Opener Marks the End for Sox in Cleveland
Only 10 Games Below .500, No Big Deal!!!
Where in the World Is Tyler (Carmen San Diego) Samaniego?!
After his brilliant performance on Friday night in Cleveland, I am sure that most Red Sox fans wish the answer to that question was somewhere in the North Pole and not with the rest of the team on the banks of Lake Erie!
“Eerie” is the proper way to explain Samaniego’s very brief and painful outing on Friday. Getting the start as the opener for the mentally fragile Brayan Bello, the southpaw managed the amazing feat of bursting the Red Sox fans’ balloon before the team even had the opportunity to start blowing it up! In one awful inning of work, Samaniego gave up six hits and four runs, but as the analytical experts in the Sox front office saw it, he struck out the first and last batter he faced!!!
0-21 When Trailing by Three Runs
As Dave O’Brien reminded us all a few days ago, the Red Sox were 0-21 this year when trailing by three runs or more. So, after the first six outs of the game were recorded, we all knew that the game was over. The only question was whether the pitiful 2026 Red Sox would do just enough to keep the eyes of their fans on the NESN broadcast long enough to appease their various advertisers!
In the top of the second inning, it looked like it might be one of those games where the offense does just enough to get its fans’ hopes up, only to crush them in the later stages. With two outs, Mickey (Mantle) Gasper doubled and was then waved home by some ex-minor league manager now coaching third base after Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio went all Roger Dorn on an IKF ground ball. But it was merely a setup, as Angel Martinez channeled his inner Manny and threw out Gasper by about five yards at the plate. The only thing Martinez didn’t do was high-five a fan before releasing the strike.
The Mop-Up Man Does His Job
From a positive standpoint, Brayan Bello was exceptional for the third of four times coming out of the bullpen for the Sox. Unfortunately, like those two other times, the man to whom the manager handed the ball before him had already given up the ship, and the rest of the game was of minor consequence.
To his credit, though, Bello went seven innings and didn’t allow another run to the Guardians offense. In his evening’s worth of work, he struck out five and allowed only four hits, doing his job to keep the Sox “in it.” But, as we already knew, 0-22 when trailing by three or more runs was a fait accompli.
Just Enough...To Give You HOPE
As seems to be the case with the 2026 Red Sox, they don’t just want to disappoint Red Sox Nation; they want to destroy its spirit as well. Instead of simply rolling over and giving in to the statistical evidence staring everyone in the face, I guess, to their credit, the team didn’t give up.
In the top of the fifth, Gasper, IKF, Mayer, and Durbin all managed to reach base safely with hits, Durbin’s actually being a double! Now, I know many of you might have missed what happened next because you appropriately went over to your thermostats to crank up the heat for fear that Hell was about to freeze over. With two runs in, the score 4-2, and men on second and third with the top of the lineup coming up, it appeared that maybe, just maybe, there might be hope for the Sox.
Not so fast, my friend...
Duran did hit a sacrifice fly, but Durbin wasn’t able to advance to third, and, like always, the Sox were not able to do enough to get that tying run across the plate. From there, the Sox offense went stagnant, recording only four more hits over the final four innings.
The Rule: You Play for the Win on the Road
Well, I guess that is the only excuse that could be made for the Sox in the top of the ninth inning.
After IKF led off the inning with his second hit of the game, don’t ask me, I can’t explain it either, Mayer came up in what seemed like an obvious bunt situation. Then, give your historically bad offense a chance to get one hit out of your next two batters to try and tie the game.
Instead, Chad Tracy let Marcelo Mayer swing away, and swing away he did, right through the third pitch of the at-bat. Caleb Durbin then put up a slightly better battle, striking out on five pitches at least, before Duran completed the hat trick for Guardians closer Cade Smith!
Thank you for coming, turn off the lights before you leave!
The Lost Season
As the calendar is about to flip to July, two full months of the season are now in the books, and the Boston Red Sox are 10 games under .500 and 13 games...13 GAMES...behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East!
They are five games out of the final Wild Card spot, with six teams to jump in order to get there.
With the face of the offense nowhere near ready to return and your ace pitcher still sitting on the shelf, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to believe that the current roster Craig Breslow has provided for our viewing pleasure will succeed in reducing the standings deficit.
It is time to start doing what we can to look toward the future and trade away the assets that we do have before the horror of the 2026 season takes its toll on seasons yet to come!!
Thank you Chapman and Contreras for being professionals on this team of Junior Varsity players, but it is time to send you to greener pastures. The problem is, I don’t think that Breslow will be able to get anything better in return than a rusted over L screen with no net, a dried up pine tar rag, and a rosin bag with a hole in it.
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June is totally forgettable?