Have We Hit Rock Bottom?
Like so many others, I’m sick to my stomach. Sharp objects are probably being kept away from Kenny Williams and we know Ozzie well enough to know he’s due for a tirade.
Although we’re still in April, the noble “All In” philosophy of 2011 is on the verge of collapse unless a turn-around comes pretty quickly. After a 3-8 road trip, in which we scored 12 runs in the last seven games, the South Siders are already seven games out of first place. The much talked about offensive firepower has virtually been reduced to getting standing ovations for getting a runner on base. This is the curious, inexplicable reality of what has happened to a team once thought to be destined for greatness.
The first two games against the Yankees gave fans reason to think that better days might be ahead. The pitching was excellent, the defense was solid (thanks, Brent Lillibridge) and the Sox scored just enough to win. Even though the Sox lost Game 3 of the series, it was there for taking. Again, it was the offense.
Then, there was last night and the 12-3 debacle. I’ll spare most of the details, but it was ugly. To make matters worse I witnessed it in person. Trust me, it was real ugly. Edwin Jackson couldn’t find the plate and the offense (sound familiar?) was a no-show. All you need to know is that the Sox had runners on second and third with nobody out in the first innning and couldn’t score. It was similiar to the night before when we loaded the bases in the second inning with none out and came up empty. So we can’t chalk it up to the fact yesterday was get-away day.
My good friend Jeff Graubard, a Yankee fan who invited me to the game (yes, I socialize with the enemy on occasion), thinks that a whipping like this might signal the club has hit rock bottom and will spur a winning streak. Jeff knows his baseball, even though he has bad taste in teams, so I’m counting on his wisdom.
Let’s see how wise he is, starting tonight at home against the Orioles.
mlblogsartofthepalehose
When I turned the game on yesterday and we were losing 2-0 with our pitcher throwing a no-hitter, I pretty much decided that we were at the pinnacle of rock bottom.
It’s probably a good thing that I am not a manager. Because, right now it would be a toss-up between actually trying to come up with a cohesive line-up that *should* work and putting everyone’s name into a hat and pulling out names in a random order. Because I now officially think that it can’t get any worse.
-K