When have we seen this before? Sox get a 1-0 lead, then the offense decides to take eight innings off, the starting pitcher collapses, and the Sox lose a game on the MFY. Oh, wait, that’s the script for the past three games! You’d like to look for the bright side in these games. Something like “the starters are really doing well” or “at least the offense is clicking,” but there are two problems with that glass-as-half-full theory. One, the whole team looks like they’d have a tough time holding down a roster spot in Pittsburgh right now. And two, this is a Red Sox blog, what the hell is half-full?

The best thing Sox fans have to look forward to is Clay Buchholz. He pitched extremly well the first game after the break, and that was without his best stuff. (We all remember what he can do with his best stuff.) Last season if he didn’t have everything working he collapsed on the mound. Of course, after a great start he got sent back down to the minors and nobody else followed in his footsteps. Penny is transforming into the 2nd-half Penny we all knew was coming (his ERA traditionally adds almost an extra full run after the ASB), and Smoltz still can’t put six good innings together. Which makes me wonder, in a pennant race that could easily come down to one or two wins, how many more opportunities does Smoltz get to prove that he can be a worthwhile pitcher in the AL East?

As much as I’d like to keep partying over H1N1E6 being DFAed, I must still point out this little statistic:

Red Sox record with Lowrie: 2-5
Red Sox record without Lowrie: 53-32

How much longer until he gets a crappy nickname too…?