The Red Sox have lost in so many ways, it's tough to find one issue to point to.
Kevin Youkilis has been the worst of the bad Boston bats. Just keep telling yourself it's still early. Do that partly because it's only April, but also so that you don't lose hope.
The Boston Red Sox are 1-5. They've lost games due to the starters. They've lost because of the bullpen. And they've been on the wrong side of the scoreboard because of a lack of offense as well.
The start of the 2012 season really does resemble last September. The Sox lose games in so many different ways, it's hard to keep track. Wednesday, Boston squandered the second straight exceptional start of the season by Jon Lester.
In two starts, Lester has been terrific and has shown everything anyone could want from a No. 1 starter. He stays out of trouble and when he does get into an occasional jam, he doesn't succumb to frustration or nerves. He buckles down and works out of the tough spots with minimal damage.
"Minimal damage" is exactly what the Red Sox offense has done though. The Sox have been outscored 38-22 so far, including 12 runs that came in Saturday's loss to Detroit. That means that in the other five games, they've scored a grand total of 10 runs.
The offense wasn't supposed to be a problem for this team. They have three returning players who finished in the top 10 of MVP voting last season. They also have David Ortiz, arguably the league's best designated hitter.
It would be nice if this were as easy as throwing blame at the lower portion of the lineup. That's the collection of Mike Aviles, Ryan Sweeney, Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who, along with backup catcher Kelly Shoppach, were not being counted on as major offensive forces.
It's not them though. In fact, the most glaring offensive underachievers are Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis. The tandem are a combined 5-for-43. Youkilis, once dubbed "the Geek God of Walks," has yet to record a free pass but he does have six strikeouts. Ellsbury, who finished second in the American League MVP voting in 2011 is hitting .130 with a double accounting for his only extra base hit.
One has to start to wonder what the proverbial "tipping point" on the whole it's-still-early rationale is. The Red Sox took the field for their home opener at 0-6 last season. This season's 1-5 doesn't qualify as a real turnaround. The theory that the Red Sox have been losing to good teams would be fine and dandy if the Red Sox weren't supposed to be one of those teams themselves.
Right now, they're not one of the good teams. Their 1-5 record has them dead last in the American League East and they're the worst team in all of baseball in run differential.
It's April 11 but the Red Sox look as if they're still in spring training, or worse: stuck in September 2011.