That was certainly not the way the Boston Red Sox were hoping to begin baseball's unofficial second half in La La Land.

A three game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers - two games that were served up on a silver platter by the bullpen - has dropped Boston back to 6.5 games out of first place in the AL East, four full behind the Yankees and a game behind Kansas City for the AL's third Wild Card.

Panic? Absolutely not. As mentioned, the Sox could've easily left L.A. by taking 2-of-3 in the series. But they didn't, and they failed to do so at the most crucial time when the eyes of Craig Breslow, the front office and ownership (if they're even paying attention) are watching closely to judge how to navigate this year's trade deadline.

That deadline comes next Tuesday, July 30 at 4 p.m.

With three coming up against the 36-64 Rockies in Colorado, the Sox could very easily be right back to 11 games over .500 by the time they return to Fenway to take on the Yankees this weekend.

However, all you hear about in terms of Boston's stance at the deadline is models. Well, the Sox have the toughest remaining schedule in baseball, so the models probably aren't too kind, or at least don't paint the same picture of the last month and a half when this team has played better than any of the other 29 in the game.

While it was just one bad weekend, it came at an inopportune time for the Sox if they expect to get help next week.

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