Word: redness
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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There's no question that this team has the talent to win the division, or at least make a serious run for the playoffs. Last year's bumper crop of rookies, the best the Red Sox have had since Jim Rice and Fred Lynn came up together in 1975, has already proved itself as no one-year fluke. And the oft-maligned older veterans aren't playing too badly either...
Granted, the pitching staff has fallen on tough times with the injuries to Bruce Hurst and Jeff Sellars. Nevertheless, Roger Clemens remains the best pitcher in the game, period. Lee Smith and Wes Gardner have provided some order to the chaos that last year reigned in the Red Sox bullpen. Hurst was off to a great start until lately, when he's been affected by some sort of viral infection. Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd and Sellars don't have the records that Clemens and Hurst do, but they have been victimized several times this year by a lackluster offense...
...Boston Globe writer Dan Shaughnessy pointed out recently, the Red Sox lead the league in hitting, they're 2nd in defense and runs scored, they've got the most dominant pitcher in the game, and yet "they're effectively out of it at the All-Star break...
...real problem on this enigmatic ball club, it seems to me, is the glaring lack of leadership. This was never more apparent than during June, when the Red Sox resembled Family Feud or The People's Court. On one well-publicized bus ride, Wade Boggs fought Dwight Evans, Evans fought Rick Cerone, and Manager John McNamara quietly slipped off the bus during the middle of these episodes and headed into the team's hotel. Later that night, Oil Can Boyd went on a rampage through the halls of the hotel. It seemed that everyone (even the players' wives...
This lack of leadership can also be seen in the Sox inability to win the close ones. The Red Sox are 26-17 in games decided in the first three innings, but only 18-24 in all other games. They are 2-5 in extra inning games, and 11-20 in games decided by one or two runs...