Still, they said it over and over again after a 6-4 loss to Baltimore.
"I can't tell you exactly what's going on right now," said designated hitter David Ortiz.
One of the question marks for some time now has been left fielder Carl Crawford. He answered some critics with a single, double and a triple Wednesday night, but still joined in the quest for solutions.
"We just can't really explain what's going on," Crawford said. "We're having a little breakdown but we still got a few games left and we can still get in. We just gotta finish strong. But it's definitely confusing when we're playing this way."
"This way" involves poor pitching, inconsistent hitting, sloppy defense and ill-timed mental errors. Then there's the question of pride, heart and all those other immeasurable intangibles. Does this team possess them? That's another question still unanswered.
"I think I can answer that better next Wednesday," manager Terry Francona said when asked if his team has what it takes to overcome this harrowing swoon. "Not in very good mood right now. Just lost the game. We've lost a lot of games. We're going to have to fight for everything we get the rest of the way out and make it happen to get where we want to go. And then when that happens, then hopefully we have a day off to regroup.
"We certainly haven't made it very easy for ourselves. That doesn't mean we can't get where we want to go. But we have our work cut out for us."
Several players pointed to the fact that nothing seems to match up. On those rare nights when the pitching performs, the offense can't get the big hit. When the lineup is rolling, an untimely error seems to pop up. When will it all come together?
It's another befuddling question for a team that had clicked on all cylinders for long portions of the season.
"I mean, there's been different things that haven't matched up," said captain Jason Varitek. "Literally when we've pitched well, we haven't swung the bats well. We've had freaky things happen defensively. This, that and the other. I think we've been through every part of it right now."
And still, despite all that experience, it all seems new, and oddly perplexing.
"I don't remember, to be honest with you, going through a month [like this] after playing well. That's the craziest thing about it," Ortiz said of the team's 5-16 September. "We were playing good. We have a tough April at the beginning. Put it together. Everything was going great until we came into September. We are all confused right now."
The search for answers will continue in New York on Friday night.
