You can sit there and tell me it doesn’t matter, but I’m not going to buy it.You can show me stats — like the 2010 Texas Rangers had a six-game losing streak during the season, and the World Series champs even had a seven-game losing streak — and I’m still not going to agree with you.
You can say that we’re six games into the season of 162 games, and I’m telling you now, the Red Sox are done. They might as well pack it in and get to the drawing table for 2012.
They are done because they are not — and I emphasize, they ARE NOT — going into this New York series and coming out with two wins. The Yankees will take two of three and the Sox will be left at 1-8, if they’re lucky.
Still, in a division that is going to be close, to fall in such a hole will be devastating — especially with the much improved Orioles, who will certainly win more games against the Sox than they did last season.
Other random notes:
1. Who said the Phillies offense was going to suffer without Werth?
This offense is doing what it hasn’t done in a while, and that’s produce runs with base hits and not homers. The Phils lead all of baseball with a .353 batting average and a .407 on-base percentage. Their 56 singles lead all of baseball, too.
Stringing singles together, mixed in with a few extra base hits, have helped the Phils score an MLB-best 7.2 runs per game.
Ben Francisco, Werth’s replacement, has been excellent, batting .320 with two of the Phils five homers, five RBIs and seven runs scored.
Again, as it was with my bit on the Red Sox, it’s early, but seeing this type of offense from a team that seemed to struggle all season with clutch hits like this is excellent. It’s nice as a fan to not watch a Phils game and know that a home run isn’t the only answer to tying or winning a game. Just look at Opening Day. Six singles in the ninth did it.
2.The Outs made the right choice to keep Carlos Quentin.
And man, was that tough decision.
Quentin is on fire to start the season, batting .500 with 11 hits, five of them doubles, two homers, 10 RBIs and six runs scored — and that is nice for the White Sox.
It’s even better for the Outs.
He chose keep him, but he could have easily let him go because Quentin was horrible over the last two seasons. He batted .243 last season and .236 the year before.
But now, all of a sudden, it seems that Quentin is on pace to have a season like he had when he first joined the White Sox in 2008. In 130 games that season, he hit .288 with 36 homers, 100 RBIs and 96 runs scored. If that happens, the Outs may have one of the top keeper picks of 2011.
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