Don't Everyone Panic Just Yet:

I know the Red Sox have been playing lousy lately. In listening to some of the radio shows, some people are starting to panic. I'll admit, it was nice seeing the Sox play a clean game last night using their regular lineup and giving us a sneak preview on how they intend on using the bullpen. But, even if they had kept their losing streak intact over the weekend against lame duck manager Eric Wedge and the Indians, I really don't think it would have mattered much. They are in good shape going into the post season and despite national pundits forecasting their swift exit, I really think the Angels are the team to be worried right now. More on that in a future blog post.

The Red Sox have been in a state of constant adjustment these last few weeks. Adjustment #1 has been the gradual understanding that Jason Varitek will be a bit player in these playoffs. After acquiring Victor Martinez at the deadline, I really think Theo, Tito and many Sox fans thought that taking maybe 15-20% of Varitek's workload away would spark up his bat and keep him fresh for the playoffs. This has proven to be a completely false statement. Varitek's bat has gotten worse (hard to imagine it getting worse than it already was) and his defense seems to have dropped off. Most opponents these last several weeks have turned their baserunners into track stars and have given even the slow footed the green light to run. Varitek by far has given up the most stolen bases in the league this year. And, yes, Red Sox pitchers are instructed not to mess with slide steps too much, but Varitek's average time getting the ball to second of 2.2 seconds gives even a slide step pitcher no chance. His arm is shot and his reaction times are dulled. This has been hard to watch, his decline has been ongoing the last 18 months, but it has accelerated almost at the level of my previous employer's downfall!

Another reason for their lackluster play lately is pretty obvious as well. The injuries to Lester and Beckett and the refusal of the Sox to overuse their key bullpen guys have put some truly putrid options out there. Theo has been running himself ragged looking for mop-up guys in the organization (Kyle Snyder would look good now). Watching Hunter Jones, Dustin Richardson and Fernando Cabrerra put gasoline on most every fire has not exactly been inspiring to watch. Theo has had to play games with the 40 man roster including DL'ing Tazawa and Aaron Bates to get some guys up with some kind of a pulse. They even had to designate my boy Chris Carter for assignment earlier this week to get Cabrerra here. Paul Byrd will be able to take the the mop-up role going forward, but these last several weeks have been brutal. A short outing by Lester, Beckett missing a start, Wakefield crippled out there, etc. has put the Sox in unwinnable situations.

All this being said, I really like the starting pitching going into the playoffs. Lester's injury might have been a blessing. He got some rest and also only threw 80 plus pitches last night. He should be refreshed. Beckett missing a start can only help him. He had pitched a bit better his last few times out after a tough 6 week stretch. Buchholz has been very solid and will be starting game 3 at Fenway. Dice K really has given them 4 pretty solid starts since coming back from the fat farm. They have made a conscious effort to not overuse Papelbon, Wagner, Bard and Okajima these last few weeks. How they got to Papelbon last night will likely be the blueprint for the playoffs. Use Bard and Wagner to get the tough 7th and 8th inning outs. Okie, Ramon Ramirez and Saito are no slouches also. This shapes up as a team strength as long as they leave Manny Delcarmen back in Hyde Park or in the bullpen.