Get Off The Edge Or I'lll Thumb Your Eye Out!

Okay, folks, get off the ledge! It was a single game and the first of 162. There is no reason to panic. There is no reason to analyze. There is no cause to be concerned and tomorrow is not do-or-die. The Red Sox lost a game last night – big deal. Sure, it was against the Yankees and it would have been better had they not been skunked, but let’s not make this into something more than it was. After all, this was nothing more than Secretariat breaking slowly in the 1973 Belmont or Joan Benoit Samuelson stumbling 300 yards into the 1984 Olympic Marathon. Hell, the U.S. lost at Pearl Harbor 23-1 but that didn't compel surrender did it? .

Okay, so the Sox looked a bit flat and uninspired last night, but was this loss all that surprising? You had to be a bit on the crazy side to think this team, led by David Wells, was going to go into Yankee Stadium on Opening Night and beat a tough lefty like Randy Johnson. In case anyone forgot – the Sox haven’t hit a lefty in two years. They can’t hit the bad ones let alone Hall of Famers like Randy Johnson. You want evidence. How about some of last year’s massacres at the feet of Scott Kazmir, Bobby Mardisitch, and Ted Lilly? Heck, John Halama could probably make it through this lineup once before getting lit up. Lefties generally own this lineup and there was no reason to think that the King of all Southpaws was going to be any different. With that said, I actually came away a bit encouraged that the Sox got some good wood on a number of pitches. I didn’t think Johnson was nearly as impressive as the press is reporting, even though he did hold the sox to one run over six innings. I thought his control was a bit spotty and his velocity was a little light. Was he better than Wells – yes. Was he vintage Johnson – no. As an optimist, I will say right now that I didn’t see anything last night that confirms to me that Johnson is guaranteed to dominate this year.

The other thing I am hearing this morning is a ton of criticism aimed at David Wells. Guys, David Wells is not Steve Carlton. He is not Warren Spahn, He is not even Bruce Hurst. He is a 41 year old who had an era of 3.73 last season in a great pitchers park and in front of a solid defense. In otherwords, he is a bit better than the league average, but he is no ace. As such, it's time for some optimists to adjust their expectations. In the AL, I would be content with an ERA of anything under 4.25. That is all I ever hoped for and it's still what I currently expect. If Wells can hit this number, the Sox offense will hand him 15 wins. That is what happens when you hold teams to four runs and your team scores nearly six. That recipe works a good deal of the time and that is what Wells was brought in to do. But let's be frank - Wells is not a stopper, and hasn’t been for five years. But this shouldn’t be a surprise. In fact, Theo put it in the press release that went along with the signing. I will concede Wells didn’t do his part last night, largely because he couldn’t hit any of his spots, but I am not going to go crazy over one outing, especially since we are going to see plenty of this over the balance of the season. On some nights, the Sox will be able to bail Wells out, but there are going to be nights like Sunday where Wells takes a few loads off his chin. That is what he is – get used to it!

The other point some are making this morning concerns the Sox new shortstop. You are not going to hear me argue that this guy had a nice night because he obviously didn’t. Two poor plays and 0-4 at the plate is certainly not an impressive start. But calm down guys. Edgar has a good glove. I would probably take Cabrera’s leather, but Edgar can field and he has a lengthy track record to prove it. So give the guy another day or two before you throw him under the bus. I think his record of service merits a second chance. And while you’re backing off on Edgar – it might help to take some prozac and settle in for a long season.