After the Boston Red Sox' third consecutive loss to the last place Baltimore Orioles last weekend, rumors of a clubhouse rift began to surface. Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia made reference to how tough the losses were to take for the players who had "been here before". That may have been difficult for players such as Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro and Victor Martinez to hear, but Pedroia's on to something here.
Pedroia's words seemed to light a fire under the Sox, as they swept 4 games from the also-reeling Los Angeles Angels this week. But this weekend, the Red Sox are right back to their losing ways, getting embarrassed by the "walking wounded" Yankees on Friday and Saturday. The Red Sox are now 1-8 against their main competition in the A.L. East, the Rays and Yankees.
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein put a lot of effort into improving the team's defense this past off-season, but what he clearly didn't ask himself was, "Are these players winners?"
Beltre, Scutaro and Martinez specifically are used to losing - coming from the Mariners, A's and Indians respectively. Outfielder Mike Cameron hasn't been on a winning team since the 2001 Mariners. And John Lackey just doesn't look comfortable yet out of his familiar Angel uniform. And even he is 8 years removed from his 2002 World Series game 7 victory.
The Red Sox still need some new blood - some winning blood.
Some suggestions? How about David Eckstein? He has two World Series rings and a World Series MVP, and is now toiling for the soon to be fading San Diego Padres.
Old pal Kevin Millar, while he may not have much left, would at least add some fire to the clubhouse. He's currently playing for the Independent League's Saint Paul Saints.
And on the pitching side, how about former Boston starter Bronson Arroyo, whose salary the Reds would love to unload. He's an innings eater who's proven he can handle the pressure cooker of Boston.
One thing's for sure. If the Red Sox don't do something soon, the Yankees and Rays will soon be leaving them far in their rear view mirror. As Yogi Berra would say, it's gonna get late early.
0 comments:
Post a Comment