An Excuse? Hardly....

Sometimes being a Boston sports fan can be a challenge. Some of the time it is the team that presents the challenge, most of the time it is other fans and certain media outlets that that try my patience. In an age of instant gratification, notification and investigation, the rush to analyze what is wrong with a player, manager or team becomes an abomination. Case in point, the Red Sox.

As I pen this missive the Red Sox are 32-8 over their last 40 games. That my friends is a .800 winning percentage. By any degree of measurement a true success story particularly after such an uninspiring start. However between the sports radio and online trolls of Red Sox fandom, you would think that the current three game losing streak was the end of the world! First it was the attack on and booing by fans with Willson Contreras. Then it was the team losing the last two games against the A’s. Finally, it was last night’s head scratching, rule book researching, effort in Toronto. Relax people! It is three out of 162 games and those three loses are part of the 32-8 streak!

What ticks me off more than the chirping about losing three game in a row is the fact that Willson Contreras got booed. Do you watch the games? Do you see how he plays? Do you see that he is the heart and soul of this team? Probably not! You are too busy crafting tweets or radio show blocks dedicated to creating a problem that does not exist. For the record, Contreras over the last 40 games has had to endure a suspension, a couple of foot injuries, a nasty hit by pitch to the helmet causing him to miss a couple of games and then contracted whatever flavor of the summer bug that is floating around the Red Sox clubhouse of late. He’s tired, beat up and he is slumping a bit as a result. If you find his far from normal crankiness a problem, grow up! This is not an excuse, it is the real world where people don’t optimally perform when they are not feeling well. Willson Contreras deserves our admiration and thanks and most certainly does not deserve to be booed or made a villain by any means.

Now let’s address the team. Jeez folks it’s three losses in a row, part of that 32-8 run. No team goes 162-0. Every team that was as hot as the Red Sox have been cooled down a little. If you want to point to a specific event, I have one. Thursday, August 6th and the thrilling thirteen inning 12-11 victory over the White Sox! In reality the Red Sox had no real business winning that game. However, they stuck it out, sucked it up and got it done. It was an all out effort and one that clearly taxed this team physically and more important mentally. They basically willed themselves to win. They left the field emotionally drained.

I honestly believe that the problems this team is facing is that the team is running on fumes mentally and physically right now. The schedule is not their friend as they don’t have a day off until August 20th. Again, I am not making excuses, but looking at the reality of the situation. They are young and learning how to cope with maintaining sustained above average play over long periods of time. It’s not easy! They are learning this lesson on the fly. They will bounce back!

Folks, lets appreciate what we have witnessed over the last several weeks. It is not a fluke, but rather a statement of how hard this team has played, how much they trust and play for each other. What’s happening now will quickly be rear view mirror material. Cut these guys some slack. They have made baseball fun again this summer in Boston. That is something that nobody thought was possible two months ago!