1 and 7. Pretty dismal record. But how are we actually doing?

The pitching has obviously not been good. The only starter with a win is Lackey, and his ERA is over 15. Surprisingly, the other four starters (Lester, Buchholz, Beckett and Matsuzaka) all have quality starts. So it’s a bullpen issue.

They already dispatched Denys Reyes, who was too awful for words. Matt Albers is on the DL already, and Felix Dubront was called up from Pawtucket.

I have no faith at all in Alfredo Aceves. He has been mediocre, but more importantly, he was dumped last year by the Yankees. Have the Yankees ever dumped anyone who’s good? When have we ever picked up a former Yankee who did a good job for us? Answer: never. The last one I recall was Ramiro Mendoza, the former setup guy for Mariano Rivera. He was so bad that his nickname was “the embedded Yankee” and the rumor was that George Steinbrenner let the Red Sox sign Mendoza and he was secretly paying him to blow games for the Sox. Can you picture the conversation between Steinbrenner and Mendoza? “Ramiro: be bad, but not so bad that it’s obvious. I’ll make it worth your while.” Back to Aceves. Mediocre.

When the losing streak was broken on Opening Day at Fenway, Bobby Jenks walked a guy but gave up no hits in the 7th, Bard pitched a perfect 8th and Papelbon pitched a perfect 9th. On Saturday Tim Wakefield got mopup duty and pitched two perfect innings.

The other guys, though, coughed it up. Dubront Aceves

B Mend iaMIRO MENDOZAwasSince when do the Yankees discard somebody who’s good Why would we want to
None of tarts has a win. No even has a quality start.

0 and 5 is a pretty depressing opening  for the Red Sox. I’ve seen it before,  We lived in Baltimore in the late 80’s when I was the Program Director of Mix 106.5.  I went to a lot of Orioles games and always rooted for them except when the Red Sox were in town.

On Opening Day in 1988 the O’s, who had won the World Series only 5 years before, had a tough day at the old ballyard. The Milwaukee Brewers pounded them, 12-0.  They also lost game 2 to Milwaukee, then went to Cleveland and dropped three straight, making it 0 and 5.  At that point a friend of mine named Bob Rivers, who worked at a competing radio station named 98 Rock, announced that he was going to stay on the air until the Orioles won.  Excellent promotion, made even better by the O’s dropping that night’s game, making it 0 and 6.  The manager was fired.  Not just any manager, either.  His mame was Cal Ripken, Sr.  Father of the star shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. and his brother Billy Ripken, who played 2nd base. 


People drove around with their headlights on during the day to show support for Bob Rivers. At the ballpark it was depressing. Everyone on the team slumped simultaneously.  They didn’t even post batting averages on the scoreboard because they were all below .100.  First baseman Eddie Murray, who had just signed a big contract extension, insisted on being the DH at home to minimize his exposuere to booing. 


And on it went.  After that fourth loss to Cleveland they went to Kansas City and dropped three, then came home and lost three more to Cleveland.  Back on the road they dropped three in Milwaukee, another three in Kansas City and three more in Minnesota. That made it 0 and 21.  The all-time worst season-opening record in the history of Major League Baseball.  And they weren’t even playing the tough teams. 


On April 29, a windy night at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Orioles finally put up a W, beating the White Sox, 9-0 in front of 14,000 fans.  Bob Rivers took a long nap after being on the air for some 425 straight hours.  The O’s dropped the next two in Chicago, then came home with a record of 1 and 23.


On May 2 it was Fantastic Fans night at Memorial Stadium.  Bob Rivers was given a full Orioles unform – his name and the number 98 on the back – and threw out the first pitch from the mound (a very unathletic throw) to the cheers of over 50,000 fantasic fans.  The 1 and 23 Orioles took the field and made it a night by beating Texas, 9-4. 


The fans in Baltimore are really great.  Despite that horrible season they stuck with the team. Five years later the Orioles moved into Camden Yards – my choice for the best new ballpark in America.


So let’s not get worked up about 0 and 5.  Even if the Red Sox lose tomorrow and are 0 and 6 when the Bronx Bombers come in for the Home Opener, it will mean the Sox have the Yankees the way they want them.  Overconfident.