NY Times: Red Sox are a "poor excuse for a good baseball team"

Murray Chass wrote the following in today's New York Times:

The Boston Red Sox are a poor excuse for a good baseball team. For the second year in a row, they have squandered an advantage they had over the Yankees this year even more grievously than last. Like last year, they will very likely pay for their profligacy. For the first four days in July, the Red Sox led the Yankees by four games in the American League East. Today, the Yankees lead the Red Sox by two games...Bruised and bloodied, the Yankees have been winning with players named Melky and Bubba. With only a third of the season to go, they have won more than the Red Sox, who until catcher Jason Varitek had knee surgery last week, had not dealt with the extended absence of an everyday player.

There is so much that I could write about this excerpt, but I will stick to just four points:

1) Yankees fans and the New York Media are way too excited about being in first place. It is August, not October and there is a lot of baseball left to be played.

2) It is ridiculous to portray the Yankees as a team of underdogs "winning with players named Melky and Bubba." Yes, Matsui and Sheffield are injured, but the Yankees have been able to keep pace in the AL East because they have Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Randy Johnson, Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina. One could argue that with all of those current and former All-Stars that the Yankees should have run away with the AL East.

3) It is completely untrue that the Red Sox "had not dealt with the extended absence of an everyday player" before Varitek was injured. Coco Crisp, the Sox starting CF, missed seven weeks with a thumb injury. The Sox have also dealt with injuries to its pitching staff: David Wells, Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement, Lenny DiNardo, Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke have all missed significant time. Pitchers are not "everyday players," but they are obviously important to a team's success.

4) The Sky is Not Falling and with fifty-two games left on the schedule there is a good chance that a Boston columnist could be writing a similar article about the Yankees in October.

Go Sox!!
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Photo by Flickr user id10t. Hat tip to my pal Chris S. for the link to the photo.

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