I found this story on ESPN.com disturbing. Pedro Martinez says he's done for the year:

"This is it," Martinez told reporters after Sunday's game. "I'm done. To ask for a little more would be greedy. I'm going to let (prospect Josh) Hancock show what he has, to see if he can be of any help to us next year. I don't have anything else to prove."

Red Sox manager Grady Little tentatively has scheduled Hancock to pitch Thursday in Chicago. Whether Martinez makes one final start would not prevent Hancock from making an appearance before the season's out.

"We'll sleep on it and let (Martinez) sleep on it," Little told the Hartford Courant. "If I had to guess, I would think he would want to make that start. But we'll make that decision."

In this post about Nomar being run out of town, a similar thought is discussed. Do the Red Sox have the desire to win? And if not, why not? As Rob Neyer points out in this column, the Red Sox have underperformed by 8 wins based on their runs scored and runs allowed. That tells me they win big, but lose close. Sure enough, they are 33-18 in games decided by 5 runs or more, but 12-22 in games decided by 1 run. Now, do those 1-run losses bother the Red Sox players? Do they slam gloves and yell at each other? Do individuals get mad at themselves if they feel responsible for such a loss. My guess is Pedro and Nomar don't and they set the example for everyone else.

The Red Sox need a Paul O'Neill type. Someone who beats himself up over a swing and a miss. In fact, maybe they should hire Paul as their manager. I think you'd see a quick attitude change. Until that happens, until the Red Sox want to win as much as the Yankees or A's or DBacks (you think Schilling doesn't want another start?) they will continue to suffer from a supposed curse.