Red Sox Struggle Again, Lose to Orioles
By Brian Phair
A few weeks ago, Boston Globe writer Peter Abraham laid out 3 potential paths for the Red Sox. The Sox were at the point of no return and had only a small chance to make the playoffs, so it was up to the Sox front office, management and players to determine what the rest of the season would look like. The 3 scenarios laid out were: 1) Play hard and make a push towards the playoffs even if it would take a miracle, 2) Just get by and finish out the season winning around 50% of their remaining games or 3) Give up, play flat and free-fall into the off-season. My assumption at the time was that we would see many more young players get significant playing time and the team would be solid, not great and not poor. The players and coaches have too much pride to slump and just fade away, right?
In their last 23 games, the Red Sox have gone 10-13 (.435). Over that span, they have posted a 4.34 team era with 16 home runs allowed while the power Sox offense managed just a .256 team average with 28 home runs and 144 strikeouts. The home run total is the only impressive stat of the past few weeks and 8 of them are thanks to potential free agent catcher Victor Martinez. Think he is going to make big bucks next season? The team has looked flat and been uninteresting these past few weeks and after winning 4 in a row on the west coast, have lost 4 of their last 5 games, all to AL East foes (Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles). The Sox are teetering between option 2 and 3, barely holding on to a OK record in the final 6 weeks of the season.
Of course I understand the team the Sox are putting on the field is not their 1st tier squad for many reasons. The 1st and main reason is injuries, but their 2nd and almost equally important reason for having a lesser lineup is to get some of their young talent exposure. The Sox front office is smarter than people realize, as they have a knack for ‘showcasing’ players they are putting on the trading block at this time of year. The more playing time you get this September does not necessarily lead to more playing time next season, at least not in a Red Sox uniform. It seems likely Lars Anderson and at least 1 of the Red Sox young outfielders will be on the trading block this off-season, especially if the Sox hope to bring in a top notch bat or another high level pitcher. Honestly, every single player is on the block, just some players would need a monumental deal to go elsewhere. Depending on what happens with the Sox free agents Adrian Beltre, Victor Martinez and David Ortiz, the team may have a bit more money to go after highly rated free agents as well.
Every move for Theo Epstein is calculated and purposeful. He knows the team he has and knows the trade value of all of his players and will sacrifice a young potential star if the deal and timing is right. One thing I respect about him is his intent to protect his young talent, but also his knowledge about when sell high because the end result will likely help the team in the long run. The more I think about this off-season, the more excited I get about the possible moves and the more nervous I get about the uncertainty. Maybe more than in recent years, the Sox have many major moving pieces. Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek are 4 potential major free agents and when you add in the retirement of Mike Lowell, the questions surrounding Jacoby Ellsbury and the continuous issues around Dice-K Matsuzaka’s tenure with the Sox, we could see a big shakeup entering the 2011 campaign.
Either way, I hope the Sox can squeeze out a .500 record down the stretch and not fall flat on their face like the recent trend. There is no need to add insult to injury (literally) in 2010 after the roller coaster ride it has been already. The Sox have 1 more chance to salvage the Orioles series on Wednesday night, because a sweep would just open the wound a little more.