Are Sox paying the price for 2013 championship?
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| Jon Lester and the Boston Red Sox are hoping things turn for the better soon. (Photo courtesy of AP/The Canadian Press - Frank Gunn) |
Contributing Writer
Karma. What goes around, comes around.
I don't intend to get too philosophical here, honest.
The 2014 Boston Red Sox, off to a 12-14 start, are experiencing the exact opposite of the 2013 World Champion Red Sox team.
As I sat through five errors, 12 walks by Sox pitchers and numerous other mistakes in Thursday night's 14-5 loss to the Damn Yankees, all I could think to myself was, "This didn't happen last year." Were there times when it felt like the sky was falling? Absolutely. Heck, it was early May when Boston went on the road and was swept by Texas. That wasn't fun.
But a big difference between then and now: Then, the Red Sox were competing and consistently putting together winning streaks. Now, they are consistently putting together losing stretches.
Injuries to key players have occurred already that didn't at the start of 2013. The Yankees are 5-2 against Boston, whereas in 2013, they won a total of six games against the Sox. One year ago, on April 27, the Red Sox were 17-7. They were leading the AL East by two full games and in the midst of a five-game winning streak. Today, they are two games under .500 and three games out of first, currently in fourth place in the East.
It was a good sign the Red Sox won two-of-three in Toronto - had a chance to sweep, to boot. What's not good is if that had happened, it would've been the first three-game winning streak of the season ... and we're now 26 games in ... and it didn't happen.
Are the Baseball Gods getting even with the Red Sox? They were so fortunate to have so many things bounce their way in 2013. Not so much in the early going now.
I'm calling the bluff. I don't believe in all that and if you're a loyal member of Red Sox Nation, you shouldn't either. And here's why: It was 86 years between championships. There was September 2011. There was all of 2012. If the Baseball Gods wanted to "get even," Boston would become a permanent home to the World Series Trophy for the foreseeable future.
I don't think of this season as Karma. I think of it as somebody testing my patience. Just have to keep telling myself, "Patience is a virtue."
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