No End In Sight

I thought they were dead. How could I not? Down 7-0 against a Tampa squad that had embarassed them since the end of game 2. Following the humiliating game 4 debacle (seriously, it looked like Wakefield had been throwing lobs for batting practice), I was humbled by that old age "Maybe it's just not our year." Being the defending champions makes this kind of pill slightly easier to swallow, as does not actively hating the team that might send yours home for the winter. But these Rays are good, really good. They're young, they play hard, they pitch well, they hit exceptionally, and they don't wear pinstripes. In a way I'm happy for their fans, being able to cheer the only worthwhile Rays team since they became a franchise. Though I'm still blown away by the story of the 12-year-old kid in Florida who got suspended from school for having a 'rayhawk,' a style he and his family, as well as many fans, cultivated in support of their team. Apparently, his school district enforces a dress code prohibiting 'distracting haircuts,' and now the poor kid can't return until his hair grows out. I don't know who's worse, the uptight administrator who suspended him or the moron who instituted the code in the first place. I'd like a few minutes along in a room with no cameras with both men to beat some sense into them.

But last night in the 7th inning, when all hope was lost, something extraordinary happened. The Sox started hitting. Lowrie scored on a single by Pedroia. Ortiz blasted a 3-run shot, narrow the gap to 7-4. The impossible had become the improbable, but they weren't done yet. In the 8th J.D. Drew homered, and suddenly it a 7-6. Then Crisp singled, driving in the tying run. Enter Masterson, who successfully held off the Rays in the top of the 9th, setting the stage for Drew. The 33-year-old lefty stepped to the plate and drove a deep single to right, allowing Youkilis to score. Ballgame. I have several friends who fell asleep or turned the game off long before the final pitch. One even dreamed the Sox had come back to win, woke up confused, turned on the tube for confirmation, and then asked his wife if he was still dreaming. Watching the mob at homeplate, I was stunned by what had transpired, though maybe I should'nt have been. The Red Sox famously came back from a 3-0 deficit to knock the Yankees out in 2004. Last year they clawed from a 3-1 whole against the Indians. Both times they made and won the World Series. While it's a little too early to predict whether they'll get there again, I would put serious money on the Sox winning game 6, as momentum has shifted in their favor. A comeback of this magnitude can be devastating to the losing team, especially in baseball, where scorching offensive streaks are not only unpredictable but unstoppable. When it's going well for the opposition, there's just not a whole lot you can do except wait it out. That's why I suspect it will take Tampa at least one more game to regain their confidence.

I was briefly tempted to say that the Rays blew it last night, but I honestly haven't felt that way even once during this series. The phrase 'blew it' (assumming we're talking about sports) insinuates that the team screwed up. In this situation the Boston bats simply came alive, dominating the late innings the same way the Rays had in earlier games. In fact this is the first series I've seen in a long time where I've put all the emphasis on the positive, not the negative. Teams are winning games, not losing them. As bad as Carlos Pena botched a poor throw from Evan Longoria in what should've been the 3rd out in the bottom of the 9th (bad bounce or not, that was inexcusable), it would've been irrelevant had Drew failed to deliver. By the way, has any Red Sox player transformed from scapegoat to hero as quickly or dramatically as Drew has? It wasn't long ago we were all complaining about his salary and "weak" mental toughness stemming from the widespread opinion that baseball isn't his whole life. But at this point, is there anybody on the Sox you'd rather have at the plate with the game on the line? Me neither.

Going into the postseason very few prognosticators picked Boston, which isn't surprising. Their 2008 season has been inconsistent to say the least . . . The Ellsbury/Crisp logjam in center field, the status of Schilling, the emergence of Lester, the Manny saga, the September surge into the playoffs, Lowell's injury, the M.V.P. campaigns for Youk and Pedroia, the obliteration of the mighty Angels, the stunt doubles who've replaced Varitek and Becket, etc... It's been a roller-coaster, culminating in a stunning game 5 victory that no one saw coming. In a year filled with uncertainty, Terry Francona has somehow kept his ship afloat. Seeing the end of Yankee stadium will ultimately make 2008 memorable for Sox fans regardless of how far the team goes. But if they can somehow muster the strength to fight past Tampa and win the World Series for the 3rd time in 5 years, this Red Sox club will be cherished for a different reason. In what could be viewed as poetic justice following last Februrary's Superbowl, the underdog will once again have prevailed.