| 22 April 2010
Coming into the 2010 season, we knew we were going to have to endure a large number of nail biters. With a lighter offense, the Sox were going to lean on the pitching staff to hold opponents to 3 or 4 runs per game.
Seemed like a piece of cake with a rotation full of aces, right?
Well, after fanning 9 through 6 impressive innings, Clay Buchholz eventually imploded in the 7th, while the Red Sox were held to four bleepin' singles by this guy:
And just for good measure, after Buchhy coughed up two quick runs in the 7th, the Rangers opted to test that fancy "run prevention" defense we constructed in the offseason with a bunt and a guy on third. Not only did the run score, but the buntER got all the way to third thanks to a quick game of hot-potato between Buchholz and "Gold Glover" Adrian Beltre.
Oliver shut the door in the 9th and the Rangers snapped a 6-game losing streak to close out the series. No come backs. No magic. Just ugliness and frustration... and that guy up there.
The Sox pulled two wins out of their ass in this series, and I commend them for fighting to the bitter end, but the reality is, the Rangers aren't that good - it shouldn't be this hard to win a series against them.
The Sox are now 18th in runs scored (65) and 13th in BA (.252) and OPS (.762). They're also 23rd in ERA (4.73), 21st in OPS against (.768) and have allowed 65 free passes, good for 7th in the league.
Bottom Line: The Rays and Yankees won't keep winning at a 75% pace, but the Red Sox won't even sniff the playoffs if they keep this up.
Thank God the O's are coming to town.
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