A valiant fight, including a comeback for the ages, came to a disappointing end last Sunday night / Monday morning as the Red Sox fell to Tampa Bay in seven games. Credit where credit is due -- The Rays fought back from two disappointing losses to triumph in the ultimate game and played with the character as well as the talent of champions.
A few breaks here or there in Game 7 (or, for that matter, in Game 2) might have made a difference, but the Sox certainly had their share of breaks in ALCS's of the recent past. Considering they were without an effective Josh Beckett, a healthy Mike Lowell, and lacking any significant offensive production from several places in the batting order, you really can't complain.
Some have added the absence of their former LF to that list of shortcomings -- I respectfully (or otherwise) disagree. The failure of Scott Boras' small-minded client to live up to his contractual obligations in 2008 may well be the underlying story of this season, and perhaps a mature (and thus productive) Manny Ramirez would have made a difference, but the Manny we saw in the first four months is a Manny we can happily do without.
Perhaps when MLB gets around to hiring a commissioner, he (or she) can look into the rather serious allegations of Boras' tampering. I won't hold my breath, however. It will probably be about the time the NFL investigates the Indianapolis Irsays for pumping crowd noise into their arena, or intentionally tanking late-season games so the head coach's best friend can get into the playoffs.
Nonetheless, the Twenty-First Century World Series scoreboard remains: Boston Red Sox 2, New York Yankees 0.
Year-two-thou-sand (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap) -- Year-two-thou-sand (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)...
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