I saw a number of headlines this morning as I was watching Dennis and Callahan on NESN — headlines that said the Red Sox season “is on the brink” or “is on the verge of unravelling.” Um… where have these people been? This season is so far over the brink they can barely see it anymore, and it had pretty much unravelled by the All-Star break. Kiss that second wild card spot goodbye because guess what? You sort of need to beat the teams ahead of you to actually gain ground in the standings. And clearly that’s not happening.

Is my disappointment showing this morning? Sorry… but I think at this point, I’ve moved past the disappointment to full-on anger. I am pissed off. It would be one thing if the Red Sox sucked but maybe this was a rebuilding year and everyone was still trying so hard. Maybe the heart and drive were there, but the talent was missing. That’s what infuriates me — this team HAS the talent even with the 8,437 players on the DL. What they lack is heart and drive. And what they need is a swift kick in the ass.

This season is done. I used to be a glass-half-full type of gal, but bearing witness to this debacle of a performance by this team has made me a pessimist of the highest degree. With the childish crap that has gone on, I’m surprised no one has thrown themselves on the floor of the dugout in an arm-flailing tantrum — although I half expect to see Dustin Pedroia to do this before the end of the road-trip.

There used to be a handful of guys I actually admired on this team. Now I hate everyone.

Honestly, I almost can’t even bring myself to write a recap for last night’s pile of turd. The Red Sox lost 5-3 — in case that wasn’t clear. The frustrating part? After five innings, the Sox had a 2-0 lead, Aaron Cook was cruising right along, flirting with a no-hitter. They actually looked, dare I say, good. And then, the proverbial shit hit the fan. An occurrence that has become far too frequent of late.

The Orioles scored five runs in the sixth inning when Cook botched a throw to second that easily would have ended the inning with a double play. Awesome. Unlike some pitchers on this staff, Cook took ownership of the loss in his post game interview.

“Yeah, I feel awful,” said Cook. “I let the team down. We’re trying to win games, and that was a game we should have won. We lost because I made an error.”

The Sox came back in the top of the seventh with A run, but you could almost hear the fizzle as there chances of a comeback died. Why? No heart. *pffffft pffffft pffffft* I bet you could even hear that noise on TV. I probably would have totally heard it if I hadn’t fallen asleep on the couch, obviously to spare myself having to witness such a pitiful effort.

If you really want to check out the box score, it can be seen here. I don’t recommend it. Tonight, the Red Sox and Orioles finish up their three-game series with Clay Buchholz on the mound — truly the one of the few pitchers I have an iota of confidence in. Don’t let me down, Clay.