Least of The East

Someone tell the Red Sox the season started. It is April 15, and the 2-9 Sox are looking up at the rest of the league. Who would've guessed that? They're not only at the bottom of the AL East. With all their star power, they've somehow managed to capture the worst record in the majors. Every other team has at least four wins. Surprisingly, their only two wins this season have come against the Yankees. The AL East was expected to be a battle between the Sox and Yankees, as it usually is. It likely still will be. But looking at the standings and seeing Boston at the bottom of everything and everyone is a delightful experience for any Yankee fan.

I disagree when people say the Red Sox came out of the gate slow. In reality, they never left it, losing their first six games. 0-6 is the franchise's worst start since 1945. Impressive, but the Red Sox aim for the stars. They wanted an all-time record. As of now, their record stands at 2-9, their worst start in history.

Boston went big this offseason. Yankee-like big. First, they traded for elite first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Then, they signed high profile free agent left fielder Carl Crawford to a 7 year, $142 million contract. Crawford was the most coveted offensive free agent this offseason. More importantly, they beat out the Yankees, who were also in contention to snag Crawford.

Through the first 11 games, Boston would've probably been better off leaving left field empty. Crawford has been nonexistent, hitting .152 with no homers and one RBI. Playing in Boston is nothing like playing in Tampa. A regular season game at Fenway in the middle of June has a more electric atmosphere than a playoff game in Tropicana Field. Northeast sports fans are an entirely different breed. Most Floridians weren't even aware there was a baseball team in Tampa before the Rays made their playoff run in 2008. In Boston, fans live and die with each pitch. The pressure and expectations are astronomically high and unavoidable. All of this may be playing into Crawford's disastrous start. Naturally, due to his contract and reputation as an elite player, everyone will point fingers at him. But he isn't the main culprit for Boston's struggles. Not even close.

The primary reason for Boston's painfully slow start has been their pitching. Right now, their team ERA stands at an abominable 6.77. That ranks last in the majors and is almost a run higher than the second worst team. Their starters have been laughably bad. Mastsuzaka and Lackey have done their best impressions of Phil Hughes. Dice-K's ERA stands at 12.86, but Lackey managed to outdo him with a 15.58 ERA. Buckholz's ERA is hovering just above seven. Beckett and Lester have been the only reliable ones.

The Red Sox, one of the offseason favorites to reach the World Series, are off to an historically slow start. Their bodies are in Boston. Their minds and hearts are still in Fort Myers, Florida, home of their spring training facilities, where warm weather, fishing, and meaningless games dominated most of their daily schedules. Eventually, they'll wake up. Before we know it, they'll be back in the thick of things challenging for first place in the AL East. But in the meantime, all Yankee fans should enjoy this prosperous time as the Red Sox do their best to avoid breaking another unwanted record.