Last weekend was supposed to be a jubilant celebration for Red Sox Nation. After taking two out of three from the Baltimore Orioles, the Olde Towne Team returned to Fenway Park for its first home series of the season and, more importantly, its World Series ring ceremony. Not one, not two, but three giant red banners were unfurled over the Green Monster during Friday afternoon's festivities, reminding Red Sox fans that their baseball team has had more championships this millennia than any other. (Five other banners were unfurled as well for the team's five championships prior to and including 1918.) Then, the first-place Sox took the field to rousing applause - the sun was shining, spring was in the air. Baseball was back.
That moment was the pinnacle of the weekend for Red Sox fans. But as soon as it started, it all went downhill. The three-game series, an interleague affair against the Milwaukee Brewers, got off to a rocky start when the Red Sox lost their home opener for the first time since 2004 thanks to Edward Mujica imploding in the ninth inning of a tied game, allowing Milwaukee to score four runs and grab a stunning 6-2 victory.
Saturday's game was also decided in the final inning. After a grueling back-and-forth, the game went into extras knotted at six before the Brewers broke through in the 11th and won again. The series culminated with Boston unable to muster any offense in the finale, a lackluster 4-0 defeat. When it was all said and done, the reeling Red Sox had been swept at home for the first time since last May and tumbled to last place in the process.
How could a weekend that began with so much hope and optimism turn out to be such a nightmare?
The defending World Series champs didn't just lose - they lost in painful, excruciating fashion. The opener was an out-and-out collapse. The next day, they dropped an extra-innings nail-biter by one run. On Sunday, Boston was held scoreless even though every Sox starter recorded a hit. However, nobody got the big hit, and so another brilliant start by Jon Lester went for naught.
It was vintage Red Sox, losing baseball games in every way imaginable. First the bullpen unraveled, then the starting pitching failed them and finally the bats came up empty. Making matters worse was a shaky defense that committed five errors over the weekend. Unsurprisingly, Boston never led during the series.
The Red Sox are no strangers to sluggish starts, but a big reason why they won the division last year was because they jumped out to an early lead in the standings. The games in April matter just as much as they do in September, so the foundation for a winning season is built in the spring. Better to start on the right foot than have to play catch-up all summer.
If it sounds like I'm overreacting to Boston's early struggles, it's because I am. As a Red Sox fan, I'm programmed to start freaking out at the first sign of trouble. I'm already wondering how the sweep might affect their playoff odds. Ridiculous, I know, but it's how I'm wired to think. Excessive worrying is in my DNA.
Obviously it's still very early in the season - much too soon to start panicking - and the Sox still have lots of baseball left to play. The season is barely a week old. They will have many opportunities to redeem themselves. Besides, one bad series doesn't spoil their season. Sweeps happen. It's not the end of the world.
Things will get better, I tell myself, but I'm not going to relax until they do.
