Five Swings: Define "Worst"

Fenway South saw the Red Sox swept away in extra innings by the Orioles, who came into the series as the worst team in Major League Baseball.

1. Worst House. The Sox battled back to .500 and then went into a deep snooze for a three game pitch-slapping at the hands of the Woes. If you get annihilated by the "worst" team in the majors, how does that make you feel? The Sox lost 4-5 (10), 9-12, and 2-3 (10). Two quality starts (Lackey and Beckett) turned into defeats, generally the odds against that are about 6-1 against. But in the 'run prevention' era, who knows?

2. Wigged Out. Ty Wigginton became the Gates Brown, Ichiro, Frank Catalanotto Soxkiller du jour, driving a Papelbon pitch into the left centerfield gap, after Papelbon had yielded a walk and an errant pickoff throw to start the extra-inning fire. Wigginton, filling in for Brian Roberts at second, brought the Orioles closer to the Red Sox than the Sox are to either the Yankees or the Rays.

3. Dis-gruntled. The Sox had an unexpected off-day for Kevin Youkilis with an injury, which got Mike Lowell his first MLB start at first base. Regrettably neither Lowell nor David Ortiz had any production today. Such are the vicissitudes of professional baseball.

4. Turnaround. If this is truly the "bridge" year, between more offensive talent (to be bought after Julio Lugo and Dis-gruntled come off the books) then this is looking like London Bridge, falling down in the standings and in entertainment value.

5. Mr. Bright Side. Well, it's not all bad, with J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek both going yard, and Darnell McDonald still carrying a .900 OPS. Josh Beckett recovered from a two run fourth to throw seven innings, and Daniel Bard pitched out of a jam. The Sox aren't the worst team in baseball; there just playing like it. Don't you feel better now?