You could almost hear it over the television… pfffft-pfffft-pffffffffffffft… as the Red Sox completed the home portion of the 2012 season with yet another loss. This time, 4-2 at the hands of the still battling Tampa Bay Rays. They ended up finishing with a ghastly record of 34-47 at Fenway, the worst since 1965, and surely not the best way to celebrate the park’s 100th birthday.

Jon Lester flirted with a no hitter, breezing through the first four innings. But, as has been the case all year, it was just not meant to be. He quickly lost the no-no and the lead with back-to-back homers in the fifth by Carlos Pena (a two-run shot) and Ben Francisco. I have to think that if this were any other season, giving up four runs wouldn’t be such a tough hill to climb for the Sox. They would battle back and take games like this with ease.

The line up that struggled to eek out just two runs on four hits last night is a line up very different from the line up that opened this 2012 season. Only three players from Opening Day were present — Dustin Pedroia, Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. And unfortunately, some of those big bats, whether they’re on the DL or have been shipped off to another team, have been significantly missed over the past few months.

I’m convinced this season is cursed. Maybe it’s the curse of Tito, who sits at home with his trifecta of voodoo dolls that eerily resemble John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino. Or maybe it’s the curse of Bobby Valentine, who most likely actually is a voodoo doll controlled by some unknown devious force hell bent on ruining my beloved Sox. Whatever it is that made this team suck, I truly hope it is exorcised in the off-season. And by exorcised, I mean firing Bobby V.

In other news, some good news actually, Jason Varitek has been named Special Assistant to General Manager, Ben Cherington.

“Jason was one of the most respected players of his era and will be a key voice as we move forward,” general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement. “He will be involved in a number of areas, including Major League personnel decisions, evaluations, and mentorship and instruction of young players. We are fortunate to have him in this role.”

This is the first step in putting the heart back in this team… when Varitek retired, I’m convinced he took the team spirit with him. I have every confidence this move will greatly benefit the front office and give them a better understanding of the inner workings of the club house. Could they possibly be grooming Tek to be skipper some day? I sure hope so.

Rest in peace, Mr. Pesky… (Photo by me.)

I’m not going to bore you with yet another account of how the Red Sox lost AGAIN… or how Clay Buchholz, who has been pretty much lights out lately, had one of his worse outings of the season. If you would like to torture yourself with this information, I’m sure this box score will be quite helpful. I actually was lucky enough to not have had to sit through another painful display from a team who obviously just doesn’t give a shit. So guess what? I don’t give a shit either. I went to see Def Leppard, Poison and Lita Ford last night — much less infuriating.

So instead, I’m going to tell the tale of how this 2012 Red Sox team has managed to disappoint me more than they have in a very long time. Maybe ever. Sure… last September was a major disappointment. I mean who doesn’t get frustrated with a team who throws in the towel with a month left to the season to eat fried chicken and get fat in the clubhouse? And yes, there have been other seasons where our hopes and dreams have been dashed — but most times, it’s not for lack of trying.

But this one takes the cake.

Johnny Pesky’s funeral was this past Monday in Swampscott, Massachusetts. According to Google Maps, Swampscott is approximately a half hour from Boston. The Red Sox organization provided busses to transport players and personel to the funeral services for a man who spent over 60 years with the Red Sox organization in some capacity or another. A man who just about everyone who goes to work at Fenway Park everyday loved dearly. So that would be what — three hours or so out of your day? This was an off day for the Red Sox, who had arrived home in the wee hours of the morning from a long, unsuccessful road trip.

Do you want to know how many current Red Sox players decided to don a crisp black suit and hop on the bus to honor an old friend?

Four.

Four players attended Mr. Pesky’s funeral.

I know…

Those four — David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, Vicente Padilla and Jarrod Saltalamacchia — will be the only players I will not shoot death rays out of my eyeballs at the next time I’m at Fenway Park. Everyone else is fair game. Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett — I’m looking at you bums first, when my death rays will be at their most powerful. Was just wearing the #6 on Tuesday night good enough for you? You should be ashamed.

WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan show interviewed Larry Lucchino this morning and naturally, this was a topic of conversation. According to an article in the Boston Globe, Lucchino did nothing but make excuses for the absent players. Of course he did — you know, they did just get in at 4am that morning from a looooong road trip. The full interview can be heard here:

“There was a tremendous turnout at Johnny Pesky’s funeral,” Lucchino told listeners on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan show. “We had over a 100 people there in terms of ownership, front office, current players, staff, former players. It was a very impressive turnout. I think the people who knew Johnny best had came to it. Our players will have had a chance on Tuesday night to participate in a ceremony on the field — they all willingly and enthusiastically participated on that date — and then there’s going to be another memorial service. So I think it’s unnecessary to focus on that issue.”

