Previewing the season you would look at this Red Sox series with the Yankees in the Bronx as a "must see" circle on the schedule. AL East rivals heading into the last month of play neck and neck battling it out for the top spot in the division. Many, including me, thought that would be the case. In present time that scenario is anything but.

Boston is 13 games in the loss column back from the Yankees and three games under .500 on August 17. For the money spent and the talent on this roster there's no excuse for them being in this position other than performance on the field. Sure there are other extraneous pieces of the pie but at the end of the day this rests on the players especially the starting pitching. I know I've targeted pitching a ton in this blog this season with the major blame on Josh Beckett and Jon Lester but the numbers don't lie.

The off-the-field drama surrounding this team is an embarrassment. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or just doesn't get it. It's almost worse than the performance we've seen on the field this season, especially on the mound, dating back to the collapse of last September.

I'm not sure what Red Sox ownership has been trying to spin over the last few days but the fact is people don't like this team. People don't like the players and their performance, the manager and his decisions and the money being spent with no results. A team with the second highest payroll in baseball is below average heading into the last month of the season while the team with the top payroll has the best record in the American League.

Time is running out for the Red Sox this season and in a lot of eyes ran out a long time ago. Again they had a chance in Baltimore to make up some ground against 1 of the 6 teams ahead of them in the Wild Card race and they drop 2 of 3. The collapse last September was the worst in the history of baseball. This season so far has been a disaster since Game 1.

As I said in my last blog, the math is extremely against the Red Sox for making the playoffs. A series that people used to not miss even a pitch has taken a back seat for most fans because of the current state of the Boston Red Sox. Even a sweep in New York this weekend wouldn't do much for a lot of fans.

It may be a lost cause but I'll be watching this weekend because that's just who I am. For many, Monday night's Patriots preseason game is much more appealing.