Well That Sucked, Featuring John Lackey

It's a little better than Friday's game by the boxscore, a lot worse having actually watched it. 

On Friday, it took two innings for the Rangers to put the game away. There was never any real suggestion that the Sox could win it. On Sunday, it wasn't until after six painful innings filled with offensive frustration that they really pulled away.

The implosion was the first suffered by John Lackey since his early July meltdown against the Blue Jays. It took just nine pitches for the Rangers to score their first run of the sixth--their third of the game--and after a seven-pitch walk to Mike Napoli, Lackey was out of the game and the bases were left loaded.

Long story short, Felix Doubront did no better, and the inning ended with the Rangers up 9-0. The Sox got a few consolation runs in the late-going, but it was hardly anything that really put Texas in danger. Especially when you add in a few mammoth shots off of Michael Bowden.

So all-in-all, a terrible day. 11-4 is a score I wish only on the Yankees. But perhaps there are some positives to be had here?

1. Kevin Youkilis had two hits. So he's not going to go o'-fer for the rest of the year. Yay!
2. John Lackey finally had another disaster outing. We all knew it was coming, but with Erik Bedard continuing his solid performances, this should  be enough to really ensure that the playoff rotation has Lackey slotted where he belongs.
3. Conor Jackson crashed into the outfield wall in the second inning. Is it cold to list this as a positive? Definitely, but let's be honest: Jackson is Darnell McDonald but with all the success in the last month-or-so traded for past promise. Thanks, but no thanks. If it's an injury keeps him out of the six-hole--my God, he was batting sixth today--then so be it.