The way things are going, Young Theo might don that gorilla suit again, but this time he might need it to hide from an angry Nation of paying customers who want to know why nothing was done at the trade deadline and how you try to win a pennant with no lefty in the bullpen and a collection of dead arms and dead presidents (Mr. Van Buren, I presume) posing as major league pitchers.
Three of the five crucial games against the Yankees have been played, and the numbers are more ghastly than snakes on a plane. The Yankees embarrassed the Sox on national television again yesterday, 13-5, which makes for an aggregate score of 39-20 in the first three games of this make-or-break series. Boston's pitching staff has walked 28 in 27 innings, which qualifies as both embarrassing and unprofessional.
We are now officially in the middle of ``Son of Massacre" weekend. In 1978, it was 42-9 over four games. The Sox were outhit, 67-21, and committed 12 errors while losing four straight at home to the Bombers. The first three games of this series have been equally hideous, and young Theo, who was unavailable after yesterday's carnage, is getting his lunch fed to him by one Brian Cashman as the Sox threaten to suck all the wind out of what's left of summer.
Oh, and is anybody rethinking that Johnny Damon decision now? On a day when Coco Crisp was rested, Damon continued his Big Bang tour through Boston with three more hits, all doubles. Damon is 9 for 18 this weekend, with three doubles, a triple, two homers, eight RBIs, and five runs. Quite a statement.
Henry was not around at the end of the game, but CEO Larry Lucchino, biting his lip, said, ``This is not the best time for me to offer comment. I'm a little agitated, as the average fan is.
``Everybody feels a sense of disappointment about these first three games. I would understand if the manager is keenly disappointed in the way these first three games have gone. It's still a long season. Come and talk to me later."
