These last five games have been extremely difficult to watch. I can see maybe losing two games to the Rangers, but two games to the Cleveland Indians is ridiculous. The Indians are simply not that good. Their bullpen is horrible.

Everyone is asking "What is wrong?" Boston.com wants you to tell them what manager Terry Francona should do to right the ship.

I've already offered some advice. In fact, I saw that Francona changed the lineup, switching Mark Bellhorn and Bill Mueller. (See the Red Sox site about the "reshuffle") Hmm, I wonder where he got that idea. Projo.com states Mueller doesn't mind hitting eighth. The move will take some time to produce results. I hope Francona sticks with it. Each of them got on base twice in Tuesday's game. However neither of them scored.

The Red Sox finally showed a little pop, both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon hit home runs. Damon's home-run, his first of the year, scored three as the Red Sox tried to rally in the ninth. Ramirez had another shot earlier in the game, but ended the game with a strike out. The Plain Dealer writes about the Betancourt/Ramirez face-off. Bummer. I can't fault Manny. His first shot was huge - 459 feet. By the way, Manny was not grandstanding. The Plain Dealer has an interesting take in its game summary.

According to Boston.com, the Red Sox have not started 0-5 in May since 1976.

This losing streak all started with Pedro's comments. The team is in disarray. All are wondering what the future holds. The media is all over it; they love it when the Sox are flustered. Foxsports.com is asking whether Pedro is a baseball diva. Projo.com's Bill Reynolds wants Pedro to "shut up and pitch." I want it all to stop.

Let's get back to the here and now. This Red Sox team has a shot to do something that no other has done in 86 years. The outcome of these last few games have been influenced by talks about money and contracts and perhaps a virus.

I hate it when players and management use the media to fight their battles. I know it makes for good television and sells newspapers, but it's dirty. As with everything, there is always two sides of the story. Today Boston.com writes about how insurance policies may affect contract negotiations. Wow, are these details important to baseball fans? Who cares? Did Red Sox management leak this? Who else would have thought about insurance policies?

Now, sports agent Scott Boras, who represents Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe, doesn't want to negotiate their contracts until the end of the year as well. Fine. Stop bogging down the season with all this nonsense. I care if these guys go, I truly do. But I don't want to think about it now. I'm sure the players don't either. This all should have been done in the off-season or should be handled starting in November. All the players are under contract now, so play ball.

Red Sox fans have to put their faith in Byung Hyun Kim. Scary isn't it. We have seen Pedro, Schilling and Lowe all lose and now hope that Kim is the stopper. How things have changed. He will face Cleveland's Jeff D'Amico. I'll put the past behind and support Kim. Things need to turn around and fast. Last night's ninth has given me a little hope. Go Sox!

Today we also say goodbye to Darrell Johnson who managed the Red Sox to the 1975 World Series vs. the Big Red Machine (Cincinnati Reds). Johnson died Monday at the age of 75. ESPN takes a look at the former manager's career. I'd like to take a moment to thank him for his contributions to the Boston Red Sox.

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