I’m sure the lack of current Sox players was glaringly obvious to those in attendance. It really saddened me when I heard the news this morning. But hey, let’s mow a #6 in the grass behind short stop and call it good.

Tonight, the Red Sox and Angels wrap up this three game series with Franklin Morales trying to salvage at least one game of the series, against CJ Wilson. I’ll be there… eyeball death rays in full force. Don’t be surprised if players start dropping dead on the field.

This entire episode – the July meeting in New York, the text messages from Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia, the entire soap opera that is a below-.500 team finding the gall to blame its issues on its manager – has taken an even more bizarre and blatantly uncommunicative turn.  Yesterday, instead of addressing the issues head on, talking straight with the media and the fans, and giving Red Sox Nation any smidgen of hope that ownership had its hands on the wheel of this Titanic, we get this, from Larry Lucchino:

“We are very concerned about a breach of confidence in this matter because in the 10 years we’ve held these meetings, we’ve never had information leak like this.”

Really, Larry?  Your most pressing concern in this matter is that, basically, someone told on you?  That’s the big takeaway here?  Don’t you think that’s a little… out of touch?

Look, Larry, I’m no public relations maven, and I don’t work for the Red Sox.  I’m a lawyer, like you, and I have the same training you have.  I see what you’re trying to do here: group people with opposing viewpoints together behind a common cause, get them all angry at the Other Guy, find the Other Guy, destroy the Other Guy, invite everyone out for a celebratory drink together, revel in newfound satisfaction.

But, this time, it’s utterly transparent.  Nobody cares, really, about who leaked the story of the meeting – it will probably remain a mystery forever, along with what was in those shakes in the Dominican Republic (David Ortiz is on it, and will let you know), the identity of the chicken and beer snitch (Josh Beckett’s on the case, folks!), and why Heidi Watney really left town (I’m going to just leave that one alone).  A lot of internet whodunit commenters think backup catcher Kelly Shoppach spilled the meeting on his way out of town.  Who cares?

Let’s say we learn that the snitch is Kelly Shoppach.  Big deal, it’s Kelly Shoppach.  That doesn’t change the substance of the meeting, and it doesn’t change the obvious rampant discord up and down the Sox organization right now.  It seems to me that it’s far more important to address WHAT was said, than it is to bluster about WHO said it.

And, it’s amazing how quickly the players have toed the company line on this.  Ortiz, one of the last vestiges of 2004, the guy everyone looks to when the team needs a boost, said the following:

I hope it’s not someone on the team. Maybe it’s coming from outside. A lot of this stuff comes from outside, from people who we never see here. It doesn’t come from the reporters who cover the team because they know what’s going on.

Note that Ortiz didn’t address the actual point, either: whether there’s a disconnect between players, management, and the front office, and where in the system the fault lies.  He’s blaming the media – just not the beat writers who play a huge role in forming and maintaining his public image.

And, from Bobby Valentine, the victim in this entire exhausting vortex of doom:

Seriously, what is there to say at this point?  The Red Sox kicked off their trip to Texas with an excruciating 9-1 loss last night.  Felix Doubront – who until his last few starts, had been quite possibly the lone beacon of hope in the Red Sox starting rotation – couldn’t get it together, and the Boston offense just fell off the planet.

Jon Lester: big name, small game.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was the lone bright spot, when he powered a home run to right center field in the second inning.  The Rangers, who are currently the best team in baseball, put up four runs in the third inning, though, care of an Elvis Andrus single a Josh Hamilton double, and a Michael Young single, with an assist from a throwing error by Dustin Pedroia.

But wait!  There’s more: in the sixth inning, Mike Napoli hit a two-run home run, and then two singles and a sac fly quickly got the Rangers three more runs.  Meanwhile, Rangers fill-in pitcher Scott Feldman – who the Red Sox should have hit around with their eyes closed – put up seven great innings of work, allowing seven hits, one run, and no walks en route to five strikeouts.

I don’t even want to talk about this game any more.  Here’s the Cliffs Notes version: four-game skid, Texas and New York coming up, fielding errors, miniscule offense, continuously depressing starting pitching, all from a team with the marquee names to do much better.

