So much has gone wrong for the Red Sox this season that it's hard to pick out just one reason for the team's struggles.
You could call out the club's inconsistent starting pitching, injuries, untimely hitting, so on and so forth. Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino isn't ready to place blame on any one area, though.
"There is no single source, there's no single person," Lucchino said Thursday morning on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan. "It's a combination of factors. Ben [Cherington] has been saying that for a while. Certainly, the stability and effectiveness of the starting pitching has been a place to start. … I don't mean to point fingers at anybody in particular, because as I said earlier, there are a lot of factors that have contributed — there are probably transitional pains too from an organization that we had to an organization with new people and new personalities — but I think you've got to focus on the on-field activities and the unpredictability, really, of the starting pitching."
One person who Lucchino thinks has performed well is manager Bobby Valentine. Despite occasional moans and groans from Red Sox Nation, and constant speculation about how long Valentine will last in Boston, Lucchino finds it tough to place much blame on the Sox skipper.
"I think he has. I think he has done a good job," Lucchino said. "Today is a tough day to ask that. Because we spend a lot of time, those of us that are baseball fans, second guessing the manager, the general manager, the club president, and after last night's bitter loss there are a couple decisions you can question but that's the nature of the game."
Lucchino is right in this being a tough time to ask. The Red Sox were 4-6 on their last homestand, which has put them two games below .500. Boston begins a 10-game road trip on Thursday night against the Cleveland Indians.
