Sox 88 – Stumbling Along

As the Sox continued to stumble through June, it seemed apparent that only two things were keeping John McNamara at the helm. One was a split in front-office ranks, with John Harrington and Jean Yawkey in favor of firing Mac and Lou Gorman and Haywood Sullivan for keeping him on, at least for the present. The other was a perceived lack of suitable candidates, either in or out of the organization. Two possibilities- Joe Torre and Lou Piniella- were under contract to other teams. Piniella would soon return to the Yankees' spot after Billy Martin was fired for the fifth and final time.

 

The Sox would break out occasionally, but the overall trend was down. Struggling Mike Smithson gave them a surprise boost by hurling 7 strong innings in a 7-3 triumph over the Yanks. Boston finally hit with some power, as Mike Greenwell went 4 for 5 with two doubles, and Ellis Burks and Wade Boggs had 6 hits and 4 rbi's between them. The next day they teed off again with 14 safeties against the Bombers' mediocre pitching staff. Burks went 4 for 5, including a second-inning grand slam off Al Leiter. The Sox eased in 8-3, as Bruce Hurst, Dennis Lamp and Lee Smith held the Yankees at bay.

 

But these outbursts were rare. The once-powerful Orioles had started the year with a major league record 21 consecutive losses and were still deep in the AL East cellar. But they still managed to take 2 of 3 from the Sox, leading to more hand-wringing. The O's took the opener 8-4 as Jeff Sellers, John Trautwein and Bob Stanley were battered for 10 hits. It was still 5-4 when the Steamer took over in the eighth, but the veteran proceeded to walk three and surrender two hits to put it out of reach. The next night saw a 3-2 extra-inning defeat. Oil Can Boyd gave up a two-run homer to old pal Fred Lynn in the sixth to tie it at 2. Baltimore would then win it in the eleventh on a single by journeyman Jim Traber following a Rich Gedman throwing error. Though Roger Clemens did salvage the rubber game by throwing a 5-0 shutout, the Sox were sinking deeper by the day. Dan Shaughnessy stated that ownership was "letting McNamara twist slowly in the wind." The manager continued to give confusing and sometimes contradictory statements about his status and that of the team. On the 17th, they stood at 30-31, 8 1/2 games behind.

 

Given the number of strong hitters on the Sox, their lack of power was puzzling and disturbing. Jose Canseco led the league in homers with 17; the Townies' leader was Greenwell with 8. Dwight Evans was the team rbi leader with 41, 14 less than Dave Winfield. No Sox player even appeared in the doubles and triples categories. On the pitching side, it was little better. Clemens and Hurst were dependable starters, but the rotation then dropped precipitously. Sellers, Boyd, and Smithson were a combined 8-13 with a 5.37 ERA. To make matters worse, closer Lee Smith had back problems. Some writers were saying the season was already over, and many fans agreed.