Losing to Detroit is bad enough. Losing a one-run game to Detroit is excruciating. The record for this road trip — which we’d figured would be a cakewalk for a newly-recharged team playing the likes of Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Detroit — is now 3-4 with two left to play.
Not good for a team with playoff aspirations. But we may not have to worry about that for much longer. The Sox are now 2 back in the Wild Card standings, and a more-or-less insurmountable 10 1/2 games behind the Yanks in the AL East. Dude, we were supposed to win the division this year! Who didn’t get the memo??
The story last night: no timely hitting. The Sox left a staggering NINETEEN men on base, including a bases loaded whiff by our man Cabrera, who was himself responsible for stranding six in a completely unimpressive 0-for-5 showing. He’s like Pokey without the occasional hit! Cool!
All in all, they just look so inept. So incapable of making things happen. Able to creak out a hit here and there but unable to build up a big inning. Listless and lifeless, plodding along from one game to another.
We need Ortiz back, and we’ll have him today. We need Manny to get his home run stroke back (guy was on pace for about 60 at the All Star Break. What happened?). We need zip and zim and chemistry and something to spark this band of spare parts into a team. Most importantly, we need to win the next two games. We absolutely, positively need to take these two games.
As simply as I can phrase it, a $130 million team going less than .500 on a road trip to Detroit, Tampa Bay and Minnesota is inexcusable.
