156 games

Here we go again.

The Red Sox have started out 1-5, a game better than their start last season. This year, they've lost a number of games that could have been theirs. Yes, it's early. Yes, it's a long season. Yes, the Red Sox will probably be fine. But every game counts. Allow me:

Game 1: @ Detroit, L 3-2. Sure, it's Justin Verlander, but if the Red Sox want to consider Jon Lester to be some of the best in the game, they need to play like he is. Lester pitched well, giving up one run in seven innings. Unfortunately, Verlander pitched better. The reigning AL MVP and Cy Young shut down the Red Sox offense, but the bullpen left the door open, giving up two runs in the top of the ninth. What started as an extremely promising bullpen, now reduced to an enormous question mark, gave up a run in the bottom of the inning to lose the first game of the season. The combined line of Padilla, Melancon, and Aceves: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, and a loss. So much for that bullpen.

Game 3: @ Detroit, L 13-12, F/11. This was one they had a chance to win. Twice. With a three-run lead. Twice. In a game they really didn't deserve to win anyway, the Red Sox still should have come away with a win. Alas, the bullpen blew it yet again. Aceves looked awful, facing his three batters. Watching the game, I kind of had this horrible feeling that Miguel Cabrera was going to hit it 400 feet on the first pitch. I hate it when I'm right. Then it was Melancon, who everyone thought was going to close once Andrew Bailey went down, up next. Another three runs later, the number in the loss column changed for the third time in as many games. The Red Sox had lost the near-five-hour affair due to terrible pitching in the bullpen. Credit the Tigers for being an extremely good overall team, but this is a series that the Red Sox absolutely should have come out of with at least one win.

Game 6: @ Toronto, L 3-1. Lester's pitching line for the season after today's loss: 2 GS, 15 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 10 K. Respectable. Two quality starts. Worthy of an expectation of one or two victories. However, Lester's record currently stands at 0-1. This is because the offense has provided him with a total of one run over those 15 innings. Lester's run support was second-highest in the majors last season, and only managed 15 wins out of it. Hard to imagine what could happen if the Red Sox average anything under 4 runs a game for the ace.

But it's not that this team is losing that's pissing me off, it's how they're losing. The kind of baseball the play makes me almost want to not root for them. They take themselves out of opportunities to get breaks, which is one of the biggest keys in baseball. Nick Punto got himself in a rundown between third and home after running on contact with the infield in and less than two outs, in the final game of the Detroit series. Bad baserunning that led to an out. An out that would have scored, and would have later given the Red Sox a win. If luck really is where preparation meets opportunity, then the Red Sox need to prepare better. They have the opportunities for success, but aren't a good team at doing things with them. That's how the 2008 Rays were so successful; they were a team that capitalized on the bases. That's how the 2010 Giants were so successful; they had a pitching staff that limited the opportunities of the other team.

Like I said, it's a long season. Maybe Bobby Valentine just needs a week or two to find the best way to light a fire under the Red Sox. I know that he'll manage this team differently from Francona. He'll put this team in a position to win, but then it falls on the shoulders of the players. This team can be good. But it can't afford to spend the entire month of April figuring out how.