Danny Picard: The Red Sox’ 2015 season is O-V-E-R

So here we are. Mid-June. The Boston Red Sox are in last place in the AL East. And the rest of the division isn’t as bad as we all originally thought.

I’ve never done this so early. Never this soon. But the Red Sox’ season is over, already.

I know this because of what I see. And that’s a baseball team that just isn’t any good. When they hit, they can’t pitch. When they pitch, they can’t hit. During the rare occasion that they do both, they can’t field.

The latest issue? Pablo Sandoval was “liking” photos on Instagram while using the bathroom during the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. While using social media during a game should be frowned upon, so should taking one of your hottest hitters out of the lineup. Because that’s what Sandoval is, and as a result of his in-game Instagram use, he was benched for Thursday night’s game after admitting to it.

Sandoval went 2-for-4 the night he was using his phone during the game. Entering Thursday, he had five straight multi-hit games and raised his season batting average to .270.

So taking one of your hottest hitters out of the lineup for violating the organization’s social media policy doesn’t seem like the best move for a team that desperately needs wins to stay alive. But they can’t even get this one right.

You could also make the argument that it doesn’t matter, because this season is already over. That much, I believe to be true.I know this because the Red Sox have had several opportunities to rally behind big wins. The type of wins that some would call“statement” wins.

You don’t have to look any further than nearly two weeks ago, when the Sox picked up their first series sweep of the season by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the eighth to finish off a come-from-behind 7-4 win over the Athletics at Fenway Park.

How did they respond to that? By losing seven straight games, which included being swept by back-to-back AL East teams.

Then, the Sox snapped that brutal losing skid by defeating the Braves, 9-4, in a game that saw Wade Miley bounce back from an ugly night in Baltimore the week prior,and Brock Holt become the first Red Sox player to hit for the cycle since John Valentin did it in 1996.

How did they respond to that? By losing the very next night to the same team, in Atlanta, 5-2.

These Red Sox have had every opportunity to show us that they don’t suck, that they have a baseball team that has the ability to dig itself out of a hole. And every single time, they fail to follow through. That’s no fluke. That’s reality.

So here we are. Mid-June. The Red Sox are in last place. They can’t hit consistently. They can’t pitch consistently. They can’t field consistently.

Might as well let the entire team use their phones during games. Because this season is over.

Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” every weekday at dannypicard.com. Danny can also be heard weekends on WEEI 93.7 FM.