Dustin Pedroia is still out.
There's a lefty on the mound.
There's no quality on the roster.
And the team's about to be eliminated from contention, though of course we've been out of it for longer than the numbers say.
This is how we arrive at the point of Mike Aviles batting third in a Red Sox lineup for a game played on September 14.
It is perhaps the worst lineup we've seen yet. No Pedroia, as mentioned, thanks to the recent birth of his second child. Jarrod Saltalamacchia sits against the lefty, giving Ryan Lavarnway a start. About all that can be said for this is that Mauro Gomez is DHing instead of Scott Podsednik, and even that is of questionable value.
In all likelihood, Boston's season ends tonight. Let history show they went down without a fight.