“It was too cold in the clubhouse”…”It was windy on the field”…”I was getting squeezed”…

Embarrassing. What happened on the field the past two days was bad enough, but the comments from the starting pitchers only made it worse. Are these guys serious? Borrow a pair of balls from one of your teammates (maybe Arroyo or Schilling) and just say you gave it up. That you let your team down. Go ahead, you can do it.

Derek Lowe was given the perfect exit strategy when he was hit in the leg with a line drive. The back of the leg. Hey Derek, why not try to get a glove on it? At least it saved us from having to hear about “the blister” which I’m sure was getting ready to make a return. And Pedro – even more disappointing. Maybe because the expectations were so much higher and it was the rubber game – the difference between a two-and-a-half game deficit or four-and-a-half.

And where was the offense during all of this? Almost no-hit by Jon Lieber on Saturday, only to be completely shut down by Mussina the next day. Where were all those vulnerable Yankee pitchers? And why in God’s name was Jason Varitek in the game yesterday? He was 0-6 with 5 strikeouts on Friday and Saturday. And yesterday – 0-4 with three strikeouts.

I could go on, but I won’t. Consider this post my therapy – and I’m sorry you all had to sit through it with me. Tonight it’s Wakefield against Baltimore – and I may need another session tomorrow.