If, you know, you’re a complete moron!
I liked April a lot more than I’ve been liking May. How
about anyone else? But, I’m curious. When did being tied for the lead in the
division in mid-May qualify as a problem? Isn’t this more than we all hoped for
at this point? So, what’s the issue?
I know, they’ve lost a lot of games lately. But, we all knew
they were going to lose games, right? They weren’t winning them all. They
weren’t even going to keep their 120-win pace they were on for a while. Right
now, they’re on pace for 97 wins, after the poor showing against the Twins.
Honestly, that’s probably unrealistic. But, it’s certainly more reasonable.
What people have to keep remembering is that ending a season
with a .600 winning percentage does not mean you win six out of every ten
games. It doesn’t mean you win three out of every five. It just averages out to
that over a long season. Maybe you lose one, win four in a row, lose three in a
row, then win two. Or, lump the losses into an even longer streak. But, then
win in greater bunches after that. People seem to think that if the team is
expected to finish with a .550 winning percentage, then that’s what they’re
going to have the rest of the way. This is why people got so uptight with slow
starts. Starting off 0-6 doesn’t mean you’re in a hole. It just means your
losses bunched up at the beginning. That’s all that happened with the Sox.
Their losses just bunched up this last week. They’ll get some bunches of wins
at some point. It’s just the way seasons work.
Not with this bullpen! What happened to all the depth?
Yeah, that’s the other one I’m hearing. What happened to the
bullpen that was so dominant? It’s still there. It’s just in a down patch. What
happened to the depth? They’re using it right now. Depth means that your two
closers can be on the DL, but you still have two guys who can close games for
you. That’s why you had the depth. So, you can withstand an injury or two. This
week has just been a bit more extreme than others. The two injuries stacked up
on each other, and wore out some of the other members. It’ll get back. Lackey
actually did a great job last night of at least going long enough to let some
guys get some rest. That will breed more rest. If a guy’s not tired, he’ll
pitch longer, so the other guy can rest, and it will all build on each other
from there. What if there’s another injury? Yeah, that would be annoying.
Chances are it won’t happen. If it does? Nothing you can do about it anyway.
The injured players will be back at some point.
So, I don’t know what people expected at the end of April.
Did they expect 120 wins? Do they think the Sox will need 120 wins? Did they
thing the bullpen was going to shutout everyone the rest of the way? Did they
think Buchholz was going to keep his 1.11 ERA?
If they did, they have problems. People and teams are what
they are. All the little highs and lows will even themselves out at the end. Barring
sweeping season ending injuries, the numbers will speak for themselves.
Just be patient.
Good points. The season is long and full of highs and lows. I don't think the Sox are the April team nor are they this May team. It's probably somewhere in the middle, which is hopefully close to 20 games or so over 0.500. The key this year is something they never really had last year and that is good starting pitching at the top of the rotation. Lester, Buch, and even Dempster have been everything anyone could ask for. If they keep it up, the Sox will stay in contention. Most predicted the AL East would be a tight race and they were right. Should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteAre you concerned about isolating some of your readers?
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a relatively intelligent person but I am at least looking for the panic button.
ReplyDelete