BOSTON -- The Red Sox are a team in turmoil after falling victim to Mike Mussina's near perfect game Sunday night which left Boston eight games back in the wild-card race.

	Martinez

	Garciaparra

The loss to their archrival Yankees left the Red Sox numb. "This is why nobody wants to play here," team leader Nomar Garciaparra was heard saying more than once in the clubhouse after the loss.

Also Sunday, Pedro Martinez told The Boston Globe that the team would be wise to shut him down for the rest of the season if they fall hopelessly from playoff contention.

His comments come on the heels of John Cumberland's controversial firing Sunday as the Red Sox pitching coach after only 18 days on the job.

	“	We don't have a monkey on our back. We've got a ... gorilla on our back. ”
		— Red Sox OF Trot Nixon

Observers could point to manager Jimy Williams' firing last month as the point when the Red Sox's season went sour.

Since then, Boston is 6-11 under Joe Kerrigan, who was given a two-year contract by general manager Dan Duquette.

Martinez suggested the Red Sox might be wise to consider the long-term benefits of having him rest for the remainder of the season.

"If you look at the long run, the future, I still have three years here," Martinez told The Globe. "It would be wise to just let me get healthy whenever we can and do whatever possible to win later on if we're not going to win this year. But we still have chances, and I'm just here to help."

Duquette rejected the suggestion saying: "The team is not going to shut Pedro down. We're paying him a lot of money to pitch. Our fans enjoy seeing Pedro Martinez pitch."

Martinez, who is scheduled to face the Yankees again Friday in New York, spent two months on the disabled list with inflammation in his shoulder.

The more serious problem, however, could be Garciaparra's assessment of the state of the team.

According to the Boston Herald, Garciaparra's comment came just moments after the news of Cumberland firing.

"We don't have a monkey on our back," outfielder Trot Nixon told The Globe. "We've got a god-damned gorilla on our back."