Shades of 78,86, and 2003

Where does the collapse of this Red Sox team fit in the pantheon of not just historic sports collapses but in the too long list of Red Sox collapses.

In truth 2003 hurt more, it was too the Yankees and it was for a trip to the World Series. Aaron Boone visited with the Sox previous to last nights game. Did no one not think that might be bad karma.

1986 was epic and cannot be touched on the hurt meter. In truth 78 and the collapse was the most like this but even that team won their last eight games to get to a playoff game and showed great heart. Still that hurt more because we loved that team.

Lets be honest. While Sox fans always want to win we are not as invested with this team as we once were. As I wrote before much is the fact that you cannot be as hungry to get married after you have been once, you can only lose your virginity once. The Sox fan of today is just not as hungry.

Complicating matters more is that in search of a team that will win and perform well based on Sabermetrics et all the Sox have built a team that is a bit bloodless. Who do we love on this team. Really?

We are told there will be many changes after this the second year without the playoffs. This might well be true.

I do not write a sports blog so will comment on the Sox here and trust that many Maine folks live and die with the Sox so it is not too out of place.

Will Terry Francona be back. I find it hard to believe that he will not be. Was he any worse a manager when the team was 81 and 42 in between its bookends of a terrible start and finish. Still the question could be asked if this team of stars and expectations was managed properly and properly prepared. It is true that Francona has found a level of comfort managing in the fishbowl that others might not. The question remains one of do you think someone will do better. I think Francona is not the problem though to me it is clear that Curt Young, excellent resume or not, will not be back as pitching coach. Why Red Sox pitchers seem to be made of glass is a question that has to be asked.

Should Theo be allowed to move on to the Cubs. This one is tougher. There are a host of strong GM candidates available from Friedman in Tampa to Cashman to Billy Beane. Epstien has not made good decisions with free agents.

John Lackey, it should not have taken a genius to look at his record outside of the AL West and certainly in the AL East to know that a five year deal might not be wise. Worse yet the money spent on Carl Crawford seems to have been more to prevent him from going to the Yankees than to thinking he would fit this team. It is true that Crawford had been killing the Sox for years but it was also evident that he had been making clear that he did not wish to be a runner anymore, he imagined himself as a power hitter, a number 3 hitter. He is not.

The question of will these two ever do well in Boston always has to be asked. I do not blame the Sox management in the Crawford case. They had no reason to think that Crawford would crumble like he did. I do blame them however for not thinking about the fact that when a fast outfielder loses his speed with age ( this contract lasts forever) he better be a power hitter or an OBP machine to justify himself in the lineup. Crawford's OBP has never been strong in relation to his average and despite stealing ten bases against the Red Sox yearly he had been making noises that he no longer was a runner or did not desire to be. What we do not know is did Francona not trust him to run, if there is a philosophy difference going on. Crawford is now the scapegoat right down to the failed catch last night. He will bounce back next year I would imagine but perhaps Theo should go. Clearly at least to some extent the Sox went away from the Sabermetric answers with both of these players.

Keep Terry, Let Theo go. That is my vote.

To be continued....