Rest in Peace, Red Sox Nation

We are gathered here today to pay tribute to a champion. A team with a decade of accomplishments.

Boston has given us the greatest comeback in the history of the playoffs. They overcame the evil empire, and won their first championship in a century.

They have had a consistency of winning over the last ten years that was as good as any team in baseball. Rest in peace.

Boston Red Sox: 1998-2008

Is this the end of the great run by Red Sox Nation? The writing is on the wall. The Red Sox are in trouble. Entering the most critical stretch of their schedule, they promptly kicked it off with an embarrassing loss to the Yankees.

Pedroia was "plunked" even though Boston was being blown out. I guess NY was sending a message that Boston needs to at least keep the score close for ratings purposes. The King is dead.

Last week, the luster on the crown was tarnished with the news that Big Papi and Manny were on "The List", explaining the decline and almost disappearance of Ortiz's production since 2006.

The pitching staff is in shambles, and injuries are starting to take a toll on the lineup. Smoltz, Penny and Buchholz are showing very little effectiveness. Wakefield and Matsuzaka may be out for extended time frames. Jason Bay's injury could be nagging at him for a couple weeks.

Even the Victor Martinez trade could prove dangerous, as it may take away at bats from Big Papi and even Youkilis, and could create chemistry issues.

Death is at the door.

Sure, the Red Sox are on pace to win 94 games. However, they have won just 8-of-19 games since the All-Star Break, including an 0-6 performance against teams with a winning record (Texas, TB, NYY), and a less than impressive 8-5 record against bottom dwellers Toronto, Baltimore, and Oakland.

Now comes the big test: a stretch of 35 games starting with this week's final three at New York. The good news is that 22 are home games. The bad news is that 17 of those are against teams with winning records (Det, ChW, NYY, TB, LAA) in playoff contention.

Worse yet, 10 of the 13 upcoming road games are against teams with a winning record (NYY, Texas, TB, ChW). Based on how the Sox have been playing, a .500 record in this stretch would be overly optimistic. That would leave them on pace to win 90 games this year.

With Texas and Tampa Bay playing so well, the Red Sox can not expect to make the playoffs unless they win at least 93-95 games. If Boston loses 20 of those 35 games they will be on pace for just 88 wins!

The troubles in Red Sox Nation will continue to mount: The lack of quality starting pitching will tax the bullpen and create additional problems; more injuries are unavoidable; losses will take away the Kingdom's feeling of invincibility.

Their only hope is to close the year on a strong run against Baltimore, Kansas City, New York, Toronto, and Cleveland. By that time, they may be too far removed from the playoff picture.

Fear of a poison flowing through the water could sicken not just this year's team, but the franchise's future success as well. Tampa Bay and New York are in an upward swing. Toronto and Baltimore are building strong, young teams, trying to follow the Ray's model.

Boston is getting older, and is showing signs of age. Red Sox Nation may be taking a couple years off from their reign in the East. Although, they have finished first in the division just one time during their 10 year run, they have been dominant against their rivals and in the playoffs.

All this, in Loving Memory.