Here’s what I do want to talk about: the trading deadline is a week away.  The Red Sox are a game under .500.  Obviously, they have the talent to win on paper.  But, how much longer can the front office keep the faith in Boston’s chances on paper this year?  Because in the end, paper doesn’t really matter: what happens on the field matters.  A team’s potential is really only as good as its last game, and this team’s last game was horrible.

Could they turn it around?  Sure.  The second wild card spot’s still very much within Boston’s reach, but at this rate, it’s anything but guaranteed.  Will they turn it around?  I don’t know: Larry Lucchino’s “varsity” is pretty much back, and there’s been no seismic shift in this team’s play.  The starting rotation has the same problems it’s had all year; the offense can’t keep it together for more than a game or two at a time (Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury are nice additions, but they can’t hit for nine spots in the lineup); and the regulars we’ve been so used to counting on (ahem, Dustin Pedroia) just can’t really be counted on right now.  Andrew Bailey’s still not back from injury, that’s true – but as far as I can tell, the bullpen’s far from this team’s problem.

This one’s hard.  This organization’s become used to winning, used to making a splash, used to getting the free agents and trade pieces it needs to put together a dominant squad.  But at the same time, they haven’t sniffed the postseason in the last two years.  They’re coming off an almost awe-inspiring late-season collapse that’s hung over into this year.  They have big names, but none of those big names appear to have any big game.

I say, the Sox should be sellers at the deadline.  Move some big pieces, give Bobby Valentine the flexibility to try some new things, and give some Pawtuckians a chance to show their big-league bosses their skills.  If nothing else, it’s fun watching the Will Middlebrookses and the Pedro Ciriacos of the system compete, and compete well.  But, if we’re looking at another two months of blockbuster names petering out, this team’s going to get very tough to root for.

See the title to this post?  That’s pretty much the takeaway from last night’s game.  The Red Sox sported some obvious holes in their lineup (most notably, Adrian Gonzalez ceded first base to Mauro Gomez last night – word is that he still doesn’t feel well) but pulled through for a strong win out of the All-Star break gate.  The Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1, bringing them (wait for it… wait for it…) one game over .500, and putting them a game ahead of Toronto in the AL East standings.

Welcome back, Jacoby Ellsbury – we missed you. (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

The marquee line on this game was that Jacoby Ellsbury finally made his long-awaited return off the DL, playing in his first game since partially dislocating his shoulder back on April 13.  He flew out to left in his first leadoff at-bat, but finally got on base when he dribbled a seeing-eye ground ball past second base in the seventh inning.  It’s good to have Ellsbury back – even if he doesn’t do much for a while, the simple fact that all Boston’s injured players are starting to make their reappearances will inject some life into this team, and into this fanbase.

Oh, on that note – yesterday team owner Larry Lucchino sent a letter to season ticket holders commiserating with them over the team’s lackluster first half and asking for them to keep the faith for the second haul.  The local news covered the letter this morning, and interviewed some Sox fans.  One of them actually said “it’s always been hard being a Sox fan… they do this to us every year.”  Excuse me?  It’s true that the Red Sox have had more down seasons than up seasons over the course of the last lifetime, but I think that guy missed the point.

The reason this season is excruciating as compared to other seasons, is because this season (and last season, for that matter), the Sox were supposed to be stacked.  Crawford, Gonzalez, Lackey, etc.  The Sox print money these days, and it’s an odd mixture of frustration and, I think, embarassment at continued high-priced free-agent failure that drives this melancholy.  The Red Sox are turning, if they haven’t already, into the early 2000-era Yankees – high paychecks, clubhouse discord, and an inability to back it up on the field.  That embarrasses a lot of Red Sox fans who have constructed a lot of their fan identity on, well, being the martyrs on the white horses, the anti-Yankees.  Must be tough to swallow that they’re quickly becoming them.

Anyway.  David Ortiz and Pedro Ciriaco, whose been playing out of his mind lately (3 for 3, sacrifice, stolen base last night, and 10 for 16 in his last four games) handled all the scoring for the Sox last night.  Papi launched a ball into the right field seats in the first inning to get things started, and then Ciriaco scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Sweeney on a bases-loaded single in the second inning.  From there, Franklin Morales held the Rays scoreless through five, allowing only two hits before giving the ball to Scott Atchison.  Atchison let the Rays score off a Sean Rodriguez double, but that was all the scoring the six total Red Sox pitchers would allow.  My new persona non grata Vicente Padilla picked up his 20th hold (maybe baseball’s too easy for him, and he should pick up a tougher sport that women play, like, oh, roller derby, or my “recreational” Sunday flag football league, which, yikes), and Alfredo Aceves picked up his 20th save.

