Fall From Grace

Someone once said that if you don't learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it. The Red Sox have an entirely new season ahead of them, but one thing that will linger is the collapse last season that left the Sox out of the playoffs. I understand that for some people that this will be difficult to read. For me, it will be hard to write, but it has to be done. So before I can talk about the season ahead, what happened in the past needs to be taken care of.

The Orioles celebrating after beating the Red Sox.

 Baltimore Blues

After beating the Rangers on September 3rd, the Red Sox were looking at a nine game lead in the American League East. With only twenty-four games left in the season, they looked like a shoe-in for the playoffs. Former Baseball Prospectus statistician Clay Davenport gave them a 99.78% chance to make the playoffs. Let me bold that for you. 99.78% chance!!! That's a straight up guarantee. That's almost like saying that you think you're pregnant after you've had the baby. There was almost no way they could screw this up. But if you're a long time Boston fan, you know that you can't celebrate until it actually happens. The Red Sox are notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Just ask the 86' Red Sox (Sorry Buckner!) In the end, it wasn't really a matter of when they would make the playoffs, but if.

September 28th proved to be a perfect day for the Red Sox to lose. Multiple flood warnings were broadcast across the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. The game was even delayed for an hour and a half because of rain. If you were a member of the Nation, signs were not pointing in the teams direction. The game started off well enough, though. Lester looked fairly sharp through the six innings that he pitched. He only gave four hits and two earned runs. Pedroia homered in the fifth inning, giving the Sox a 3-2 lead, which lasted to the bottom of the ninth. Papelbon came out and was one strike away from making the Rays win or go home. But as the baseball gods would have it, Papelbon's next four pitches saw the lead disappear.

Papelbon after blowing the save that let Baltimore tie the game.

Nolan Reimold, an outfielder, put the dagger into Sox fans hearts. he hit a ground rule double to deep center, which let Kyle Hudson score. The next batter, Robert Andino, stepped up to the plate. While all of this was happening, I was in the lobby of my dorm, watching the game on the flat screen. There were multiple individuals in the room, but I was the only Sox fan. Most were haters and one kid was even from Boston and he hated the Red Sox. I was nervously wringing my hat, watching with anticipation as Andino got up. He laced a 1-1 pitch out towards Crawford, who was playing a little too deep for his own good. He tried to catch it on the slide, but he missed. He trapped the ball, but by then it was already too late. Reimold made a mad dash towards home and was mobbed by his teammates. 

I was heartbroken. I watched the TV for a while, not really comprehending what was happening. The crowd dispersed and I was left alone in my thoughts. What I had just witnessed was one of the most epic collapses in all of history. I wasn't too worried when we were only five games up and three wasn't too bad, either. But when we were tied with Tampa Bay, my stomach did somersaults. After the game was over, I got on my feet and left the dorm. I walked around campus for awhile, trying to collect my thoughts. What was a certain victory one month ago, turned into sudden despair. I got over it, and I'm certain most people did too. More heartbreak soon followed for me though. The Rangers made it to the World Series for the second year in a row, but they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. This failure ended up with me on the floor of my friend's dorm room in a fetal position. Baseball can be a harsh mistress, and if you don't accept that fact, she will make you pay for it.