Roche: No Time To Panic For Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) - It's time for the Red Sox to forget about the past and move on. Time to take every pitch as an at-bat on offense and to grind away on the mound and with the defense.
No time to panic. Time to focus. Play the game the way you should.
We've watched a 9-game lead just 10 days ago fall to 3 in the loss column in the chase for the AL Wild card. Gone are thoughts of resting guys and lining up the playoff rotation.
It's time to suck it up and just play.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker spoke to fans outside Fenway Park:
Podcast
I know the rotation is in disarray as Josh Beckett battles a sprained ankle, John Lackey struggles to be consistent, Erik Bedard is banged up, Andrew Miller is Jekyll-and-Hyde like, Tim Wakefield is stuck on 199, and Kyle Weiland is...just a kid.
Jon Lester is really the only guy who is OK.
And all the Sox need is for their starting staff to get them 6 innings of decent ball (3 runs or so)...and they just can't do it right now.
Terry Francona has been a master of getting guys to rebound from tough times. We saw it in 2004 with Johnny Damon and Mark Bellhorn and we've seen it time and time again. His loyalty to his players has led to good things. And that's what he's hoping for now.
No time to get scared or nervous. The Sox have worked too hard for that kind of stuff. It's time for the offense to buckle down and score a bunch of runs, especially now that they are coming back to Fenway Park for 9 games. It's time for the bullpen to feed off each other, and time for the defense to be steady. And, it's time for the veterans (Wakefield, Lackey, Bedard, Backett, and Lester) to bear down and get it done.
If not, get ready for either a quick exit in the postseason or a long, long off-season of what-ifs.
