Real Estate Report

    I can't even begin to think about real estate.  We've got more important things to worry about.  The Red Sox lead over The Team Whose Name We Shall Not Write is down to 7. And they no longer have the best record in all of baseball. 

   I know what you're thinking.  "What's his problem?"  "They still lead the A.L. East and they are 7 games ahead not behind."  "It's only mid July."  Clearly you don't understand.

   The warning signs are all there. Over the last 45 games the Red Sox record is something like 21-24. The trouble apparently started when Dan Shaughnessy wrote an article May 30 in the Boston Globe in which he just about crowned the Sox winners of this years World Series.  Faithful fans will recall that Shaughnessy is the kiss of death for any successful Boston team, our own version of the SI cover jinx.

   Now friends from New York who were conspicuously silent when the lead was 14 games, are only too happy to be in touch.  Oh sure, they try to make it sound like it's just old friends getting together but we all know what's going on.  They smell blood in the water and the sharks are beginning to circle.

   I thought when the weather got warmer Big Papi would start to hit but instead we're hearing about "torn meniscus" and "playing in pain".  J.D. Drew was supposed to make us forget about Trot Nixon but he's hurt (big surprise there) and even when he was healthy I didn't see anything that said "I'm worth $70 million" .  Willy Mo can hit a fast ball no doubt about that but the pitchers in the A.L. East have figured that out and he's getting a steady diet of breaking balls and other junk which he can't hit. Julian Tavares was forced into the role of 5th starter when Theo couldn't find a closer and had to move Papellbon back to the job.  Papelbon is doing his job but it's time for Tavares to go back to the pen and bring one of the young arms up from Pawtucket (Jon Lester?).  The little guys (Lugo, Crisp and Pedrioa) at either end of the order are getting on base and playing pretty good defense and Mike Lowell continues to make the Marlins look dumb for saying he was all done but as a team there are way too many runners being stranded on the bases and the starting pitchers are prone to that one bad inning (see:Matsusaka, 6th inning last night) that can kill a comeback.

   So don't tell me that the lead is still 7 games.  Remember  a certain 5 game homestand last August?  Remember a ground ball to first in Game 6?  Remember Bucky F. Dent?  I want to see Manny slowly rounding the bases.  I want to see Papelbon breathing fire and pumping his fist to end games.  I want a huge lead and I don't care if it is July.  Everything changed after 2004.  We can't go back to the way things used to be.

   Honestly, it's enough to drive a man to drink.  And I don't mean Moxie.

Jim Cosgrove

 

Comments

[Tom]

Jim,
Ye of little faith! Last night (10 to 3 against the White Sox?psyched!)may have been the turnaround moment for the slump. Tito played it brilliantly. Get thrown out in the first inning so that the pitcher and the team decide that the White Sox will not score again? And is a team that drives you to drink a bad thing? Get the cooler out of the garage because there are a lot of games left in this season.

[Jim Cosgrove]

Thanks, Tom. I guess I must be the anti-Shaughnessy as the Sox are 4-0 since this post and not one but two lefties have come up from Pawtucket (Jon Lester and Kason Gabard) and both of them look like they belong in the rotation. We're also 8 up now on those other guys.
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