Not an Ideal Second-Half Start

Well, that wasn't the best way to start the season's second half.

After a strong closing sprint up to the All-Star break, the Red Sox dropped all three of a west-coast set against the Angels, a team they've dominated in key situations across the past four years. With the two teams entering the series with the best two records in the AL, it seems fair to assume this was a big series (though Angels reliever Scot Shields took pains to say it wasn't).

Evidently something's changed.


The bigger trick is figuring out why Boston didn't dominate Anaheim the way it has in recent years. Friday night's loss can be chalked up to another nervous start from Clay Buchholz (isn't this post starting to make a scary amount of sense all of a sudden?) and on-field theatrics of high comedy from noted interstellar aficionado Manny Ramirez. Saturday and Sunday's losses, however, are a bit more unsettling.

That's because in both games, the Sox were set up to walk away with wins. On Saturday, with the afternoon cameras of FOX broadcasting the game across the country, Josh Beckett took his foot off the gas in the eighth inning, letting in four runs to surrender a two-run lead that seemed completely secure entering the frame. A day later, Tim Wakefield turned the same trick with the help of Manny Delcarmen, who once again failed to get a couple key outs with runners on base late in a game.

It's hard to tell which of the losses is more crushing. Boston certainly expected to win the Beckett start, even with Angels All-Star Joe Saunders starting opposite him. But while the team may have not expected a win with Wakefield on the mound, his ability to regain his control after two gopher-ball homers in the second inning would have been a perfect bounce back to a tough series.

In the end, determining which loss is more damaging is a bit like having an AA-veteran trying to pick out a martini at a vodka bar: whatever you choose, it's going to set you back. Way back.

That's a direct correlation to the Boston bullpen's inability to get key outs in key spots, a disturbing trend that was magnified in the eighth inning last night with young Manny Delcarmen on the mound. With each blown lead, it becomes more and more apparent that Boston actually will have to be active at the trade deadline. The Sox need a cocky power arm -- preferably a lefty -- and they need it fast. Hideki Okajima isn't the lock-down set-up man he was in '07, and while reports that his change-up is finally returning for the first time this season are encouraging, they can't ameliorate the general sense of panic that is setting in throughout the Boston bullpen. Terry Francona isn't comfortable enough with David Aardsma to push him into such a pressure-packed situation, Craig Hansen is still too inconsistent and there's absolutely no one else for Boston to turn to.

So who can they get for the stretch run? Stay tuned, there's a couple weeks coming to sort that out.

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