Bob Ryan needs a drink, or a therapist, or both

I haven't been following the Red Sox as closely this year as in years past. Certain distractions (one of which some of you were at) have kept me from following the team as religiously as my father and brother, to name two. This may be part of the reason why a sweep by the Yankees doesn't hit me as hard as some.

Yesterday afternoon Bob Ryan sat down to his word processor and decided to do a whole lot of venting. A piece that runs down every disappointing thing that he can think of about this year's squad ends with the following:

The truth is that this is not a good time to be Theo Epstein. For two years running, he has been unable to construct a viable pitching rotation. Theo was cut one year of afterglow slack, but overheated fans, already in a bloodthirsty mood, are downright rebellious now that the Yankees have humiliated their team with a five-game sweep.
The truth is that in this perverted sports climate, the other team is never just allowed to be better, even for a day, let alone a series or a season. No, no. Blame must be affixed. Heads must be severed.

Once upon a time, losing brought a brief period of sorrow. Now it brings rage. The rest of the season, I fear, will not be much fun.

The truth is we need to sit down and figure out what sports are all about. We've lost our way.

Truth is, I've only been to one game at Fenway this year, watched perhaps one game a week on television, and spent less time over at SOSH than in years past. That said, I don't know anyone in Boston who feels the way Bob does.

I know a lot of people, however, who feel the Sox have had the kind of disappointing, lousy year (injuries, underperforming acquisitions, old pitchers falling apart) that happens to lots of teams all the time. Only one baseball team a year gets to have everything go their way and win the World Series. In today's sports climate, another team is almost always better.

With about half the payroll, Theo and the Sox are leading the Yankees in recent championships, 1-0. Let's say hypothetically that current Sox management is only good enough at their jobs to win one World Series a decade. While all that losing might send Bob to an asylum, it would still make the team significantly better than most.