The Bobby Valentine's Day Massacre

The Red Sox continue to redefine just exactly where 'rock bottom' is. Right when you think things can't possibly get any worse--they do. And then some.

Just 14 games in, Bobby Valentine is already
persona non grata in Red Sox Nation.

Boston's epic loss to the Yankees on April 21st, 2012 (deemed the 'Bobby Valentine's Day Massacre' on Twitter) is the perfect example. The Red Sox jumped all over an ineffective Freddy Garcia, chasing him from the game before he could get six outs. Between a few more runs off the Yankees' bullpen and an excellent start from homegrown fourth starter Felix Doubront, the Sox built up a 9-0 lead in the sixth inning. The game was over.

And then it wasn't. A solo home run by Mark Teixeira effectively ended Doubront's day. In the seventh inning, a Nick Swisher grand slam and a Teixeira three-run homer cut the deficit to one. And the Yankees pushed across seven more runs in the eighth when Swisher, Teixeira, and Russell Martin each had 2-RBI doubles and Mike Aviles simply fell down on a Derek Jeter ground ball (epitomizing Boston's disastrous day). Over this stretch, 18 of 21 Yankees reached base (for an .857 OBP). The final was 15-9. The Win Expectancy Chart, depicting the odds of victory for each side as the game progressed, looked like this:

Thanks to a bunch of factors, Saturday's $175 million team featured an outfield of Darnell McDonald, Cody Ross, and Ryan Sweeney, two pinch-hitters named Nate Spears and Nick Punto, and a bullpen that sent out Vincente Padilla, Matt Albers, Franklin Morales, Alfredo Aceves, Justin Thomas, and Junichi Tazawa. Between Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, Andrew Bailey, John Lackey, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Sox have over $60 million sitting on the DL, totaling more than the entire payrolls of a half-dozen other teams. All of this lies in stark contrast to the Yankees, who countered the injury to their left fielder by bringing Andruw Jones, Raul Ibanez, and Eduardo Nunez off the bench, and whose bullpen held the Sox scoreless over the final four innings even when their two best relievers were unavailable.

Theo Epstein and Terry Francona:
"Wow, didn't we used to win with this team??"

This has been business as usual for the Red Sox since the end of last year. Actually, their troubles can be precisely traced back to another Fenway series against the Yankees, this one in late August of 2011. They entered that series 82-52, in first place in the AL East. But in the deciding contest of that three-game set, Russell Martin hit a 2-RBI double off of Daniel Bard in the 7th inning that eventually won the Yankees the game.

Ever since that loss, the Red Sox have won exactly one series. Their record over that period is 11-28. They've said goodbye to core pieces of their previous identity: Theo Epstein, Terry Francona, Jonathan Papelbon, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Marco Scutaro, and J.D. Drew. Their staff's 2012 ERA is 6.10, easily the worst in baseball. Imported closer Andrew Bailey is out past the All-Star break. Imported setup man Mark Melancon is in Pawtucket, and based on how they're hitting, Kevin Youkilis and Jarrod Saltalamacchia should be there too. GM Ben Cherington just acquired Marlon Byrd from Theo Epstein's Cubs; Byrd is the owner of a .070 batting average this year. Manager Bobby Valentine is being avidly booed. The 100th anniversary of Fenway was spoiled by a New York home run barrage. And Boston can't even call Saturday's 15-9 loss the worst of the week, thanks to an 18-3 beatdown at the hands of the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

So even though it's been said countless times over the past few months, it's being said again: things can't possibly get any worse. For the sanity of Red Sox Nation, the Bobby Valentine's Day Massacre must finally and mercifully represent rock bottom for this tortured team. On Sunday, they'll try to salvage the final game of this Yankees series with Daniel Bard facing off against C.C. Sabathia. A win or a loss won't decide Boston's season. But given how things have been going lately, it sure seems like the Sox need something--anything--to grab onto for dear life.