Aaaaahhhh!

That's how I feel inside after dropping two to the Yankees and falling 4.5 games back to them! In a gut wrenching loss, the Red Sox fell to the Yankees 2-0 in 15 innings last night. It was the first time since 1976 that the two teams went to extra innings tied at 0. In the fifteenth, with two outs and Jeter on base, A-Rod stepped up and hit a home run off of a young Japaneese pitcher we just called up from AAA after designating future hall-of-famer John Smoltz for assignment.

Its a tough week in general for the Sox. Beside designating Smoltz, a guy who was an automatic win for the Braves for so many years but couldn't find his groove in Boston, the Sox (who are 8-2 this season against the Yankees overall) have lost two series in a row, first to rival Tampa Bay, and now to nemisis NY. Boston falls 4.5 back from the Yankees, but are only 2.5 up on the Rays now.

Life after the All-Star break hasn't been easy. Josh Beckett has really been the only bright spot. First time All-Star Tim Wakefield (after being snubbed of an appearance in the All-Star game) was placed on the DL with a sore back that continues to nag him. Dice-K continues to work out, but last week there was some drama has he was misinturpruted and thought to have been complaining about the Sox's rehab program.

Then there is the trade deadline. Theo (the Sox's GM) is known for making blockbuster moves at the deadline, and sometimes you get the feeling that he's just going through the motions to keep that reputation up. The one year we didn't make a move was in 06 and we fell flat on our faces. So this year he was up to it again. I am really confused about the whole Adam LaRoche thing. Only a week or so after recieving him and taughted as a big bat off the bench, and a team player willing to be a role player rather than a starter, he was shipped off to Atlanta for yet another first basemen, Casey Kotchman, a lesser bat, and more of a life time bench warmer. Couldn't LaRoche have sat on the bench for a season? Or if we were going to trade him all along, couldn't we have found a better back-up for an outfielder or shortstop? Come on Theo!

Our big move was landing Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez. While its great to have him, he plays three positions where we have solid guys already playing, Catcher (Varitek), firstbase (Youk) and DH (Big Papi). So the merry-go-round continues.

The one thing that was glearingly apparent is how we didn't pick up one solid arm. No new starters, no reinforcements for the pen. If we're going to win we need another healthy arm in the rotation. The Sox have sought to fix this problem from within, promoting phenom Clay Bucholtz. While this is a start, I don't believe its the answer. With Wake out, and Smoltz gone the Sox need to search the waiver wire and pick up a second or third Ace. I still hold out hope that Lester will turn things up. He hasn't played horribly, but he hasn't played to his potential either.


Aaaagh!!! That's how I feel about the Sox right now. So much potential seems to be going down the drain. The season's not over yet. I still hold out hope... but I'm getting worried. Come on Sox. Let's do it again!

Go Sox!