Death of a Nation; Red Sox fans resemble Willy Lohman after game 4 loss.

Note:I am going to post a few rants throughout the day today.

Part 1:

Devastated. I think that’s the best word to describe my emotional state since the Rays starting launching bombs off Beckett, lasers off Lester, and whacked Wakefield. Last night, I boldly told my heckling friends that I never expected the Sox to even beat LA this year, so the ALCS was like playing with house money. I almost had myself convinced until the Rays just kept scoring, and scoring, and scoring. When I woke up this morning and realized it wasn’t a nightmare, I could feel my soul slumping within itself. Devastated.

The offense looks terrible, just a series after looking efficient if nothing else. David Ortiz is declining faster than the Dow Jones right in front of our eyes, and you begin to wonder if he’ll ever be the same again. The lineup is 9 hitters full of gasoline but there is no spark to get them going; the spark is getting walked three times a game playing with no protection in his new lineup. Sure, it was only two games ago they put up eight runs, but that was mainly from some timely home runs. I have yet to see this team string together hits, work a bunch of counts, and look like what we’ve come to expect from Boston’s offense.

Pitching? Wow. Never saw it coming. After game one everyone from the announcers to the holier than thou fans of the local nine bragged of the three aces who would grace the Rays with their presence. Now, they are left walking around like Willy Lohman, remembering the good old days and, intentionally or not, ignoring the present. The Red Sox have one more game left in Fenway Park, and it’s comically tragic to read the optimism from fans and players alike regarding their chances with Dice-K on the mound. Let’s not forget before his game one wizardry, more smoke and mirrors than it was solid pitching, Dice-K was the one pitcher the Nation knew they couldn’t count on to win a big game. Now? He is the “Magic Man” who will turn the momentum of the series going back to Tampa Bay.

Part 2:
An old saying tell us, “Happiness is in the journey not the destination.” Clearly the writer of that clever statement never had terminal cancer, fought a war, or watched the 2008 Boston Red Sox. The worst part about last night’s game was today’s off-day. The last thing I need is a full day of nothing new to sit and stew regarding the team’s dismal showing in the last three games. This journey is easily the most frustrating since 2003, with Manny’s shutdown at the end of 2006 being runner up.

But wait, isn’t the same team that came back from a 3-1 deficit in 2007 and a 3-0 hole in 2004? The only thing this team has in common with those two is the names on the front of the uniform. This version of the local nine is old, injured, or ineffective; many of our heroes fit the description for all three. Already, fans who lined up to buy Jacoby Ellsbury’s John Hancock in the offseason are questioning whether he, and a few other spare parts, is worth having while Johan Santana is buying real estate in Queens.

The fact this year’s showing is so devastating is a testament to how far the Boston organization has come. A meltdown in the ALCS was par for the course in the mid to late 90s. This year, Boston fans, present company included, were already debating the benefits of playing Philadelphia or Los Angeles in the World Series. Would it be better to be able to play against Nomar, D-Lowe, and Manny or to be able to hop a train and attend a game in Philadelphia? Red Sox Nation is the most liberal nation in the world, because suddenly everyone thinks something is owed to them. World Championships have become as expected as welfare; we don’t have to work, it should just be handed to us.

Part 3:
Last point: I’m not quitting or giving up on this team, I still believe there is a chance. It is just troubling when the 2008 Red Sox are beginning to look like the 2007 Yankees; too old in some positions, young talent isn’t good enough in others. Jacoby and Jed are good players, but neither showed enough sustained production to give the impression they will be great. Tek, Papi, and Lowell are all on the down slide. Youk and Destroia are players you can build on, but its hard to believe Dustin will be able to repeat, at least statistically, what he accomplished this year. Youkilis’s hyper-self-criticizing act wears thin on the club house. JD Drew and Jason Bay are what they are, average starting outfielders. Nobody knows how serious Josh Beckett’s injury is or the long-term effects, if any, of Lester’s Game 3 meltdown. Wakefield and Timlin are done, consider game four to be their final viewing and Fenway Park their morgue.

The Rays are not a flash in the pan, the Yankees will always reload, and the Jays look ready to relive Cito Gaston’s glory days under the direction of, well, Cito Gaston. Part of me knows why this year hurts so bad, because it could be the beginning of the end. There was never a dynasty, no matter what the instant historians in the media try to tell you, but there was a great run. If 2008 ends tomorrow or in Tampa Bay, it might be the last chance they get to appear in a Fall Classic for quite some time. That’s a lot of pressure on the players, who undeniably have the same thoughts creeping in the darkest corners of their mind.

Crazier things have happened, no question about it. As they are now, the Red Sox are walking wounded limping to the finish. The only question remaining is exactly where the finish line is for this year’s team. Here’s to a hope of becoming the 11th team in history to overcome a 3-1 hole to win their playoff series. Here, too, is to what could be the end of a great run or the beginning of a great fight.