The heat is on Terry Francona, whose Red Sox have fallen out of the AL East race. AP

Let me get this out of the way: I don't understand the whole Red Sox Nation thing. I'm not sure that, even if you were born and have lived your whole life in Boston, even if you automatically cringe when someone butchers the name "Worcester," even if you believe -- with every fiber of your winter-hardened New England soul -- that Fenway Park is hallowed ground and Bucky Dent is the devil in spikes, that you can adequately explain Boston fans' collective psyche.

What goes on in the minds and hearts of true Red Sox fans, by and large, is unknowable to outsiders. It's the green stuff growing on the 3-week-old leftovers in the back of the fridge. It's the language of teen-agers to a 40-year-old. It's unfathomable. Untouchable.

I'll let Peter Gammons and Bill Simmons try to fill you in on the inner workings of Red Sox Nation. But I will say this: from an outsider's vantage point, when it comes to the Red Sox, Boston fans are downright sick.

Cubs fans are Cubs fans -- luckless and loving it. Yankees fans are supremely obnoxious. Angels fans are loud and learning, Dodgers fans come late and take off early (sorry, Eric Gagne, game's over), Mariners fans feel their team is underappreciated, Cardinals fans supposedly know it all, Braves fans are fading, Expos fans are nearly dead, Indians fans live in the past, Orioles fans hate their owner, Marlins fans don't like the rain and Devil Rays fans are still a rumor.

Red Sox fans, though, are in a league by themselves. Nobody takes baseball more seriously. Nobody takes losing harder. Nobody, in fact, takes anything harder. Al Gore took the 2000 election outcome easier than Red Sox fans take a loss in May. Saddam Hussein looks less riled after losing a country.

Even when the local nine is tearing it up -- and the Red Sox do, once in a while -- the Nation is looking over its shoulder. And when the Red Sox are playing poorly ... well, forget it. It's ugly. No one is spared.

And that's the problem right now. In the eyes of many Nation denizens, things are as ugly as can be. The Red Sox are seven games behind the Yankees in the American League East. Just last week, the Evil Empire embarrassingly swept the Red Sox in New York. Since June 1, the Sox have gone 13-17.

The race is over, or so the cry goes. The Red Sox are meat. Bring on the sacrificial lambs.

MAILBAG Comments, questions or obviously unfounded criticism? To e-mail Donovan, use the form below. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Terry Francona, the team's infernally upbeat manager, is being ripped for being too passive. He's being compared to former skipper Grady Little, the worst insult to Bostonians since taxation without representation. Some are calling the new manager "Fran-coma."

Right-hander Derek Lowe is hearing it, too. He's 6-8 with a 6.02 ERA. Red Sox Nation wants his head. Pedro Martinez, the moody, talented ace, is a great source of angst. He's 8-3 with a 3.74 ERA, and he's won a ton of games in Boston, but he's always doing something to get on the nerves of the Nation.

Nobody, though, is sitting less pretty right now than Nomar Garciaparra, the team's shortstop. When the hobbled free-agent-to-be seemingly sulked on the bench during the 13-inning heart-render against the Yankees last week, the Nation was outraged. Nomar's petulant, he's hurt and, if you listen to a lot of Red Sox fans, he's gotta go. Forget that he's hitting .500 with a homer and three RBIs since that epic loss. Forget what he's done for the team in the past. Get some prospects for him. Get him outta here.

The funniest part about all this worked-up passion and anger -- at least from an outsider's point of view -- is this particular Boston team is actually pretty darn good. It could be real good. The Red Sox haven't played well over the past few weeks, granted. Defensively, in fact, they stink.

But they can wallop the ball (a combined on-base and slugging percentage of .810, third in baseball) with the best of them. They can pitch (the 3.95 staff ERA is tops in the AL). Unlike last season, they have a legitimate closer (Keith Foulke has 13 saves and a 1.28 ERA). The Red Sox may not be able to get past the Yankees for the AL East title, but they can win the wild card. And with the pitching they have, they can do some damage in the playoffs.

Tuesday night, they laid an 11-0 whipping on Barry Zito and the A's, which was significant because it was the first time this season the banged-up Red Sox played with Garciaparra, Trot Nixon and Bill Mueller in the lineup. It was meaningful, too, because the A's could be a wild-card contender. After this three-game series with the A's, the Red Sox face the Rangers and Angels, two other wild-card hopefuls.

It's still a long way to October. Tuesday night was only the halfway point of another seismic season for the Sox. Lots of good still can come from this one.

But if you're a member of the Nation, you know that lots of bad can come of it, too. No one knows that better. No one ever will.

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.