So, that’s not a bad start to the second half.  Here’s a link to the box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.  Boston takes the field again in Tampa Bay tonight, when Clay Buchholz (8-2, 5.53 ERA) comes off the disabled list from his scary gastrointestinal bleed to face David Price 11-4, 2.82 ERA).

We’ll recap the Daniel Bard start a little later on today (the good news: he pitched well, or at least, better than the box score showed; the bad news: the Sox lost).  But first, I just wanted to touch on a pretty inflammatory article that showed up in this morning’s Boston Globe.

Dan Shaughnessey – who admittedly, around these parts, is known more for his caterwauling, pessimistic histrionics than he is for his baseball knowledge or the purity of his reporting (Curt Schilling used to have a field day with this guy) – nevertheless wrote an eye-opening piece that gives us a glimpse into the relationship between former Red Sox manager Terry Francona and the Red Sox ownership.

One word to describe that relationship: broken.

Terry Francona (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

The background: the Red Sox have been planning their pregame ceremonies for next Friday’s game, which falls on the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park’s opening.  Day game, playing the Yankees, lots of pomp and circumstance, the whole bit.  As part of the ceremony, the Sox invited back every single living Red Sox player and manager, including Francona.

It appears, though, that Francona not-so-politely declined the Red Sox invitation.  I would have loved to see that RSVP card.  Quotes Shaughnessey:

“Somebody went out of their way to make me look pretty bad,’’ Francona said, referring to a story by the Globe’s Bob Hohler that cited unnamed club sources expressing concerns that Francona’s job performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication. “It’s a shame. I’m sure they’ll have a great event and I was part of a lot of that stuff there, but I just can’t go back there and start hugging people and stuff without feeling a little bit hypocritical.’’

That Hohler story, which we discussed here when it broke, cites anonymous sources as saying that Francona lost control in the clubhouse last year, in part, because he was having issues with painkillers that affected his job performance.  Pretty great, right?  I love those anonymous sources that lurk in the mist to stab you in the back when you’re on your way out anyway.

According to ownership, they invited Francona back in all good faith, and had NO IDEA that Terry’s not exactly feeling warm fuzzies towards the organization right now.  Larry Lucchino explained to Shaughnessey:

“I thought there was some uncertainty as to whether he had actually gotten the invitation,’’ said Lucchino. “He’s going to be here on the 22d for the Sunday night game [for ESPN] so I called him and invited him and he declined. It was a sincere invitation for him to come back. He has an exalted place in our history and we were hoping it would be convenient and comfortable for him to come back and we were hoping it would be.’’

According to Francona, though?  This pleasant conversation that Lucchino cites was actually an argument that took place, on Francona’s end, at a phone store in Arizona:

I had three people standing around me. I was at a little bit of a disadvantage. He got a little perturbed at me, telling me I was being unfair to them. I called him back last night and left him a message. He called me back and we ended up getting into an argument. I just feel like someone in the organization went out of their way to hurt me and the more we talked I realized we’re just not on the same wavelength. They’re probably better off going forth and leaving me out of it.’’

Apparently, also according to Francona, he had tried to reach ownership for months after his termination from the Red Sox, with no effort made to return his calls.  John Henry finally called Francona back in February (he was fired in September), which Francona termed “five months too late”:

“It was pretty raw at the end of the year. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of moving on from that. At the same time, I’m never going to forget that. For me to go back and start waving and hugging, I’m just not comfortable doing that. I made it pretty clear to John Henry. When I told Larry that, he said, ‘Well, I haven’t talked to John about it.’ I said, well then how [expletive] important could it be?

Oof.  Good point, Terry.  If ownership couldn’t even be bothered to return their manager’s phone calls after firing him, after blaming him and a supposed addiction to painkillers for last year’s late-season collapse, then why on earth should Francona help them out by putting on a happy face and showing up for the biggest Red Sox public relations festival this side of 2004?  There’s a lot of rumbling lately about how ownership is slipping, how the Red Sox are slipping down the priority ladder (hello, Liverpool soccer team), and how something’s just not right these days, on the field or off.  It sounds like Francona knows this, knows that public opinion’s on his side, and that he feels like twisting the knife a little bit while he can.