BostonRob

Here I sit searching the internet for answers, a reason, an explanation but nary can a one be found for this catastrophic tailspin our beloved “Boys of Summer” have endured in September. Akin to a bad dream, I hope against hope that I’ll suddenly be jolted awake to find the Sox playing this weekend for a chance to snag first place against the Bronx Bombers. Of course, as it stands, we not only have the Rays breathing down our necks but the Angels have tossed their hat in the ring as upstarts aiming to foil our post season hopes as we tread water with a miniscule 2 ½ game cushion.

The month has been an exercise in futility and the sleepless nights continue as I slip under the covers late each evening with the same confounding disappointment as I did the night before. Venting is cathartic and I have been doing that in a passive aggressive manner by posting articles on the front page to simply justify my feelings of frustration and sorrow as most of those thoughts mirror my own. For the promise of a “Season for the Ages” has morphed into a cruel rerun of a vintage collapse a la ’78.

As I explore the numerous articles, blogs and interviews surrounding this, a couple of things are really beginning to grate on my nerves. First off is the “Clay Buchholz Magical Mystery Tour”. Please…enough already. He is not going to pitch again this year in a meaningful manner so let’s give it a rest. The cavalry is not coming over the hill, folks. Yeah, let’s stick a guy who’s never come out of the bullpen in the pen for the playoffs? Does this make sense to anyone? I’d like an explanation if so. He’s been “spring training” sore in September with a fractured vertebrate in his back. Let him recover for our “Wait til next year” run. If this is all the organization can offer to ease my pain, forget it!

Secondly, is John Lackey. Hey, I tried to root for him but the fact of the matter remains he has been horrible and will go down in Sox history as having one of the worst seasons of any Red Sox starting pitcher - EVER. If I hear one more time “I felt great in the pen. My stuff was good. I don’t what to tell you.” I’ll scream. That puss he wears that looks like he sucked on a lemon when Terry comes to mercifully wrestle the ball from his hand is tiring as well. “Hey John are you tired?” Nope. “Well, your fielders are. Hit the showers”. He continually lays that 92 mph FB in the heart of the zone fearlessly and it has literally no movement at all. Occasionally he’ll yank that crappy slider way wide of the zone to right-handers just to keep them guessing. Inevitably, the result is always the same as testament to his 6.50 ERA.

Thirdly, I die a little more inside with each and every start Kyle Weiland makes. I feel sorry for the kid and I have been wondering, much like David Ortiz, why Aceves hasn’t been starting. Oh, that’s right. We have to keep the losing differentiation at a minimum after our starters continually shit the bed in hopes that the offense can deliver the win. How’s that been working?

These percentages that managers play such as that lefty vs. righty scenario also have caused me immeasurable discomfort. In one game Reddick and Crawford were on the bench and we had Darnell “The Future’s So Bright, Gotta Wear Shades” McDonald booting balls in right and retread Conor Jackson in left. We are in a playoff race and Crawford is sitting on his wallet in the dugout. Play your best Terry for all that’s good and holy. At least Jackson showed great hustle with a diving catch in left and hit a Granny. Maybe that woke Carl up as he was a homer away from the cycle last outing.

And finally, a shout out for Tim Wakefield. That’s right I said it. For those wags that seem to think we sacrificed the season for Wakefield’s pursuit of win #200, time to smell the coffee. He wasn’t any worse than the underachievers that were being trotted out to be bludgeoned. Wake's ERA for this month is 4.95. As for the rest: Lackey ...gulp...10.75, Miller... *cough* 13.00 and poor Weiland at 7.95 I don’t want Tim pitching meaningful games in the playoffs but if I had a choice between Wakefield and John “I Feel Fine” Lackey. I’ll take Timmy, passed balls and all.

So there it is RSN. Thankfully there is no game tonight so I may rest easy before our tour of Gotham. Maybe I will stay in bed until September ends. Green Day said it best:

“Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when September ends…

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when September ends.”