E-Mail This Article to a Friend Criticizing the Sox is all too common these days BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Here in beautiful downtown Boston, folks are madly prepping for the upcoming Democratic National Convention, which will be hosted by our fair city July 26–29. Of course, in a city forever wracked by politics, nothing is being done the easy way. Like the Big Dig before it, the DNC plans are tremendously over budget; like the Teamsters who have in the past made it difficult to shoot movies in New England, the local Patrolmen’s union has seen fit to disrupt DNC organizers and their efforts by picketing the FleetCenter and otherwise wreaking havoc on Boston mayor Tom Menino’s crowning moment; and commuters who will be affected by security restrictions along with road and rail-station closures are whining about being forced to either avoid the city altogether, or take "alternate routes."

Meanwhile, in the wide, wide world of sports around here — which is now solely the Red Sox’ territory because of the other teams’ off-seasons — Sox fans are nitpicking because the win-it-or-else pressure on this year’s squad thus far seems to be taking the "or else" route to a baseball world championship. Woe is us, they complain; the team is only one game over .500 in its last 53 games, and the Red Sox are actually closer to the third-place Devil Rays than to the first-place Yankees in the AL East. "How are we going to win the World Series if we can’t even win the division?", the masses moan. After particularly disheartening losses, the Nation shakes its collective head and mutters, "They’re done" — as the team falls an earth-shattering five games behind the Pinstripers. "Boo hoo, it looks like this really isn’t the year," cry the faithless, as they point to the fact that their team’s record is now only third-best in the majors — with only 88 games left to play.

Frankly, it’s sickening to bear witness to both the political and sports landscapes around here. Boston’s unions choose to embarrass the city and its leaders when what the area really needs is a healthy dose of optimism and rejuvenation. The DNC provides the opportunity for Boston to get some long-needed respect, and instead organized labor sabotages those efforts. Locked-in-their-routine commuters apparently are unaware that residents of some cities and towns around the US actually have to deal with real inconveniences — hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, and maybe even 9/11/01 ramifications — that certainly affect them longer than three lousy days. And Red Sox fans need to look at the big picture and realize that things aren’t really that bad. Sure, the team is maddeningly inconsistent, but would they rather be shuffling off to Baltimore’s Camden Yards, Detroit’s Comerica Park, or Denver’s Coors Field these days?

The Red Sox enter the week 10 games over .500, five-and-a-half games behind New York as the two teams prepare for a three-game series in the Bronx — the first get-together since the Sox took six of seven when the Yanks were struggling in April. For many Sox supporters, the prospect of being five games out to the loaded Pinstripers in late June is a sign of apocalypse, but those fans apparently have short memories of another team in this storied rivalry that rallied back from a 14-and-a-half-game deficit — in August — and won a World Series. Boston’s 42-32 record trails only the Yanks’ (47-26) and the Cardinals’ (46-29), and surpasses those collected to this point by Minnesota, the two Chicagos, Texas (which should be starting its fade any day now), Houston, and San Francisco. The Cubs in particular have been wracked by injury, but have hung in there as their walking wounded begin returning to active duty — yet the Cubbies are only seven games over .500, and no one on the North Side is whimpering in the same manner Sox fans are. Boston’s team has also been devastated by injury, and while a few of the key members of the long-term DL have recently re-joined the squad, others (last year’s AL batting champ Bill Mueller, utility outfielder/right-handed pinch-hitter Ellis Burks, fifth starter Byung-Hyun Kim, and reliever Ramiro Mendoza) remain unavailable for Terry Francona’s active roster.

Sure, the team has struggled with its defensive performances, but how long has it been since the ideal version of the Red Sox defense has taken its place on the field? Frankly, it has yet to, and plugging holes with the likes of Kevin Youkilis, Gabe Kapler, Andy Dominique, and Kevin Millar is bound to offer opportunity for miscues in the field. Leaving men on base at a record-setting clip? Well, if a team doesn’t put men on base in the first place, then it’s hard to put yourself in the position to bring them home. And while the Sox admittedly have been a bit lackluster in getting clutch hits at key moments, they’re still routinely setting the table for big innings, as their number-one ranking in on-base percentage attests. In fact, Boston is in the top four among the majors in runs, slugging, hits, walks, doubles, RBIs, and total bases, so the team must be doing something right at the plate.

