Just call them the Manila Folders.
TORONTO - Maybe if the Yankees weren't involved, it would be different. Maybe, despite another mind-numbing Red Sox defeat, this one featuring a grand slam surrendered by Jonathan Papelbon in a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays last night, Sox fans might be more inclined to squirm through a history lesson, one that has nothing to do with the numbers 1, 9, 7, and 8.
This lesson hasn't even had time to collect dust. A year ago, the Detroit Tigers took the lead in their division May 21, led by as many as 10 games Aug. 7, then blew it. They lost their last five games of the season, all at home - the last three to the Royals, 100-game losers - and had to settle for the wild card. They were lousy the last month of the season, going 12-16.
Then they shocked the Yankees in the first round of the postseason, rolled over the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series, and played in the World Series. No one even notices there isn't a divisional flag flying in
Comerica Park. Then there were the Cardinals, who had a seven-game lead in the National League Central a year ago today, then lost seven in a row and eight of nine, their lead shrinking to a half-game, before they righted themselves. The Cardinals won the World Series.
So, would anyone in New England like to take a deep breath, especially with the Sox' magic number to qualify for the playoffs just three after the Tigers were swept by Cleveland?
I'd take a deep breath, but I'd be afraid of inhaling the vomitus I feel building. In truth, I'm not that pessimistic ... yet. I do know the history of the Tigers and Cardinals last year. I know that in '04 the Sox won the Series as a wild card entrant. But it's very painful to watch May 29th's 14 1/2 game lead inexorably disappear. It's not just that the Red Sox have blown games that were all but won, but that the Yankees have righted their listing ship so dramatically to have played about 28 games over .500 in the last two months.
I've felt all along that the Red Sox starting pitching would be the thing that carries them. But that starting pitching has a very narrow margin for error, as it was obvious that their offense was somewhat suspect after the first two months of the season. A lineup featuring this year's JD Drew, Julio Lugo, Coco Crisp, and Jason Varitek has big holes. That Mike Lowell has produced beyond expectations and Dustin Pedroia has put up Rookie-of-the-Year numbers are the only things that have kept them scoring runs at all. The Sox can be pitched to aggressively, which is something you can not say about the Yankee lineup.
The bullpen is beginning to worry me, however, with Hideki Okajima's outstanding year marred by the giveaway to the Yankees last Friday, with two consecutive lefties crushing "fast"balls to the far reaches of Fenway Park starting off the fatal eighth inning. On the last two consecutive nights in Toronto the pen gives up game clinching runs to the Blue Jays, with Eric Gagne (pronounced "Gag-nay" in this case) the object of the Nation's scorn two nights ago and Mike Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon wearing the horns last night. The Gagne trade has, in a word, stunk.
The ship could be righted simply by scoring some runs, which hopefully will occur with a night off and a trip to Tampa, but even better would be the return of Manny Ramirez, hitting more as he is accustomed and less as he has for much of this year. They will make the playoffs regardless of their finish, and they will be dangerous if the starting pitching produces as it is capable. But Red Sox Nation is waiting, hoping, for the torpor to end, and end soon.
