BOSTON (CBS) — Today, as we approach our nation’s birthday on the Fourth of July, we declare our independence from the 2015 Red Sox, from a team that took a glimmer of hope and yesterday smashed it into a million little pieces, from a club that had won 9-of-14 during an encouraging stretch before face-planting on the Toronto pavement, on Canada Day, as if they it had blindly stepped off the roof of the CN Tower.

Because summer goes on even without baseball.

And because, quite frankly, the 2015 Red Sox don’t deserve a summer.

We declare our independence from Rick Porcello and the four-year, $82.5 million contract extension that has yet to even begin – at an average of precisely $20.625 million per year – because Porcello’s stuff really isn’t that good and because he is a nearly impossible 0-7 with an 8.18 ERA in his last eight starts, and because now he looks like the proverbial deer in the headlights every time he takes the mound.

Because, as many major leaguers will tell you, the problem with a big contract is that people now expect something from you, something Red Sox manager John Farrell effectively admitted when he told reporters of Porcello’s contract, “I would think it’s something he’s trying to live up to.”

Or die from.

We declare our independence, too, from Farrell, who inexplicably allowed Porcello to pitch to Edwin Encarnacion with one out and first base open and a 3-0 count in the first inning yesterday, because everything screamed “slider away” instead of “changeup in,” the latter of which Encarnacion belted over the left field wall for an immediate 3-0 Toronto advantage that sucked all life, energy and momentum from a Sox team that had actually started to feel pretty good about itself.

Because, if Porcello is the sinkerballer he is purported to be, pitching around Encarnacion would have set the table for an inning-ending double play by Russell Martin, who is just 1-for-11 against Porcello in his career.

We declare our independence against Mike Napoli, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to drop his average to .198, marking the 42nd time this season he has finished a game with an average below the Mendoza Line.

Because, quite frankly, Napoli should have been on the bench a long time ago and because everybody knows it.

Because you can’t bat .198 with nearly twice as many strikeouts (73) as hits (49) and stay in the big leagues, let alone Boston.

We declare our independence from Pablo Sandoval, as cute as the Panda moniker is, because there is the very real chance he could finish with more errors (10) than doubles (11), home runs (seven) or walks (13), and because that is a trifecta that no one should gamble $19 million a year on.

We declare our independence from David Ortiz for batting .120 against left-handed pitching.

And from Clay Buchholz for being a tease and pitching well when it doesn’t really matter.

And from Joe Kelly for possessing all that talent and producing such poor results, because there is nothing worse in sports than untapped potential.

And we declare our independence, too, from Wade Miley for throwing a tantrum worthy of a 3-year-old after being pulled from the game in Baltimore, which has, oddly enough, resulted in him going 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in three starts since.

And from Farrell, again, for not recognizing that some players, sometimes, need to be poked, prodded and downright embarrassed before they actually start to perform.

We declare our independence from, in no particular order, Hanley Ramirez, Miley, Jackie Bradley and Mookie Betts for all forgetting how many outs there were, in the last three weeks, because that means the Red Sox have suffered lapses from a left fielder, center fielder, right fielder and starting pitcher by committing transgressions a high school team would not.

And because if the Sox can get their catcher and infielders on board, they will cover the board for Clueless Bingo.

Otherwise, we declare our independence from Betts – and fellow youngster Blake Swihart, Xander Bogaerts and Eduardo Rodriguez – because they deserve better leadership than the example being set by the 2015 Sox veterans, because those four youngsters have generally done what they should do and remain the only real reason to continue watching.

We declare our independence from Dustin Pedroia, who is, as always, trying.

And from Alejandro De Aza, who has been a nice pickup despite taking a route on a ball yesterday that would have left Brandon Meriweather scratching his head.

And from Sandy Leon, Brock Holt and a cast of relievers ranging from Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara to Alexi Ogando and Steven Wright, because they all have generally done their job and don’t deserve to be cited in nearly as negative a fashion as many other members of the Sox.

Because, for the most part, the role players on this club have been OK.

Finally, and without any hesitation, we declare our independence from Hanley Ramirez, who seemingly had to be leveraged back into the lineup yesterday, whom the Sox may be better off without, who draws our angst not for playing left field poorly but for failing to play with any real sense of pride, for jogging after balls in the corner, for repeatedly swinging for the fences, for oozing such a feeling of malaise that he seemed to bring the entire six-state region of New England down yesterday with the mere appearance of his name on the lineup card.

We declare our independence from Hanley, ultimately, for failing to demonstrate any real commitment to the cause, for serving as the poster boy for this underachieving and overpaid team, and for, seemingly and quite simply, failing to care.

Because here, in America’s birthplace, we do.

Tony Massarotti co-hosts the Felger and Massarotti Show on 98.5 The Sports Hub weekdays from 2-6 p.m. Follow him on Twitter @TonyMassarotti. You can read more from Tony by clicking here.