Pitching? So-called fans around here perhaps forget what a nightly debacle the bullpen situation was last season, but this year the team’s reliever corps has the best ERA in all of baseball, with a mark of 3.18. Sure, Sox Nation knows it’s probably in trouble when Lenny DiNardo or the recently departed Mark Malaska is summoned, but in ideal situations — when only some combination of Mike Timlin, Alan Embree, Scott Williamson, and closer Keith Foulke is needed — the bullpen has been remarkably consistent and reliable. And as far as the starters go, perhaps they too have been a tad inconsistent (particularly Derek Lowe and Bronson Arroyo), but any other club would like its chances when it sends the likes of Curt Schilling (10-4, 3.24 ERA), Pedro Martinez (8-3, 3.73), and Tim Wakefield (a deceptive 4-5, 4.59) out to the hill.

So what is Red Sox Nation complaining about all the time? Because like the Big Dig, the road to World Series glory is not happening as easily as folks thought it should, and is instead fraught with peril and disturbing twists and turns. With Schilling and Foulke on board and the payroll hovering around $125 million, the masses perhaps expected a cakewalk to the finish line, especially with the chemistry and injury issues plaguing their pinstriped neighbors to the south. Well, guess what — the Yankees, as is their tendency, have flourished despite the distractions (Derek Jeter’s slow start, the injuries to Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina) and they have taken the high road en route to their recent success. And why shouldn’t they? A $180-million payroll should certainly imply some depth and talent, and if any team should be viewed as a win-it-or-else squad, it should be this one. Yet despite New York’s 8-11 start and its share of injury woes, the Yankees have avoided the soap-opera drama that annually grips the Hub regarding its local ball club, and Joe Torre’s lads have rebounded with a 39-15 mark since late April. The Sox, because of their 15-6 start and subsequent 27-26 follow-up, are being viewed as underachievers.

Nonsense. New York’s swoon (as well as the Giants’, White Sox’, and Angels’) has been forgotten because it is playing well now; it is the reverse for the Red Sox, and mediocrity doesn’t sit well in this town, especially when the deficit in the division begins to climb.

People need to realize that last year’s team — which a lot of people kinda liked and which did more than simply okay — had the exact same 42-32 record one year ago and proceeded to finish 28 games above .500. They also need to look at a team like Florida, which was 41-41 a year ago and suffered the debacle of a 25-8 loss in Boston last June 27; the defending world champs are only five games above .500 heading into this week, and were in fourth place and 11 games out on this date last June. Things turned out quite all right for the Marlins, and while there is no guarantee that there will be a splendiferous ending for the 2004 edition of the Boston Red Sox, there’s still reason to believe in New England’s favorite sons despite their inconsistent nature. Sure, the team has lost some games and series that it perhaps should have dominated, but take a look at the so-so efforts of the A’s, Angels, Marlins, Phillies, Cubs, and Astros to this point. Then ask yourself if you’re prepared to ditch the locals and switch places with the fandoms of those organizations (all of whom have worse records than Boston). I think that Red Sox fans, despite all their muttering and cursing, would still choose to hitch their wagon to the Cowboy Uppers for the balance of this campaign and take the road that is laid out for them — whether it’s paved with good intentions or shoddy workmanship.

With Carlos Beltran an Astro and Freddy Garcia now a Chisoxer, it’s likely the Boston team that takes the field in the Bronx this week will be the team local baseball fans are stuck with the rest of the season. And that’s not such a bad thing. Because there indeed are 88 more games to play, there is no bullpen by committee, there is no Grady Little, and there are a Schilling, a Foulke, and a Pokey in the house. There are also the exquisite remainders from last year’s near-miss club: David Ortiz, Nomar, Manny, and Trot, among others.

That’s not to say that they won’t on occasion seem to be making every effort to ruin your summah, but when has it ever been otherwise?

The convention and Big Dig will go on, as will the season of the Boston Red Sox, and while no one’s path is likely to be smooth on the road to fruition, this is what we’re stuck with, and we’d be smart to make the best of it because the ending just might be worth the aggravation endured.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com, and Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com