Yes, the Red Sox got hammered in two of their three games this weekend against the hated Yankees.
Yes, there's nothing Boston fans hate to see more than Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez hitting bombs off your ace, then slowly, snidely and spitefully scurrying around the bases.
Yes, this weekend's series loss comes on the heels of getting swept in a four-game catastrophe two weeks earlier in the Bronx.
Yes, Sunday night was the second straight start in which so-called ace Josh Beckett got lit up for seven or more earned runs. (Over those two starts, his ERA is 10.13. Over his last three starts, he's given up 10 home runs, the same amount he's allowed in his other 22 starts.)
Yes, the members of the pitching staff responsible for Friday's night's 20-11 debacle — particularly Brad Penny, Michael Bowden and Ramon Ramirez — should be watched carefully and with great skepticism if/when they next take to the mound.
And yes, the Sox are now 7 1/2 games back of the Bronx Bombers in the AL East and just one game up on the surging Rangers and three games ahead of the Rays for the wild card.
But …
The Red Sox did manage to score 29 runs in the three-game set against the Yanks. (Of course they also allowed 29, but that's a separate problem.) They're hitting the ball even against solid pitching, having beaten both Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett over the last week.
All-Star Tim Wakefield (11-3) is scheduled to make his first big-league start since July 8, taking Penny's place in the rotation on Wednesday against the White Sox.
Victor Martinez has been a big-time help since he was added at the trade deadline. He's hitting .337 in a Red Sox uniform and has five homers and 16 RBIs in 20 games so far.
David Ortiz, too, has continued his hot streak at the plate, hitting .393 with five homers and 13 RBIs since Aug. 14.
Whether or not the Red Sox are able to land veteran Billy Wagner to add left-handed depth to the bullpen, their 'pen has been among the league's best all season long, posting a 3.67 ERA this season, sixth best in the league and second in the AL behind the Rays.
The Red Sox have 39 regular season games left. Twenty-two of the 39 are at home, where the Sox are 39-20 so far this season. By comparison, the Rangers only have 15 of their remaining 39 games left at their ballpark in Arlington. The Rays also have 39 games left on the schedule, just 18 of them in Tampa.
Nineteen of the Red Sox' 39 remaining games are against teams with records currently below .500.
Perhaps most importantly, if the season ended today, the Red Sox would still be in the postseason. And if the Red Sox reach that Promised Land, with its shortened pitching staffs and high-pressure situations, they'll be well prepared to flourish.
It never feels good to lose to the Yankees. But if the Red Sox can keep things in perspective, bear down over the season's final six weeks and reach the playoffs, there's still plenty that can be salvaged from this dwindling 2009 campaign.
And if the Red Sox and Yanks should meet up again in the ALCS in October … well, we know how that last worked out.
