Red Sox Reality Check

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, the Red Sox clubhouse is an unhappy place. Can we hazard a guess why? First, baseball players work off the 'individual achievement' approach, if you recall Al Capone in "The Untouchables". They get paid via individual performance, not collective performance. You must not only perform well, but often and well to put up numbers. Who could possibly count the players who MIGHT be unhappy? Also, no matter how you slice it, the Sox are a last place team in the Division. Last. Bottom. Fifth. The fans get soaked, the players and owners get rich, and we have to listen to excuses. C - Shoppach. Has done well enough in limited appearances and surely wants more time. Saltalamacchia has beaten him out, after starting in the pole position. 1B - Adrian Gonzalez can't be HAPPY about playing right, and it must be affecting his hitting. See YOUKILIS. 2B - Dustin Pedroia is playing hurt and may not be as comfortable with Bobby Valenti...

Is the glass half full or half empty? After a dysfunctional start and injuries to key players, should fans be relieved or disenchanted with a last place team? Guys like Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Will Middlebrooks, and Daniel Nava have overachieved. But with OPS .612 (Marlon Byrd) and .732 (Ryan Sweeney, no homers) the outfield looks more like Amateur Hour than Dancing with the Stars. The Sox erstwhile ace, Jon Lester hasn't found a groove and seems moody and disaffected. Conversely, Josh Beckett has stepped it up with an ERA less than 2.25 during his last five starts. Yes, there are sources of irritation. The Bobby Valentine circus sideshow has died down, probably more because of his bullpen management than anything else. And the cheerleading from NESN and the 100 Years of Fenway mantra doesn't compensate for the on-field mediocrity. The Sox collective defense may not be making so many 'errors', but it feels like a steady stream of defensive miscues constantly stre...