Oh, the Inanity!

There's a reason I typically steer clear of the comments sections of Boston.com's Red Sox coverage after a loss, and it's only exacerbated at the end of a sweep like today's. The sentiments expressed by certain portions of Red Sox Nation are alarmist at best, and absolutely inane bordering on moronic at worst. Want some examples? After a short post by Peter Abraham quoting Pedroia as saying "When you don't show up, you're going to get beat. Doesn't matter if it's the Rays or (bleeping) Brookline High," and expressing respect for Bill Hall after the man dutifully addressed all questions about his performance in center field, the ridiculousness started:

"bill hall = next edgah wrent-a-reck"

Well thought out, this one, as Edgar Rentaria was signed to be an everyday shortstop, and Bill Hall was to be the fifth - fifth! - outfielder. Personally, I wondered why JD Drew wasn't in center with Hall in right, but that's just me.

"Am I going to get in trouble by suggesting, only suggesting right now that Jacoby Ellsbury may be a whus? Nothing broken, only sore and he can't play, can't run?"

First of all, I think the word you were looking for is "wuss." Secondly, yes, you're a jerk, and clearly didn't see the play on which Ells was injured.

"It's true: the Red Sox dominated the Yankees from 2004 on.... PeteAbe decides to switch over to covering the Sox. What happens? The Yankees go on to WIN THE WoRLD SERIES in 2009 and get off to an incredible start in 2009. Curse of MT? How's that working out for you, John Henry. It's the CURSE OF PETE ABE!!!!!"

Beyond the ludicrous amount of CAPS LOCK and exclamation points (!) in this comment, the writer didn't know what he was talking about. Abraham "switched sides" in late September, so he was technically working for New York for most of their WS season. Also, curses are ridiculous (I'm looking at you, Dan Shaughnessy).

"Here is the issue: Papi is off the juice, Lackey can't throw in Fenway, Youk cries to much for a baseball player and your best hitter in April is in the bullpen yuking it up with the other back up catchers."

Lackey and Papi accusations aside, I have to wonder how Youk's intensity translates into a bad team? Also, Jason Varitek is the best hitter is precisely BECAUSE he is "yuking it up" in the bullpen most of the time: smaller workload, better performance... But thanks for playing!

"The cracks are widening. They may be out of the race by April 30."

It's fans like these that make me WISH for a down year so they jump OFF the bandwagon. It's April. Calm down...

"Here comes the casual fan "I have all the solutions" comments. As if playing MLB2K10 gives you instant credibility to make big boy moves better than the pros..."

...And fans like this that give me hope for the world. Was this weekend painful? Yes. But no one could have predicted injuries to both Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron, resulting in a Spring Training-esque lineup. It. Is. April. Everything will be okay. Theo is doubtless working around the clock on something. And if not? Last time the Red Sox missed the playoffs, they won the World Series the following year. I'll take that tradeoff.