The Complex Psyche of Red Sox Nation

The pitching is better, the hitting isn't that much worse, but the sky sure seems to be falling faster in the minds of Boston Red Sox fans.

In the world of stats and results, the 2004 Red Sox are not dramatically different from the 2003 team that got within one game of the World Series. But Planet Stat can be a far cry from the reality of this world.

Reality is filled with intangibles like the burden of expectations, constant comparisons with a hated rival, and drama in the clubhouse.

And because of those intangibles, the things that can't be quantified and measured, the reality is that Red Sox Nation is dejected, disgruntled, and dissatisfied with the 2004 edition of the Sox despite its similarities to the 2003 squad.

After 109 games last season, the Red Sox were 63-46. This year (as of this writing), the Sox are 60-49. Last season, the team batting average was .289 and the on-base percentage was .360. So far this year the numbers are .279 and .357. Last season, the Boston pitching staff posted a 4.48 ERA. This year, it's 4.17.

Those numbers are similar, similar enough that you would expect fans to feel roughly the same about both teams, but that's clearly not the case.

It's important to note that Red Sox fans are notorious for their doomsday prophecies. Where their World Series-deprived brethren Chicago Cubs fans are eternal optimists, Red Sox fans are eternal pessimists. They almost expect to lose. As Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote in his book At Fenway, "[Red Sox fans] know that the Sox are the only team that can give the appearance of being mathematically eliminated when they are still in first place."

But this season, it seems to be worse. On any given day, you'll find Red Sox fans complaining about everything from not hitting in the clutch to losing too many close games to poor fielding. Now, some are even griping about the scruffy looks that players like Johnny Damon, Mark Bellhorn, and Derek Lowe have adopted.

It all amounts to a mountain of bad feelings that stand in stark contrast to the good feelings that enveloped the team during its playoff run last season.

So is the mountain just a mole hill? In some ways, the answer is yes. In stat world, the answer would certainly be yes. But things are a little more muddied in the real world thanks to the aforementioned intangibles. Let's look at them one at a time:

The Burden of Expectations

In a strange fit of optimism, Red Sox fans looked on the bright side of their ALCS loss to the Yankees and said, "Look how close we were. We can get back here."

And when general manager Theo Epstein made all the right offseason moves by acquiring Curt Schilling for the front of the rotation and closer Keith Foulke for the back end of the bullpen, the optimism was palpable. Even when the Sox failed in their attempt to grab Alex Rodriguez and he ended up in the Bronx, fans were undaunted. This would be the year that the Red Sox finally conquered the Evil Empire.

The expectations shot through the roof when the Sox won five of six April games over the Yankees. But reality soon set in. The overpowering Yankees did just that, opening up a massive lead in the division and demoralizing the Red Sox, who played .500 baseball over the next two months.

All that combined to leave Red Sox fans scratching their heads. The Sox were supposed to be better than this. It doesn't matter that the stats say the team is about the same. They weren't supposed to be the same. They were supposed to be better.

Constant Comparisons to a Hated Rival

Ah, the Yankees rear their ugly head again. It should come as no surprise. Red Sox fans and media are notorious for judging the team against the Yankees and only the Yankees.

This season, the comparison is painful for Bostonians. The Yankees were 71-40 as of Sunday, 10 games in front of the Red Sox. Realistically, Boston has zero chance of catching the Yankees.

But their playoff hopes aren't dashed. The Red Sox are in the thick of the wildcard race, a race they won last year. So, it would make more sense for Red Sox fans to compare their team to their wildcard competitors. And while Red Sox fans surely do that, while they carefully check the wildcard standings ever day, they can't help glancing up at those division standings. Being so inferior to the Yankees gnaws at them.

Drama in the Clubhouse

Okay, this might take a while. From stars asking for supposedly unnecessary days off to criticism of manager Terry Francona to the Nomar fiasco, the Red Sox clubhouse has been filled with so much drama that it could probably sneak its way into FOX's reality show lineup.

Those first two pieces of drama are not so unusual in Boston. When Manny Ramirez asks for days off, he's bound to get criticized. That's the way the Boston media works. And when Terry Francona leaves Tim Wakefield in a game long enough for him to allow six homeruns, questions will abound. (Remember, Grady Little leaving Pedro on the mound in Game 7 of the ALCS is what got him fired.)

That kind of drama can be overcome. Last year, the Sox did overcome it thanks to a tight division race and terrific team chemistry.

But Nomar-gate has left everybody in a tither.

The short version of the controversy goes something like this: Nomar rejected a contract extension in the offseason and found out on his honeymoon that he was set to be part of the trade for A-Rod. When the trade fell through, feelings were undoubtedly left damaged. Then Nomar missed much of the season's first half with an injury. When he did come back, he needed a few off-days to rest his ailing Achilles tendon. One of those off-days came in the final game of a series with the Yankees, the same game that saw Derek Jeter dive head-first into the stands to catch a foul ball.

In the minds of some Red Sox fans, the contrast of Nomar relaxing on the bench and Jeter emerging from the stands with a black eye and bloodied face confirmed the horrible truth -- Nomar was dogging it. Then just before the trading deadline, the Sox sent Nomar to the Cubs in a four-team trade and got Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz in return.

Okay, so that wasn't short, and unfortunately that's only the half of it. Since Nomar's trade, he's been front page news in Boston. Rumors have emerged that Nomar injured his Achilles playing soccer and that he was the equivalent of a cancer in the clubhouse.

For his part, Nomar has washed his hands of the whole thing. He's in Chicago, doing well, and smiling a heck of a lot more than he did in his final season at Fenway.

But Red Sox fans and media can't leave it behind, partly because they loved Nomar and they may be trying to justify trading him. Whatever the case, there's been more talk about Nomar in the past few weeks than about the wildcard race. Can you say distraction?

So what we have here is a fanbase tortured by expectations, crushed by an inferiority complex, and disgusted with a clubhouse that looks like a soap opera. Who can blame them for making a mountain out of this molehill?

But luckily for Red Sox fans, there is hope. With Nomar gone for better or for worse, the controversy can die down. With the Yankees miles in front, maybe fans can resign their fate and understand that the wildcard is what counts. And with a little perspective, maybe they can realize that while this team was supposed to be better than last year's, they just aren't right now.

That doesn't mean they can't get better. Epstein addressed the team's biggest weakness when he upgraded the defense by inserting Cabrera and Mientkiewicz into the lineup. Chemistry could get better, too. If Kevin Millar can come up with another catch phrase like "Cowboy Up," maybe he can unite the team and the fans again. If David Ortiz can keep smiling, he can maintain his role as a liaison between Manny Ramirez and reality, making sure that Manny stays happy and doesn't get cranky when the media calls him out for taking days off when he has the flu.

And maybe the most important thing -- if Red Sox fans can stop being so damn pessimistic ... well, nevermind.

Some things never change.