Red Sox Journal
Opening Week, April 7, 2011
The Red Sox have lost their first six games of the 2011 campaign, the last a 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians in which Darnell McDonald was tagged out at second base to end the game. McDonald had come in to run for David Ortiz, after Big Papi drew a 2 out walk. The game ended with a single by J. D. Drew, which bounced off the pitcher Rafael Perez and went to 3rd baseman Adam Everett. Mcdonald was over-eager rounding the bag, and a snap throw by Everett to second baseman and Red Sox 2004 champion Orlando Cabrera caught McDonald napping.
It seems early that the Red Sox are out to lunch, with a similar bone-headed lapse by Jason Varitek in the previous game of the series. In the sixth inning, with the Red Sox down 3-2, and the bases loaded for the Indians, a line drive was hit to Kevin Youkilis at third. Youk either trying to force a double play, or just taking his eye off the ball for a second, dropped the ball, and raced to third to get the force play. The runner at third was called out, so the play to home was now a tag play, and the throw came in to Varitek, who was confused and thought that it was still a force play. He neglected to tag the runner Travis Buck, who scored to make it 8-4. The next batter, Asdrubal Cabrera, knocked one into the seats off reliever Dan Wheeler, and just like that it was 7-2. The Sox would go on to lose that game 8-4.
So with a sweep at the hands of both the AL Champion Texas Rangers, and the lowly Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox head home to face the New York Yankees. The team has just not hit the ball at all, with Carl Crawford leading the parade of stink this year, hitting just .211. This early in the season though, with almost 6 months of baseball still to be played, is not a time to panic.
Yet the Red Sox have not started this badly since 1945, when most of the major league baseball players were helping out in WW-II, and one-armed men and dwarfs getting their shots at major league glory, if just for a day. The upcoming Yankees series may define the 2011 BoSox.
— Roman Llimar
