Getting Better?

Sad Sox manager Mickey Sizemore wants his team to focus on “getting better,” not avoiding the MLB record for losses in a season. The Keystone Kops may not be focused on futility, but they sure aren’t playing anything resembling major-league baseball. Orioles 9 Sad Sox 0. That’s sixteen shutout losses on the season; one more and over ten percent of the Sox schedule will consist of games where they couldn’t score just one run. Right now, the losing streak is at twelve. So, they could break either the AL record of 21, which they already set this season, or even go for the ML record of 23. You never know. Nick Nastrini started and lost, giving up seven runs—four earned—in 1.2 innings. Nastrini is 0-7 with a 7.79 ERA up here, 3-9 with a 5.24 ERA in Triple-A. By process of elimination, where do you think he belongs? Three unearned runs scored in the second when third baseman Miguel Vargas crashed into left fielder Andrew Benintendi going after a ball Benintendi could’ve caught coming in. Oops, bases loaded. Wait, they’re empty now. Did I mention the six hits, five singles, the Kops punched out? And, hey, Benintendi had a double. Somebody squirt me with the seltzer bottle.