Making your way in the world today takes everything you got, taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Indeed. The time for that break is not during a five-game series in August againt your chief division rival, though. This fact seems to have eluded our pitchers.
I will try to finish this little look at our pitching through the first three games of the series without cursing or going bananas with caps. If I fail somewhere, I apologize in advance. I am so pissed off at and utterly demoralized by the disgusting efforts of our starters and bullpen through the first three games that I have problems controlling myself.
Over the past three games against the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox pitchers have given up 39 runs, 38 of them earned. That's so craptastic that it's almost hard to be upset simply because of how amazing the number is. It's mind-boggling. In crunch time, do-or-die time or whichever other way you choose to describe this series, they have failed worse any sane person could have possibly predicted.
Here are the (abbreviated) pitching lines for all the pitchers who have pitched in any of the games.
Game 1:
Johnson 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER
Snyder 2.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER
Delcarmen 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER
Seanez 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER
Game 2:
Lester 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER
Tavarez 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER
Hansen 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER
Timlin 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER
Foulke 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER
Game 3:
Beckett 5.2 IP, 7 H, 9 R, 9 ER (a career high 9 walks were also issued)
Delcarmen 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER
Van Buren 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER
Snyder 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER
Numbers like these don't exactly spell success. Two of our starters went less than five innings, the third less than six. None of our starting pitchers gave up less than seven hits. Six of our ten relievers used (i'm counting those used twice as two) have given up at least one run. Five of these six have given up at least three runs. Our team ERA for the three games is 12.67. Let me state that number again, so as to give it the dramatic effect it deserves. 12.67. Our team WHIP, you wonder? 2.67, which just blows my mind.
Further comments seem completely redundant. Virtually our entire pitching staff has let us down and embarassed both themselves and the team they pitch for.
For shame! For goddamn shame!