"If it's in your nature to look for Red Sox scapegoats after their horrific 2-9 start, then you've already settled on John Lackey and Carl Crawford.

As for which of the two has the furthest to go before he can stop stressing out you and the team, it's no contest: Lackey's your guy.

That's not to say Crawford is a lock to get out of his own private Idaho, but when you compare his performance at the plate this year to how he has produced in the past, the numbers point to a victim more of poor luck than poor execution. He will come around.

With Lackey, it's impossible to speak with that kind of authority.

The Red Sox' decision to skip the right-hander's turn — and not Daisuke Matsuzaka [stats]'s — is the most obvious sign of how troubled they are by his extremely poor first two starts."