That Hole Just Got Deeper…

Predictably, the fan base in New England was apoplectic following the opening weekend disaster in Texas. This was obviously not the start fans had hoped for following the long and dreary offseason. The “fellowship of the miserable” was in midseason form judging by a number of callers to sports radio. Chad Finn’s post in the Globe was a great reminder of putting things in perspective. Some people seriously need to take a deep breath and/or get a life. Now, the team moves on to Cleveland for three looking to pick up the pieces and move forward.

Game 4 at Cleveland (4/5/11):

The (1-2) Indians are a struggling franchise. Gone are those glory days when Jacobs Field had just opened and the house was packed every night. These days, the crowds in Cleveland resemble the old “Mistake By The Lake” years. On a very chilly evening, the manager shook up the lineup once more as Crawford was bumped up to the #2 slot in the batting order and Pedroia was moved to the three-hole. Josh Beckett started for the Sox against Josh Tomlin. The game started promptly at 7:05 and the stands were 90% empty. Tomlin struck out Crawford and Pedroia to close out the first. Pedroia was hopping mad over the called third strike and was fortunate not to have been tossed. Michael Brantley doubled to right leading off the bottom of the first. Beckett then struck out Asdrubal Cabrera and Santana hit a long drive to right that Drew hauled in on the warning track. With two outs in the second, Ortiz walked and Drew doubled to right. Saltalamacchia then singled to right, scoring Ortiz but Drew was thrown out at the plate. In the bottom of the third, Brantley and Cabrera walked and each stole second but Beckett came back to strike out Choo. The Tribe tied the score in the fourth when Travis Hafner doubled and scored on Orlando Cabrera’s single up the middle. Beckett then walked Kearns and, with two outs, Hannahan drove in Cabrera with a single. Asdrubal Cabrera led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and scored on Santana’s sacrifice fly to left. Hafner then walked (as Beckett went over 100 pitches). Matt Albers came on to pitch the bottom of the sixth and struck out the side. Jenks entered in relief in the seventh and he also struck out the side. Tomlin was finished after seven and turned things over to Tony Sipp, who easily retired the side in order. Chris Perez entered in the top of the ninth and put two runners aboard before Ortiz lined out to left and the Tribe won, 3-1. The Sox are now out to their worst start since 1996…

The boo birds are already out in force after the 0-4 start, which is understandable given the lack of patience among many around these parts. They look at the Yanks having gotten off to a flying start and wonder what’s wrong with the Red Sox. It’s an age old question. After four games, the Sox are collectively hitting .182 and the three of the four starters have gotten whacked around but good. Beckett did not pitch all that badly in the opener at Cleveland (though he ran a high pitch count in five innings’ work). Chances are high that the team will hit and the starting pitching will settle down. Last year, the Sox lost 9 of their first 13 and the year before, lost 6 out of their first 8. This team will find a way of turning things around; just give them a little time.

Game 5 at Cleveland (4/6/11):

It rained heavily in Cleveland in the hours leading up to the game but the precipitation stopped about an hour before game time and things started on time. If it were possible, by the looks of things even fewer fans showed up for this game than did last night’s. Daisuke started against Mitch Talbot and Varitek got his first start behind the plate. In the top of the first, Crawford (now batting second) singled and stole second but Gonzalez struck out swinging to kill that threat. Michael Brantley singled leading off the bottom of the first and the Shin-Soo Choo hit a two-run homer to right-center. It was a fastball down the heart of the plate and Choo crushed it. Daisuke then walked Hafner and hit Orlando Cabrera as he was already up to 25 pitches. The Sox loaded the bases in the second with one out as Ortiz and Drew singled and Varitek walked. Scutaro then hit a Baltimore Chop into no-man’s land and beat out the throw with Ortiz coming in with the Sox’ first run. Ellsbury then grounded out to first with Drew coming in the back door with the tying run. Talbot then walked Crawford to re-load the bases but Pedroia lined out to third. The Tribe went back on top in the bottom of the second as LaPorta singled leading off, Brantley walked with one out and Asdrubal Cabrera singled in LaPorta. The “Baseball Code” demands retribution, so Pedroia was hit by a pitch leading off the third. Adrian Gonzalez then ripped a double to left. But they were left rotting on the vine as Youkilis and Drew struck out. Crawford walked leading off the fifth and stole second. With one out, Gonzalez received a free pass and Talbot was relieved by Chad Durbin, who struck out Youkilis and was then relieved by lefty Rafael Perez. Ortiz then grounded out to first and another chance went by the boards. Daisuke was finished after five and turned things over to Dennys Reyes, who promptly hit Travis Buck. Reyes then hit LaPorta off the foot and then walked Hannahan on four pitches. Exit Reyes, enter Wheeler. Brantley then lined out to third and Youkilis deliberately dropped the ball to set up a force at home, but the umpire ruled that he intentionally dropped the ball, allowing the runner at home to score with the runner out at third. The manager came out to lodge a mild protest, but it didn’t matter as Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run bomb to right to make it 7-2, Tribe. Things just got real ugly in a hurry. The Sox then picked up a couple of runs in the seventh when Crawford reached on an infield hit and Gonzalez hit a long two-run homer to right. Wake entered in the bottom of the seventh and struck out Hafner before easily retiring the next two batters. In the bottom of the eighth, LaPorta launched a knuckleball onto the concourse above the leftfield grandstand to make it 8-4. The Sox went down meekly in the ninth and now they’re 0-5…the Sox were 1-10 with runners in scoring position.

Game 6 at Cleveland (4/7/11):

On Thursday afternoon, the Sox wound up this miserable road trip in fitting fashion as they lost 1-0 in a pitchers’ duel between Jon Lester and Fausto Carmona (0-1). Are we still “all in”? First off, both starters threw brilliant ball games. A heavy fog rolled in off the Lake and it was only 38° at game time. The Sox left runners on first and third in the third when Pedroia flied out to center. Saltalamacchia threw out Santana trying to steal second in the fourth on a nice pick by Pedroia. Lester came back to strike out Kearns to end the inning. Lester then struck out two more in the fifth, giving him 7 k’s so far. Lester struck out another two in the sixth. Shelley Duncan doubled off the wall leading off the bottom of the seventh. Saltalamacchia then made a fantastic diving catch on Kearns’ foul pop behind the plate. Scutaro singled with one out in the eighth and Ellsbury walked. Both runners moved along on Crawford’s grounder to third but Pedroia grounded out to the pitcher to kill that rally. The Sox are now 7-44 with RISP and have 35 LOB’s. Bard entered in relief in the bottom of the eighth and Adam Everett walked and stole second when Saltalamacchia’s throw landed in centerfield. Orlando Cabrera bunted Everett over to third. Asdrubal Cabrera then laid a perfect bunt down the third base line and Everett came in with the game’s first (and only) run. With two outs in the ninth, Ortiz walked and McDonald entered as a pinch runner. Drew then lined a sharp grounder off the pitcher’s leg and it looked like he’d beat it out but McDonald overran the bag at second and was thrown out by Everett trying to scurry back in time.

What can you say? Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

“We’re still all in”.