Mound of shortcomings

That loud, beeping noise coming out of New England is the sound of the Boston Red Sox backing into the playoffs. Those who aren't fans of the team and the 'Nation' are enjoying the agony enveloping Fenway Park.

Sweet Caroline this, eh!

Back on Aug. 27, four pitchers combined on a three-hitter in a shutout over the Oakland Athletics and the Red Sox raised their record to 82-51, good for a two-game lead over the New York Yankees in the A.L. East and nine games better than the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild card race. And they were just one win behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the majors.

But a funny thing happened en route to October baseball. The Red Sox won just six of their next 23 games -- including just five of 16 at Fenway -- and they suddenly find themselves clawing for their playoff lives.

The culprits are easy to identify. They are the ones that don't swing the bats. The rotation has averaged less than five innings per start despite getting over seven runs in support, leading to an overworked bullpen that has blown four of their last five save opportunities.

During this nosedive, they have no fewer than nine pitchers with ERAs over six. The biggest wearer of the goat horns is set-up man Daniel Bard, the guy who bridges the eighth inning to get to closer Jonathan Papelbon. Over his last six appearances, beginning with a five-run disaster against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, he has lost four times, blowing two saves by allowing 11 runs in just 5.2 innings with a WHIP over two. That has sent a ripple throughout the bullpen. Bard has, plain and simple, lost his ability to throw strikes, averaging almost 20 pitches per inning, over five more than earlier in the season. And if Bard can't get the ball to Papelbon, the Red Sox don't win.

Offensively, there is no reason why the Red Sox aren't well atop the AL East and looking at home-field advantage. Their everyday line-up is a monster: five players with 80-plus RBIs, five with 30-plus doubles, three with 100-plus runs scored and two with 200-plus hits. Collectively, they score 5.5 runs per game and have stolen 100 bases. This batting order is a beast to navigate through. But even they can't score enough to overcome the mound of shortcomings.

The Rays and Los Angeles Angels are fighting to stay within striking distance with just a week's worth of games remaining and, quite frankly, the Yankees, Tigers and Rangers should be glad neither will be involved in the Hunt for October. Both have top-shelf rotations with at least three starters that can win on any given day -- David Price, James Shields and Jeff Niemann for the Rays; Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana for the Angels.

In the end, Tampa Bay's 1-9 start finally came back to haunt them, while LA of A went through a similar streak at the beginning of June. Kind of proves that a string of losses, no matter when they occur during the course of a grinding, 162-game schedule, always comes back to bite you in the end.

Hard luck Lawrie

Rarely does a rookie live up to all the hype and expectations, but Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie certainly did -- and then some.

While we all had to wait a little longer than hoped, his arrival in the first week of August electrified the team and his all-out style was a breath of fresh air for a franchise that had become notoriously moribund as it played out the final two months of schedule, sleep-walking if you will. Never once did we witness Lawrie not run out a ground ball. He brought with him to the majors a powerful, clutch bat, speed on the bases and a rocket of an arm from the hot corner.

Unfortunately, the 21-year-old’s season was cut a week short when a bad-hop grounder during batting practice fractures the middle finger on his throwing hand. Who really knows what could have been if Lawrie had spent the entire season with the Jays, but simple statistical projecting, over a full 162-game schedule, spits out some startling numbers:

-- .293 AVG, 30 doubles, 15 triples, 34 HR, 94 RBI, 26 stolen bases in 30 attempts, .953 OPS

Those are some serious numbers. And isn't it nice for the franchise and its fans to finally get a skilled Canadian-born player at the start of what is hopefully a long career, instead of the other side of the mountain like we did with Corey Koskie or Matt Stairs. Here's hoping that as long as he plays in the majors, and certainly with the Blue Jays, that Lawrie never changes the way he goes about his business.

Inside the numbers

Did you know that when Jose Bautista grounded out to the pitcher in the sixth inning of Wednesday night's game, it marked the first time all season that his average dropped below .300 -- a span of 625 plate appearances? He didn't stay there long, though, as a single to lead off the ninth pushed his average back up to .301. Just another stat to be thrown into the 'Bautista for MVP' debate

Stats man Scott Carson is now in his 19th season as "third man in the booth" during Blue Jays telecasts.