Man, Koji Uehara turned into Calvin Schiraldi so quickly, didn’t he?

Friday night’s 5-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners may be remembered as the worst of many losses suffered by the 2014 Boston Red Sox. Uehara turned a three-run lead with two outs in the top of the ninth inning into a big pile of kindling. That kindling should officially light the funeral pyre of the season.

Right now, the only things keeping the Red Sox out of the dead, cold water bottom of the American League is the ineptitude of the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. At least they do everything bigger in Texas.

The 2014 Boston Red Sox are bad. They were bad before the big trade deadline selloff, and they’re worse since. You know what? It’s OK. They aren’t going to be bad forever.

I refuse to be one of the “what have you done for me lately,” because those fans have a much too narrow interpretation of lately. They look at a season like this one and declare all is lost. The Red Sox haven’t been over .500 since mid-May. They were 20-19 on May 14. That was the day before the infamous 10-game losing streak. That streak effectively blew up the season before Memorial Day.

What have you done for me lately? If you look at lately by the day, week or month, nothing, and I feel a little sad for you. Your attention span is broken.

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Look at lately with a more historical perspective. The Red Sox have three World Series wins in the last 10 years. I think of that sleepless week the Red Sox caused me in October 1986, or the abrupt gutshot of Aaron Boone in 2003, and I don’t become distraught by a team that appears on the fast track to a second last place finish in three years.

Because those horrible memories are pushed away by the happy thoughts from 2004. I remember the minutes after the ’04 team won the World Series in St. Louis, and colleague Gary Hawkins handing me a pile of money, telling me to go buy champagne and victory cigars.

I remember listening to game four of the 2007 World Series while driving home from a New England Patriots game, and getting back just in time to see Jonathan Papelbon mow down the Colorado Rockies in the bottom of the ninth.

I’ll remember watching the 2013 Red Sox give New England fans the most unexpected championship since the 2001 Patriots upset the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.

You know what I won’t remember? Koji Uehara breaking down like a rusty old Gremlin in a meaningless game in August of a meaningless season.

There are reasons to be excited about the future. Young starting pitchers have shown flashes of talent. Yoenis Cespedes is a slugger built for Fenway Park. New Cuban signee Rusney Castillo is promising.

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I hope the Red Sox have not given up on Jackie Bradley Jr. Confidence is such a big component of hitting, and Bradley needs to find his. If he does, he can be a very good player.

You have to go back to the 1960s to find a stretch in which the Red Sox were truly awful for a long period of time. This team will be competitive again soon. This team gets a pass until it no longer deserves a pass.

Spend September watching your championship season DVDs. Don’t get caught up watching 2014 burn to the ground.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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