By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)
It’s a lot more fun sitting in front of the computer and writing happy, happy, happy. This isn’t, of course.
Living together in the gloom and doom of this Red Sox season has taken some getting used to. But I think we expect it now. Realistic, but true. Blame seems to be a short term fix, and there is plenty of blame to go around.
Point to whatever you see as the cause of this mess. Owner not spending enough money… NO. General manager making decisions based on what he was told by his so called baseball ops? Probably, some.
I always thought general managers make the call no matter what info is given to them from above (Billy Beane). Older players? Lets face it, Ortiz is both loved and questioned about his personal goals, which many think override the team. Probably some truth and blame there.
Pedroia, the silent one who has to be personally concerned that the laser show is not the laser show anymore. There was a time, and we all remember, when the guy batting second and playing second was at the top of the opposite field clutch hit, with occasional surprise real time laser into the monster stuff. Where have you gone Petey?
Betts and Xander are the future. Hanely is becoming very much a problem. Can't or wont field his position. Why does he bother to take his glove into the outfield? He hardly ever uses it. How is this for a description of the fans feelings at the moment? Too much money, too little performance.
It's truly painful, in fact, going to the dentist might bring on more laughs, cheers and applause. This is not a problem you can throw money at, unless you pay half their salaries and dump the guys you don’t want around at the trading deadline.
It truly has been disappointing, and that really doesn’t cover it.
How to move on now that we have gotten to this place? Just do it. Come to terms with your own disappointment because you are in charge of you. Tell yourself that you were led astray by a media that has no clue about their solutions for this problem either.
Mediocre pitching, brutal clutch hitting, disappointing Clay, Panda, Papi, Hanley, Koji, Nap time, and on and on.
Farrell? I really think the fact that he has had no winning seasons as a manager except 2013 is a telling piece of information. John Farrell is a smart, articulate, serious guy charged with interpreting why today's loss was understandable and blah, blah, blah. He is likable enough and not exactly your typical manager, but he does talk more and say less than most.
So it's not August yet and time to move on. Come to grips with it. Give your tickets to those who have never been and who won't be offended by their play.
Now warming up on the sidelines, TB12 and Goody Goodell, who has been brutal himself. So it's turned into a nice summer. The US open is coming back to the Country Club and the Olympics are somewhere else we hope. It's been a strange little trip over the past few years. How can the 2013 championship and last year's Super Bowl be celebrated and enjoyed?
What have you done for me lately has become the mindset. It's not necessarily fair, but money will do that. Both in salary and ticket prices. Hard to enjoy what is supposed to be a distraction when the teams are doing the distracting.
Our every day problems/issues seem to pale when we try to figure out what ails our distraction. All theories welcome.
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