22 games

I don't get it. Maybe we need more time. Maybe it actually is Valentine's fault. Maybe our pitchers just suck. But right now, Felix Doubront is the best pitcher on the Red Sox. And he has zero wins in three starts this season. And a 3.94 ERA. Giving up 1.50 BB/H per inning pitched.

Our 9th inning man (Andrew Bailey) is out until the All-Star Break. Our 8th inning man (Daniel Bard) is in the rotation. Our 7th inning man (Mark Melancon) has an ERA well above the barometer. Our 6th inning man (Alfredo Aceves) is in the 9th inning role, having posted TWO outings of 0.0 IP with 3 or more earned runs. And it's still April.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this team? We're 2-2 in games where we've scored 9 or more runs; 2-3 when allowing three or fewer runs. We're a game ahead of the Royals (3-11) for the worst record in the MLB. I don't care what I said last week. After that post, the Red Sox reeled off three wins against the Rays, only to drop their next five against AL Pennant contenders (one against Tampa Bay, a two-game set against Texas, and the first two of the weekend series against the Yankees).

The one glimmer of hope is the upcoming schedule. After tonight's game against New York, Boston will play Minnesota, Chicago, Oakland, Baltimore, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Seattle. Twenty-two games over seven series. If the Red Sox want any chance to make a run back to the top of the AL East, they have to do it now.