandering them on patches.

However, when the final analysis is written on this regular season, and we are a game or two behind both the Indians and the Yankees, the place where the manager can be blamed is at first base. Terry Francona stayed loyal to Kevin Millar through a putrid first half, and was rewarded with an empty stat line in the second half that looks respectable but really isn’t.

Roberto Petagine wasted away at Pawtucket. I think that was worth at least a game or two from June through August. And, if you’re not a fan of Petagine, Jay Payton rotted on the bench while Ortiz stayed at DH and Manny played like a butcher in LF. A few starts in LF for Payton may have made a difference of a game.

Yes, ultimately the problem this year was the pitching. However, pitching help was not available at a price the GM was willing to pay. The team’s offense could have been improved by a manager’s decision. The team’s defense could have been intermittently improved by a manager’s decision. They were not.

For all the haggling over Lenny DiNardo or Manny Delcarmen or Craig Hansen, what are we really talking about? Aren’t Tito’s hands pretty tied with the pitching staff? Absolving the Red Sox altogether for Schilling and Foulke this season would be to let them off too easy - both should have been held out longer than when they made their initial returns from injury - but isn’t the reality that without these two (and Embree) we all should have expected a rocky road this year on the run prevention side? I understand that some different off-season pitching moves could have mitigated the effects of some of these problems but that’s not the point right now. There will be time to address personnel decisions in the off-season (sure would have been nice to have Pedro’s 217 innings this year). Now is time to simply take a look at what might have been done a little differently to have made a difference this year and DH3 nails it. The amount of playing time Kevin Millar logged, with either Roberto Petagine, Jay Payton or both being in the mix all year long, will have cost this team the post-season if they fail to qualify.

As for last night’s game, it was pretty much a microcosm of the stretch run; shoddy pitching, a lacking offense and questionable managing. Bronson Arroyo was not as bad as his stat line will look but he made three absolutely critical mistakes and paid dearly for all three. He hung a slider on the inner half of the plate to Vernon Wells that ended up in the Monster Seats and missed badly with two fastballs to Frank Catalanotto and Eric Hinske, who each homered. Lenny DiNardo and Manny Delcarmen came on to shut the Jays down the rest of the way (woulda been nice to see those two Tuesday night) but the damage had been done. As for the offense, it was really just Edgar Renteria and David Ortiz that provided anything at all. Ted Lilly, though not as stellar as he has been against the Sox in the past, was pretty darn good.

You hate to dwell on something like this but it needs to be said. During the most critical stretch of the season, Captain Jason Varitek has been downright pitiful. He is as much a drain on this club as any player has been at any point during this season. At .171/.284/.200 for September, he’s got nothing on the April version of Edgar Renteria or the May Kevin Millar. And look, he’s entitled to a slump. But maybe this terrible stretch during such a critical time will make people reconsider the personal characteristics they assign to baseball players when they happen to perform well on the biggest stages. Peter Gammons, when talking about Varitek, typically needs to excuse himself he fawns over him so badly. Well what of Varitek now? If he is so clutch, if he is such a fantastic leader, hell if he is worth $40 million through his mid-thirties, why is he wilting like an unwatered, 3-year old houseplant down the stetch?

Managerially, there may have been some pitching nitpicks but I only want to dwell on one move that I found absolutely appalling. In the bottom of the 8th inning, with the score 7-2 Jays, two men on and Trot Nixon coming up, John Gibbons came and got Vinnie Chaulk and replcaed him with Scott Schoenweis, a tough lefty that can get lefthanded hitters out with the best of them. Trot Nixon is a tough lefthanded hitter himself, who can be dispensed by a tough southpaw as easily as some of the lightest-hitting players in the game. Nixon has hit lefties at a .244/.359/.333 clip this year with 4 extra-base hits in 92 plate appearances. Between 2002 and 2004 he hit .220/.293/.348 against southpaws, with 16 extra-base hits in 252 plate appearances. And yet, with two men on in the 8th inning, a five-run deficit, the division tied and the Yankees winning, let the record show that Terry Francona stuck with Trot Nixon as Adam Hyzdu, Doug Mirabelli, Roberto Petagine and Kelly Shoppach watched from the dugout. Again, it’s either a lack of commitment to winning or gross incompetence. Take your pick.

All is not even close to lost, so stay tuned. It will be Scott Downs and Matt Clement tonight at Fenway, while Aaron Small goes up against Erik Bedard down at Camden. At the Jake, it will be old pal Casey Fossum against C.C. Sabathia. The Sox are tied with Cleveland, and trail the Yanks by a game.