My fellow Red Sox Nation members,

I know that this is a troubling time to be a Red Sox fan. The offensive and defensive downfall of The Nation is disconcerting and the outlook for our baseball club seems to be grim, but I urge you all to keep your heads high.
However difficult it might be to focus on the positive things, we must to keep morale up. Some of you may ask what are the positives? Being 2-9 in mid-April after ESPN picked us to win the World Series may be all you can think about right now. But just look at that statement.
2-9... okay well that's not great but those two wins are against the Yankees. In one of those wins we saw Josh Beckett circa 2007. Seeing Beckett pitch like that against the Yankees shows that we at least have one pitcher who can get the job done and the others will follow, I assure you. The difference there was Jason Varitek behind the plate. He makes pitchers feel comfortable, and even though he is in no way an offensive threat, he may be what our pitching needs to turn things around.
Mid-April... It's mid-April, Nation! If it was August and we had a .22 winning percentage I would tell you we're finished. But there is plenty of time to pick things up. The Sox have played 11 games and everyone knows Jonny Lester and Kevin Youkilis need a month to get into a groove. Carl Crawford is still settling in to a new ball club and the Green Monster out in left. Let's not panic just yet.
ESPN picked us to win it all, and so did everyone else. That's a lot of pressure and no doubt it's on every one of the Red Sox's heads. Having "you're not supposed to lose" in the back of your mind cannot help you game in the least. Dustin Pedroia's wife told him, "You guys suck!" when he came home from the series with Cleveland and that lit a fire under him (I think it was good she wasn't beating around the bush when he stepped through the door). So maybe all of this talk about the Red Sox slipping will light a fire under everyone else.
Nation, just keep the faith alive. Dig down to that kind of faith that was with us in 2004. If Red Sox Nation believes then we can get through the toughest times. That's why we're the best fans in baseball.