The result of tonight's Red Sox-Angels game was not a surprise - at least not to me. I expected that the Angels would complete a three-game sweep of the listless Sox. After all, 13-game winner Joe Saunders was on the mound for Los Angeles, the up-and-down Josh Beckett was starting for Boston, the Angels have been doing no wrong and the Sox seem unable to do anything right. What I found alarming is the final score, and how it was compiled.
Amid the swirling trade rumors about Manny Ramirez, Boston committed four errors and Beckett was thumped in another embarrassing setback for the Sox at Fenway Park. Los Angeles routed Boston, 9-2. This team looks so pathetic that I started writing this post in the sixth inning, when the Angels plated five runs with help from three Boston errors. Tonight marked the seventh time that the Red Sox were swept this season. That is certainly not the sign of a team destined for the post-season.
It is obvious that the Angels are the best team in Major League Baseball, but since the All-Star break, Boston has looked like the worst team in the American League East. Mike Lowell, J.D. Drew, Jason Varitek, Coco Crisp and Jacoby Ellsbury are mired in slumps. Ramirez spends each day doing everything he can to get shipped out of town. Timely hitting is non-existent. And the bullpen is still woeful. The atrocious display of baseball has now infected the starting rotation, which has not received a respectable outing since Jon Lester limited the Yankees to two runs on Sunday. Lester has surpassed Beckett as the ace.
There is little good to write about the Red Sox right now. An off-day followed by a three-game set with Oakland at Fenway brings no favorable news. The A's have the best team ERA, and the Red Sox are having trouble getting hits and scoring runs. Simply put, I'm embarrassed for this team. So much talent, so much disappointment.
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