Where's the Panic Button in Boston?

Darnell McDonald is tagged out at second,
handing the Red Sox their sixth straight
loss Thursday.

When Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein went out and brought in left-handers sluggers, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, this offseason, expectations went through the roof in 2011.

The Red Sox have gotten out of the gate rather slow losing their first six games to open the season. Being swept by the defending American League champion, Texas Rangers is condonable given the series was played in Arlington. However, losing to a Cleveland Indian team that won all of 69 games a year ago and 24 games under .500, is unacceptable.

Boston has five starters batting under .200 to begin the year and three others under .250. The only starter that is batting over .300 through the first six games is Gonzalez with a batting average at .305.

There is no question a lineup as deep as Boston's will not stay this cold the entire season. The question mark on this Red Sox team is their pitching staff. Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz both had breakout campaigns in 2010, but it's the veterans that are raising the concerns.

2003 World Series Most Valuable Player Josh Beckett is coming off an injury plagued year, where he only made 21 starts with six wins and an earned run average at 5.78. Even though John Lackey pitched 215 innings his first year in Boston, more than an other Red Sox starter, it was not the type of year the Sox expected when the signed him to that five-year $82 million deal.

Those veterans will need to bounce back if Boston wants to reach the expectations that have set for themselves over the last decade.

So far the pitching has not been anything but spectacular. Four of the Red Sox first six losses have come at the hands of their starters. The other two coming from flame throwing set-up man Daniel Bard, whose ERA is 16.88 to start the year.

Boston's pitching staff as a whole has given up 14 home runs and 38 total runs in their six-game tail spin.

The last time a team started the season on a losing streak and won the World Series was none another than the hated New York Yankees. In 1998, the Yankees started off 0-3 and went on to win 114 regular season games and Major League record 125 games, including the postseason. It should be noted that no team has ever started 0-4 and won the World Series in the same year.

The Red Sox have a huge weekend series with New York starting Friday afternoon, it's their 99th Opening Day in Fenway Park. If the Red Sox open up the season 0-7, they will try and do something no other team has done after losing their first seven contests, make the postseason.

If history stays true, the boo birds will be out and it will be another disappointing season for the Fenway Faithful.