A Bad Time Was Had By All

First, on Friday the Red Sox celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, and lose to the Yankees.

Yesterday the Red Sox sprint out to a 9 - 0 lead, only to lose the game, 15 to 9, also to the Yankees.

Marvel as Dan Shaughnessy basks in the glorious negativity; this is his Super Bowl Week right here.

This is bad. Four Yawkey Way feels like 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. during the final days of the Nixon Administration. It is only April and the Sox have unraveled completely. Saturday night in the park, the Red Sox blew a 9-0 lead in the seventh inning and were thrashed by the Yankees, 15-9. On national television. Mercy. Bobby Valentine has crossed into the Joe Kerrigan Zone. He is the dartboard ornament of Boston baseball. Fans are chanting “We Want Tito,’’ and booing Bobby V every time he pops out of the dugout.

Mercy.

Bobby Valentine has crossed into the Joe Kerrigan Zone. He is the dartboard ornament of Boston baseball. Fans are chanting “We Want Tito’’ (they are not calling for the Yugoslavian president who died in 1980), and booing Bobby V every time he pops out of the dugout. Terry Francona will be in the broadcast booth Sunday, pretending not to be enjoying himself. The Sox are praying for a rainout so they can get out of town without any more hideous home cooking.

Let the speculation on Valentine's future commence:

When is it too early to speculate on Valentine’s future? Would the Sox make a change in April? Would Bobby quit?

Doubtful. But Cal Ripken Sr. didn’t last this long with the 1988 Orioles.

After Saturday’s debacle, I asked Bobby if he was still glad he accepted this job.

“Absolutely,’’ he answered. “It’s my job. If I said I was only going to be in it for the good days, I probably wouldn’t have come. Challenges are great . . . You’ve got to be tough. I think we’re a tough team.’’

This much is certain; Valentine’s bravado is gone. His energy seems spent. The Ultra Brite smile flashes less than it did when the Red Sox were in Fort Myers, still 0-0. This new manager who invented the wrap sandwich and dances like Astaire has become the poster boy for the Sox early-season struggles. John Henry, Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino aren’t on the field to be booed. Ben Cherington doesn’t change pitchers in mid-inning. Theo Epstein made a clean getaway to Chicago. John Lackey and Carl Crawford are on the disabled list.

...

They have lost five in a row. They have not won since Bobby went on Channel 7 and decided it would be a swell idea to call out an eight-year veteran who was part of two championship teams. The cover of Saturday’s New York Post featured a full-page photo of Alex Rodriguez homering at Fenway Friday, headlined, “100 Years of Ass Kicking.’’

This must be the bottom.

Pray for rain. Bobby V and his players need to get out of town as fast as possible.

Programming note - this site will continue to operate for the next month. Once the Globe's online paywall fees increase to $4.00 per week, it will suspend operations indefinitely. I will only encourage the bastards by paying this fee.

My prediction - within three to four months, the Globe will a) sharply revise this paywall fee downward or b) eliminate it altogether. I also note that the Shank article comments section are down sharply. We'll see what happens.