Talk about a June swoon. We can't think of two worse back-to-back losses than the ones the Red Sox suffered Tuesday and Wednesday nights, simply dreadful. Terry Francona seems to be making all the wrong decisions and players are fielding like they've got "Chico's Bail Bonds" ironed on the back of their jerseys.

To make matters worse, these losses were to the Yankees, and dropped Boston 7½ games behind New York in the AL East, the largest deficit since Grady Little's crew fell that low last August.

Things don't appear to be getting any better, either. The Sox were 11-14 in the month of June, and may have lost setup man Scott Williamson with an elbow injury Wednesday night.

The doctor isn't in, but feel free to sit on our couch and vent your feelings on the Sox. Can they turn this around? How? What are they doing wrong? Is this Francona's fault, or does the blame lie higher up the chain with Theo and the Trio? Or are the players to blame? Trade Nomar? Acquire a first baseman? Bring back Grady? It's open season ...

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Stop crying. Face it, the Red Sox are an inferior ball club to the New York Yankees. You don't see any of our players botching plays like Ortiz did in pivotal situations, why, bc we know how to play under pressure. Think about this. Ramirez could have been signed by any team last year for his current contract but not one team confronted him. If Derek Jeter had been in the same situation, every team would have attempted to sign him.

Harris, New York/New York

Nothing to lose at this point, so try out some new young pitching. Trade Lowe, trade Arroyo. Get some young, talented pitchers who will, through lower-priced contracts, enable the resigning of Pedro. Roll the dice, they just may be able to contribute this year as we fight for the wildcard. And in the years to come...

John , Chicago, Illinois

We've never come back from this large a deficit to take a division title......wild card is our only hope. Yes, it' s Francona's fault.....it's' time like these you have to go back to fundamentals and, like Grady, Francona would rather be an observer than a coach. These guys are relying on "maybe tomorrow" when they keey screwing everything up today. Damon said they need more luck......luck has nothing to do with it. They have given their fans no reason to keep taking it on the chin. It's a long season? Maybe we should say that at the hafway point, or the two-thirds point, or the four-fifths point....no, it's not a long season, not long enough for the Sox to make a comeback.

Keith, Boston, MA

trade away nomar!

Srikant , Los Gatos, CA

POINT THE FINGER AT ONE PERSON ONLY (JOHN HENRY) HE ALIENTED REDSOX NATION WHEN HE COULDN`T PULL THE TRIGGER ON THE AROD DEAL. DID NOTHING TO GET FREDDIE GARCIA. DID NOTHING TO GET CARLOS BELTRAN. AND HERE WE ARE. A TEAM OF MARK BELLHORNS, AND KEVIN MILLARS. WE DESERVE BETTER. WHAT GOOD IS KEITH FOULKE WHEN YOU CAN`T EVEN USE HIM? AT LEAST STEINBRENNER DOES EVERYTHING HE CAN TO BRING ON WINNERS. THE WHOLE TEAM IS A JOKE FROM FRONT OFFICE RIGHT DOWN TO THE PLAYING FIELD. THEO, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? YOU CANNOT WIN WITH JUST DAVID ORTIZ AND MANNY RAMIREZ. JOHN HENRY IS A BUSINESS MAN FIRST. HE DOES ENOUGH TO MAKE MONEY OUT OF FENWAY AND PUTS A (B-) TEAM ON THE FIELD. THANKS FOR NOT MAKING THE DEALS TO MAKE THE TEAM BETTER. WHO CARES NOW THAT WE ARE SEVEN AND HALF GAMES OUT. SAME OLD STORY, SAME SAD TEAM.

STEVE, DRACUT

they are listless.... is there a leader on this team....throw some bats around!!!!!!

mark, eastsyracuse

Ok guys. Better watch out. The D'Rays are biting at your heals. Here they come!

Tony, St. Petersburg, FL

It is Panic Time. The defense needs major change. Kevin Millar should be on the bench, Ortiz full time DH and McCarty the first baseman. McCarty is great defensive first baseman, he can dig out Nomar's errant throws. Millar can not hit with anyone on base, McCarty can not be any worse with the bat. McCarty is the solution to our middle infield problems, he will be a huge help to solving the unearned run problems. Tito, please make the change.

Darren, Peabody

This is the most baseball fundamentally inept Red Sox team I have ever seen. The infield is atrocious and has now lost the last two crucial games. Nomar's head is not in the game and Ortiz should be the DH and not anywhere near first base. They are also the absolute worst team in the clutch. How many times this season have they squandered bases loaded with no outs? Pathetic. Between Nomar's declining skills (is any team going to sign him for what he wants?) at the plate and in the field, Francona's refusal to manufacter runs and the various pitching problems, the 2004 Red Sox are sunk unless swift changes are made.

Ronin, Nashua, NH

Fire Francona, he is not a leader he is a players puppet. Trade Nomar, he doesn't want to be here. He is looking forward to next year. Send Lowe to the minors and trade him. He probably has his bags packed and a moving company reserved for when the season ends. Sign Varitek which would allow us to trade Shoppach. Go after Randy Johnson and a first baseman that can field. Throw Millar into a trade also. Ortiz can DH, Pokey at short and Youk, Bellhorn and Mueller can platoon on 2nd and 3rd. Do it now before the Yankees are 10 to 12 games ahead.

Jamie, Lewiston, Maine