FIVE DOWN

	Manny being mad? Despite three walk-off wins, the Red Sox have experienced a troubling stretch as of late. Otto Grueule Jr./Getty Images
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1. Red Sox: Yeah, this walk-off stuff has been fun and all, but it has concealed the true current state of the Sox, which is not so encouraging. On Tuesday, Boston lost the division lead it had held over the Yankees since June 18, and the most disconcerting part is that New York has been severely hobbled the entire time but has managed to keep pace with Boston. Now the Yanks have reloaded in the trade market and are beginning to recover for the stretch run.

The Red Sox have gone in the exact opposite direction. They failed to make a single deadline move and have been ravaged by injuries, with Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek on the DL with a strained biceps and torn knee cartilage, respectively. Nixon should be back in a few weeks (and Wily Mo Pena won't be a big step down in right field anyway), but Varitek, the irreplaceable team captain, is having surgery on his knee today and will be out at the very least a month (possibly the rest of the season). Adding insult to injury, the pitching staff is in complete disarray. Rotation rock Curt Schilling has been hit hard in each of his last three outings, and Josh Beckett's rolling with a 4.76 ERA. As a whole, the team has surrendered 65 runs in its last 10 games.

2. Young arms: One of the top stories of the season has been the unprecedented success enjoyed by a host of youthful hurlers. But as July turns to August and innings start piling up, the story line begins to sour due to wear and tear on these unseasoned arms: Angels rookie Jered Weaver missed a July start because of biceps tendinitis; Francisco Liriano skipped Wednesday's start because of inflammation in his pitching forearm; and Scott Kazmir is on the DL with shoulder inflammation. For inexperienced pitchers who aren't used to the rigors of a full season, the second half turns into a bit of a death march. Don't be surprised if another slew of hyped but green slingers hits the wall in the next few weeks, especially Detroit's Justin Verlander. Verlander, who leads the majors with 14 wins, has already eclipsed his single-season high mark for innings pitched.

3. Fausto's follies: Since the Tribe gave Fausto Carmona the closer role in late July, his numbers have been jaw-dropping ... in a very bad way: three games, an 0-3 record and a 40.50 ERA. It's not that Carmona lacks the stuff to handle the ninth frame; the 22-year-old features a high-90s fastball and a mid-90s power sinker. Like Kansas City's embattled closer of the same age, Ambiorix Burgos, Carmona just has no control of his nasty arsenal. Wednesday night was a perfect example. Carmona entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with Cleveland holding a 5-4 lead and proceeded to strike out the first two batters he faced. Then he completely melted down, plunking Doug Mirabelli and Alex Gonzalez, walking Kevin Youkilis to load the bases and serving up a fastball to Mark Loretta, who blasted a game-winning double. It's easy to see that Eric Wedge tossed this raw youngster into the pressure-cooker prematurely.

4. Xavier Nady's life: Imagine this: You're cruising along in your dream job, working upper management in a top-notch operation while living large on the coast. Then, without warning, you're transferred to a futile, nickel-and-dime company located inland. And -- now that we're knee-deep in this analogy -- imagine that the only reason this demotion occurred was because a fellow employee went on sick leave. How would you feel? That's basically what happened to Nady. He was traded from the NL's best team (the Mets) to the NL's worst team (the Pirates) because Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez suffered a season-ending injury in a taxicab crash, forcing New York to move Nady for bullpen help. Say a prayer for the X-Man.

5. Brian Sabean's geezer game plan: The Giants just keep getting older and less imposing. Having lost nine of their last 10 games, they're fading in both the division and wild-card races. And it's time to address the current state of the team.

Since 1997, general manager Brian Sabean has made a constant effort to surround the ball club's centerpiece, Barry Bonds, with experienced vets who produce consistently. Although this strategy has generated some ghastly moves (see: Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser for A.J. Pierzynski, a trade that Twins fans have thoroughly enjoyed), the Giants have posted winning records in eight of the last nine seasons and made the playoffs four times.

But the Barry Bonds era is over, as the seven-time MVP is a shell of his former self. The franchise must stop this geriatric experiment and begin planning for the future. Brian, face the facts: Your team missed its world-title window when it blew the '02 Series. Move on.

The Giants could have acquired a bevy of talented prospects by trading Jason Schmidt (as well as Moises Alou and Ray Durham) before the deadline. Instead they got even older, trading Shairon Martis, a hard-throwing 19-year-old prospect who tossed a no-hitter for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, for Mike Stanton, a 39-year-old reliever with a 4.47 ERA.

Sure, the Giants could rally and make the playoffs by winning either the division or the wild card. But what's the fun in another first-round exit?

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