So much for a rejuvinated offense

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sport Staff

Yes, Sox fans. It was as ugly as it seemed.

In the six-game embarasment that was the Red Sox' last road trip, they found pretty much every concievable way to lose a ballgame.

But in pretty much all of them, there was one common theme - an extreme lack off offense. And as bad as it looked, when you mull over the numbers, it's enough to make a grown man cry.

Let's start with the basics. The Red Sox managed to score a whopping 16 runs on 39 hits over the six-game stretch. Now remember that two of those games went into extras, so in reality, Boston scored 16 runs in 64 innings. Average that out and the Red Sox scored once every four innings. You can't win ballgames that way. Not against good teams.

Who can you blame? How about everybody? As a team, the Red Sox batted a dismal .176, accumulating just 39 hits in 222 at bats. At the top of the order, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia were unproductive. The leadoff hittter batted .233, while the former MVP was just a shade better at .240. But wait, it gets worse. Here's a list of the Red Sox' key players who laid eggs in the pivotal series.

Victor Martinez: 6-for-26 (.231)
Kevin Youkilis: 5-for-23 (.217)
J.D. Drew: 4-for-19 (.210)
Mike Lowell: 2-for-13 (.154)
David Ortiz: 1-for-18 (.056)
Jason Varitek: 1-for-19 (.053)

Jason Bay was absent for most of the week because of a re-aggravated hamstring injury, but he went 2-for-8, extending his horrible post-All-Star slump. He's now batting .204 since the Midsummer Classic. (In the process, he's become a statistical enigma of sorts. He is slugging just .296, but stil has an on-base percentage of .377 in that time.)

The road trip was one of the worst stretches of offense in Red Sox history, including a scoreless streak of 31 straight innings. At least they avoided getting shut out in back-to-back-to-back games for the first time since 1981.

Say what you will about John Smoltz. The rest of the starting pitching in either series was good enough that they could have won. Jon Lester was superb in both of his starts. Josh Beckett was dominant through seven innings in his start against the Yankees. Clay Buchholz was less than spectacular, but still wriggled his way through six inning to put the Red Sox into a decent position in game three of the Yankees series. Brad Penny did not pitch well, but five runs is not exactly disastrous.

Some could point to the bullpen being the problem, having been tagged with the loss in three of the six games and some of the blame could be placed on it, but consider how much they have had to pitch over those last six games and it's not hard to see that they miss having a long man like Justin Masterson (though I doubt anyone would be willing to hand Victor Martinez back). And had the Red Sox been able to muster anything more than nine hits in the combined 28 innings of the two extra-inning games they played, maybe, just maybe those games could have been a lot shorter.

You have to also tip your cap to the opposing pitchers, especially the Yankees, but some of the blame has to fall on what was supposed to be one of the better, most balanced lineups in baseball. Now the Red Sox sit at a .262 batting average as a team, planting them behind the Seattle Mariners in that department. That's just not going to do it for a team that wants to hold onto its postseason dreams.

Pedroia's plunking could be just the spark

By Jorge Bannister
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Unknot those panties about at least one thing, Red Sox Nation. Dustin Pedroia getting hit on the shoulder in the eighth inning by Mark Melancon was not intentional. Trust me.

The New York Yankees were already up, 13-4. It doesn’t matter that Pedroia had hit a home run earlier in the game. The Yankees were up, 13-4. It doesn’t matter that Melancon threw a pitch over Pedroia’s head. The Yankees were up, 13-4. Note that Melancon struggled after Pedroia, too, throwing a 57 foot fastball to Victor Martinez. And, please, don’t forget, the Yankees were up, 13-4.

I can understand Pedroia’s reaction to the whole situation. He hit a homer earlier in the game and a pitch earlier in the at-bat flew high over his head. He then got plunked high on his left bicep.

I give major credit to Jorge Posada for walking Pedroia down the first-base line to keep him in check. The view inside the Red Sox dugout didn’t look too friendly when NESN scanned — especially the sour look on Kevin Youkilis’ face. (Or, maybe he was just upset he was pulled for a defensive replacement late in the game. He was, after all, playing left field.)

Let’s remember one thing, though. Say it with me, now, “The Yankees were up, 13-4.”

I was surrounded by Red Sox fans when the incident happened, and someone said, “It’ll be interesting to see who the Sox hit.”

Really? Because, home-plate umpire Derryl Cousins had warned both dugouts immediately after the hit by pitch.

No way was anyone going to get tossed in a 13-4 game and risk Terry Francona getting tossed and, subsequently, fined by Major League Baseball.

Obviously, Josh Beckett is going to handle things tonight. The only question is, who is he going to hit?

Derek Jeter seems logical. He’s the same spark-plug for that team that Pedroia is for the Red Sox. However, even with warnings handed out, A.J. Burnett would certainly hit someone in return. No way would he let someone hit the captain without retaliating, right?

This is when things will get interesting.

The Red Sox need a spark — badly.

Question is, can Chad Fairchild — tonight's home-plate umpire — justify throwing out Beckett after the inevitable hit by pitch? If so, Tito would certainly get tossed, too.

That would certainly be just the spark the Red Sox need.