Woe is the Red Sox

OMG! The Red Sox have lost their first six games! I blame myself. This is all my fault. In my hubris I started a Magic Number countdown before the first game was even played. Announcing your plans is a great way to make God laugh.

Of course I'm kidding about being worried about the Red Sox. I'll leave that to the national media and jackasses like Dan Shaughnessy who is probably already hard at work on his new book The Curse of Jason Bay.

I saw a few people make this analogy the other day but if you compared where we are in the baseball season to where you would be in an NFL season - the Red Sox are at the NFL equivalent of halftime of the first game of the season. Would people be panicking if the Patriots were losing 7-3 at half of the first game?

Speaking of Jason Bay - I recently looked at the trade that brought Bay to the Red Sox and I think that may end up being Theo Epstein's masterpiece. Bay came to the Red Sox as part of a 3-team trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers who sent Bryan Morris (minors) and Andy LaRoche to the Pirates while the Red Sox sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers plus Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Red Sox got a season and a half of Top 10 MVP caliber play out of Bay and in exchange they gave up Craig Hansen (who is now out of baseball), Brandon Moss (who would have no place in the Red Sox organization) and Manny Ramirez. During Bay's season and a half with the Red Sox he hit 45 HR and had 156 RBI. During that same period Manny had 36 HR and 116 RBI. Clear win for Team Theo.

Not only that but by letting Jason Bay walk as a free agent the Red Sox ending up getting pitching prospect Anthony Ranaudo as compensation for losing Bay to the Mets. Ranaudo may turn out to be a bust but some scouts have his upside comparable as Chris Carpenter.

So the national media may expect Red Sox fans to be wearing sack cloth and ashes but excuse me if I pass on that.