Eye of the Hurricane
Here it is folks: the losing streak. Four and counting as well as six of their last seven after dropping their third straight to the A’s last night. Before this week, the Sox had lost back to back games only twice. Yet, they are maintaining a huge lead in the AL East. Bravado? Check.
If anybody in the division was playing solid baseball there would be cause for concern. Frankly, if anyone in baseball (outside the NL West) was playing well I’d wringing my hands and sweating like John Kruk. The Jays and Rays are leading the East over their last 10 with six wins. The Angels and A’s have fared slightly better at 7-3; but the only division setting the world ablaze is the NL West. The DBacks are winners of 11 of 12 and 15 of 17. Unfortunately for Grandma Mildred and Grandpa Seymour out in the dry heat of Pheonix, the Padres have come out on top in 12 of their last 14. Our East Coast powerhouses are rolling over like scared puppies, and the NL Worst has become baseball’s best division.
Thus is the nature of the game. The 116 win Mariners of 2001 had a four game losing streak, including three straight to the A’s. Let’s keep it right there. Good teams (and good managers) take rough patches such as this in stride, and gain some perspective. To function properly over the long haul, a little adversity is good.
3:35 EDT: Schilling (5-2, 3.91, 1.38) at Blanton (5-3, 3.81, 1.13)
Joe Blanton threw a complete game (3 H, 0 BB) shutout his last time out. Schil struggled through five, giving up 9 hits (2 HR) and four earned. Draw your own conclusions, they’re not a mystery. A win this afternoon would go a long way to convincing me to trust Schilling in a big spot.
Both my co-worker and I agree that this is the best we’ve ever felt during a Red Sox losing streak.
The most promising thing is that Matsuzaka and Wakefield both bounced back from bad starts to have decent starts.
And, Youk continues to rake, no doubt powered by that 70′s porn-muff he has on his chin.
Go Chin Muff!!!!!
(Excellent analysis by the way, couldn’t agree more)
PS- I submitted “the daily chin muff” for youk’s blog name, keeping my fingers crossed
we got the win from schilling. everyone feels better. the only one feeling badly is Lugo. He cost Schilling the perfect game.
I am still concerned about the lack of production from crisp (although his fielding may be worth the price) and from drew. drew is just as advertised. good column.