The Red Sox dropped their fifth straight game Wednesday night, dropping into a tie with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. A week ago, they led the Bombers by 4½ games!

They've been sloppy in the field, slumping at the plate and Pedro's whining again. So what can Terry Francona and Co. do to right the ship? Is this just a temporary snap, or in the Sox in serious trouble? Give us your take on Boston's woes, and what you think they can do to get back on track.

Page 2

You could really strangle Grady Little all over again on this one! Win the World Series and then let those who want out - Out !! Mueller and Millar obviously had career years. ( could use Freddy S. at 3rd last night! ). Who knows when Nomar & Trot are coming back. May 1st is a handy thing to throw out in Spring Training. The pitching obviously is superior but the likes of Daubach, Crespo, McCarty, Bellhorn will not cut it on offense. Heck, if this keeps up Pedro could be outta Dodge sooner than he thinks! A pitcher will have to go for a hitter if Trot & Nomar are out much longer..

JCP, WestBoylston

Once again, I am embarassed by my fellow Red Sox fans. Just last week, everyone was sky-high on this team. Now they lose a few games, and everyone is panicking. Could all you so-called "fans" who hopped on the bandwagon at the end of last year please just get back off?

Frank, Boston, MA

As I watched the Red Sox this year I have not yet seen the spark that we saw last year during the series with Oakland. I think Terry should sit them down and make the watch the last three innings of each game to get them motivated. They look sloppy and unmotivated this year. They are not realizing their potential. The new players Bellhorn, Reese, Crespo have a chance to make a name for themselves even Daubach. They need to forward and paly some ball pretty darn quick.

Ralph , Lincoln, NE

Well...while a losing streak such as this is really disheartening this early in the season, it is to be expected. When you fill a third of your starting line-up with utility players (McCarty, Bellhorn, Kapler,) on an inconsistent basis, it's going to be tough to create any sort of rhythm. This line-up needs Trot and Nomar back, period. They are veterans with years of experience, and they also played major roles in last year's record breaking offense. You don't have a record breaking offense like we did last year by having three or four big bats in your line-up. Those results come from players feeding off one another, a sense of comraderie and comfort. While Bellhorn, McCarty, and Kapler are great fill-ins, they are only that, fill-ins. We can't come to depend on them game in, game out. Once we get, Trot and Nomar back, the rest of the league will begin to fear us again, if they already aren't.

Adam, Scotia, NY

Last night's team looked like a double A minor league at best. McCarty, Bellhorn, Daubach, have no business in the majors. Bill Mueller was horrible as well. Just when you thought the defense was sound and it was simply a matter of waking up the bats, the wheels fall off.... They better do something quickly.

Drew, Yorktown, VA

Motivate the team to start winning some games. But, I guess it was expected they'd start fast and slide a bit now.

Kevin, Boxborough

Unfortunately there is not a lot Francona can do at this point. Daubach, Bellhorne, Kapler & McCarty are role players who he is forced to play everydday due to injuries. Furthermore, the Red Sox did not do enough in the off season to improve their offense. Too many players had career years last year and it was incredibly naive to think that any of them would have a repeat performance this year. All he can do in the meantime is shift some players around in the batting order and hope the offense comes around and the pitching remains strong. What else can he do ? It's too early for teams to start trading.

KC, New Jersey

how about trying a bunt a occasionally??? When the bats are working, a bunt can come up huge to spark some confidence and get some runs on the scoreboard. Move Varitek to second in the order. He's been hitting the ball well and running the bases even better. In the past week I've seen him go from 1st to 3rd on singles cause he was running hard the whole way and taking advantage of opportunites.

Bones, Chicago

Terry must adjust his game strategies. He is still coaching (or not coaching) as if Nomar, Trot and Todd Walker were still in the lineup. We need to manufacture runs! Bunt, steal, hit and run. We clearly can't get clutch hits, so we need to make the most of every situation. Giving up 2 runs per game should be a 'W' every time. I know Sox Management hates to 'give up outs' but a productive out leads to runs and Terry & Co. refuse to do that.

scott , Hudson, NH

I'm not sure what he can do because right now I don't think he's the guy that can do it. From what I've seen so far, I'm not too impressed with Terry.

John, Boston