I have a hard time writing "worst team in baseball," when referring to the Kansas City Royals. It is obvious, at least these last three games, that they are better than advertised.

What is going on?

The Sox have put a bunch of crooked numbers on the board but somehow, someway have found a way to lose.

There is simply no way that Boston should be losing these games. No matter how much I'd like to believe that Kansas City is a major league club that is capable of beating the Red Sox, on paper it is not true. Sure on any given day a team may beat any other team, but thrice? Give me a break.

Perhaps some, like the Hartford Courant, may look at the onslaught of injuries as a factor. But every team in basebll faces injuries. It is a fact of professional sports. If injuries were indeed the reason than we would not see the Yankees atop the division.

One may be inclined to blame the losses on individuals: Lester on Tuesday, Papelbon on Wednesday, Schilling on Thursday. That's way too easy. A team wins as a team, loses as a team. Papelbon may have faced a different situation if the passed balls or wild pitches didn't allow a run. Javy Lopez is still learning the pitching styles of the staff. The Boston Globe writes about his learning curve. Sure Schill was tiring and should have been relieved, but at the start of the eighth he had not thrown 100 pitches. And well, I've already written about the young Lester.

I strongly believe that the inaction at the deadline is resulting in losses. Not wanting to mortgage the future, the organization opted to perhaps sacrifice the season.

I don't by the fact that they didn't want to part with Manny Delcarmen or Craig Hansen or any number of other minor league players. They traded two potential stars this year already (Hanley Ramirez and Andy Marte). Those two "prospects" were higher on the charts than the two "rookie" pitchers.

The Sox have been filling holes with water instead of cement (i.e. Jason Johnson).

Now, the Yankees are three up and the Sox are two games back in the wildcard.

All is not lost. There is still plenty of baseball left. Coming back to Boston will most certainly help, though watching David Wells on the mound may be more painful than watching the last five games.

A side dish:
According to the Kansas City Star, Maine's own Gov. Baldacci is sending 41 lobsters to David Ortiz - one for each of his home runs. Apparently Big Papi likes his seafood, so the lobsters are a way to entice the slugger to come and visit the state. Eat well.

E-mail this entry to a friend