August 10 - Beat by the Rays, Swept by the Royals

 The Red Sox turn to David Wells to stop the skid and prevent another mediocre team from getting the best of them.  After seeing their beloved Red Sox get beat by the Devil Rays and brutally swept by the Kansas City Royals, two of the worst teams in baseball, Red Sox fans are now praying for a wildcard berth.
    The oddest fact of the two series was that the Sox did not beat themselves.  They did not make a dozen errors, walk ten batters per game, leave numerous men on base, or hang curveballs over the middle of the plate.  With the exception of Papelbon, the Red Sox did nothing less then can be expected of them.  Since when did David DeJesus hit a double every time a 90 MPH fastball was left up in the zone?  Since when did Runelvys Hernandez's worst pitch in a game be a 0-2 curve that caught too much of the outside corner?
    The question is, did the Rays and Royals suddenly run into a streak of exceptional playing, or did the Red Sox hit the wall and collapse?  Or, the most unfortunate explanation, are the Red Sox early overachievers who are now playing the low end in the law of averages?  Perhaps this is the best that can be expected of an injury infested Red Sox team that entered the season in serious contention for a second place finish in the divison.  A team thats second starter's ERA is hovering around 5.  A team which suffered the loss of three of their starting pitchers, their starting catcher, right fielder, center fielder, their preseason closer; and endured short absences of most of the rest of their starting lineup. 

 How much hope remains?  The Yankees are about to be restocked, and will soon feature the major's best lineup.  Randy Johnson is shaking off his early season woes, and Corey Lidle appears to be a perfect fit for the Yankees.  Varitek is out until september, Merribelli's average is below the mendoza line, and Javy Lopez has been nothing short of absolutely dreadfull since joining the Red Sox.  Liriano's injury sheds some light on the wildcard, but the White Sox appear to be as strong as ever after winning their series with the Yanks.  Few question the possibility of the Red Sox winning of the division, but even fewer give them better than 3:1 odds.  If the Red Sox are to play in October, they will either need the White Sox to play their worst, or themselves to play their best.  The way things are going, neither appear too likely. 

    Manny and Ortiz are going to produce.  That is the only given fact.  Papelbon, Wells, Lester, Beckett, Lopez, Timlin, Hansen, Loretta, Coco, Lowell, Youkilis, Johnson, Gonzalez, and Pena are all questionable.  Tavarez and Seanez are unlikely.  If they all play the best they have played this season, the Red Sox may be able to start selling playoff tickets before the end of September.  If not, they might be playing in front of an empty ballpark during that month.  If a few of those players can get very hot the Red Sox may still have a small flicker of hope.  In my opinion, every starting pitcher as well as three of their starters other than Manny or Big Papi need to play their absolute best in order for the Red Sox to catch the Yankees.