That Was Gruesome

I admit, I stopped watching the game last night intently in the third inning. I stopped watching it all together after 7:30. I stopped keeping track of the score after 8:30. That was probably one of the worst games I have witnessed. The Red Sox lost 18-3 to the Texas Rangers.

It started off well for the Red Sox. Lester did pretty well in the first inning, not giving up any runs, and then Pedroia’s two-run home run in the bottom of the inning was a nice start. It was the first time in the season that the Sox had scored in the first inning. I was thinking this was a good start, and Lester was finally going to get the run support he deserved. I was wrong. I was very wrong.

Lester gave up four runs in the second inning and three runs in the third. Lester pitched a total of 80 pitches, 43 pitches in the second inning alone. He left in the third inning without getting an out. It was Lester’s second worst outing in his career, and I’m hoping it was a fluke.

For the past three seasons, Lester has been one of the predicted pitchers to win the AL Cy Young Award. Lester’s a great pitcher, make no mistake about that. While watching him last night, I couldn’t help but think that he had something physically wrong with him. I’m not sure what it was, but something seemed off with the way he was throwing the ball. Hopefully, he doesn’t land on the DL.

The Red Sox bullpen wasn’t any better, except Atchison (4 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 1 home run) and Albers (1 inning pitched and 0s down the board). Atchison has pitched surprisingly efficient throughout the young season, and I’m hoping he continues this way.

Atchison’s story of how he became on the Red Sox is a great one. If you don’t already know about Atchison’s daughter, please read this article: http://articles.boston.com/2010-03-07/sports/29326373_1_callie-rare-genetic-disorder-red-sox. In short, Atchison’s daughter has a rare genetic disorder known as thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR), in which the bone from the elbow to the thumb is missing in both of his daughter’s arms.

It’s heart-breaking to hear about the struggles of a three-year-old, but it’s great to see Atchison performing well and his daughter being able to see that. But back to the game, the rest of the bullpen pitched about as horrendously as Lester…
Melancon probably more horrendously. Melancon didn’t record an out in the eighth inning, but still managed to give up 6 runs on 4 hits, including 3 home runs. For the record, Melancon’s ERA for the season is 49.50.

Melancon has to go, whether it’s to Triple-A, released, by waivers, or traded. He’s doing far more harm than good for this team. To think, this was supposed to be the pitcher to replace Bard as our set-up man. I’m just thankful Valentine didn’t award him the closer’s position when Bailey went down. I’m praying Bailey returns ahead of schedule.

The two pitchers who came in after Melancon did slightly better: Thomas and Padilla both pitched an inning and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. On Twitter, there were messages about Thomas going into the role he was supposed to pitch in: mop-up. I think both Thomas and Padilla have done a pretty good job pitching thus far, but the bad luck was going all around the Red Sox pitching staff last night.

Rich Hill can not come back soon enough. I guess you can say the same thing about Matsuzaka and Andrew Miller at this point too. If Aaron Cook could make a difference in the bullpen, he’d be welcomed as well. Every little bit would help.

UPDATE:  Melancon has been sent to Triple-A, and Junichi Tazawa was recalled.