Fading... Fast

I honestly made a blog for this specific topic, the Red Sox historical collapse that hangs in the balance as I type this blog.

September: 5-18 (Pending tonight's game @ NYY), 6.09 ERA

You didn't read that wrong. 6.09 ERA. Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Wakefield, and whoever else Tito Francona throws out to the wolves on any given night. As a die hard Red Sox fan, my respect has grown for Clay Buchholz as each game goes by this month.

If you watch any Sox game during this catastrophic month, it never seems like they can go an inning without getting into some kind of trouble. Sometimes I find myself wondering, who in the world has cursed us now? Which is the most unfortunate part of being a Red Sox fan. This collapse could possibly overwrite the sheer glory felt in 2004 and 2007. They could quickly become the same ol' Sox. Free agent acquisitions, most notably Adrian Gonzalez, and an allegedly "upgraded" bullpen had many fans and writers penciling the Sox in the World Series come late October.

In my opinion, this collapse essentially comes to down to two major issues for the Sox. The most obvious problem: the bullpen. Matt Albers has channeled his inner Kerry Wood. No matter what situation Albers is brought in, there always seems to be a few runs added onto the scoreboard for the opposing team. Next, Daniel Bard and Jonathon Papelbon. Bard started off in the same fashion as the team: very shaky. He found his groove once April had passed. Papelbon had a string of months where he had not allowed a SINGLE run. In September, you ask? Bard and Papelbon have both cost the Red Sox crucial games. Bard against TORONTO, and Papelbon to Robert Andino and the Baltimore Orioles. The bullpen has been highly criticized throughout the season, but these two were the rocks that got the job done. They are now in the same conversation as the not-so-great Matt Albers. Ouch.

Reason No. 2: Injuries.
Hasn't the injury bug seemed to bite the Red Sox quite often over the last two seasons? Injuries were the only thing that held the Sox out of the playoffs last year. They are now accompanied with poor, poor pitching, but this problem still lingers. J.D. Drew, Youk, Pedroia, Ortiz, Gonzalez, Lowrie (More than once), Crawford (he can be considered a problem by himself), Beckett, Lester, BUCHHOLZ. These are the big names that have had nagging injuries and/or missed a chunk of time over the season. Not a lot of teams can stay in the playoff hunt with a large list of injuries, but the Red Sox have managed.



Hopefully, the Sox will not throw their playoff chances away on their own.