State of the Red Sox

Depending on how you look at it, the Red Sox had a decent 11 game homestand or a brutal one. After getting swept by the Tigers right before the break, the club had a few days to look back and then move forward towards an 11 game homestand against the bottom tier of the American League.

The boys of summer welcomed the Blue Jays in for four games and the series ended with a 2-1 loss leaving the series deadlocked at 2-2. The other loss was also via one run. Not acceptable. With the Yanks making up modest ground on our boys, the team welcomed the lowly Royals into town for three games.

Lowly, or so I thought. After taking the first game, the Royals won the next two games to take the series. Could it get any lower?
The answer was yes. The Sox welcomed in the poor White Sox and lost the opening game 4-2, continuing the inconsistency of the offense. Luckily, the club woke up and possibly revitalized the team. They won the next three games to accomplish a 6-5 homestand. The record seems pitiful on paper, but considering all aspects the 6 wins look fair.
Looking back, maybe the poor homestand was no fault of their own. After the bad series to the Jays and Royals, the Royals took 2 of 3 from the Tigers while the Jays took 2 of 3 from the Mariners. Moreover, the Tigers and Mariners swept the Red Sox a few weeks back. Maybe the Sox ran in to two poor teams on a hot streak.
Too bad we can't say the same Tampa, who got shellacked 17-5 then 21-4 to the Yanks in less than 24 hours. Fortunately, the lowly Rays are on the Red Sox schedule 15 more times this year. But if we learned anything new this week, it's don't take the weak teams lightly or you'll be left disappointed, or worse, left playing golf in October!
In all likelihood, the team will start to hit (Crisp and Lugo are coming around) and will cruise the rest of the way. The only thing that stands in the way are themselves. Lester returns Monday and Schilling is due back in early August. Even Matt Clement is gearing for a late return. Hopefully, we'll look back at this homestand and laugh about the minor stumble when we're playing in late October.