Tampa Bay-Boston: The Tables Were Turned Tonight

Throughout the majority of my entries on this blog, I do my best to maintain journalistic integrity and write articles that meet my standard of publishing.

Tonight, however, is a record. It's a test. I want to be able to go back to this entry in the future and take a look at my own mindset after a loss like the one my beloved Boston Red Sox just took in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series.

The ball was in our court. We had the momentum. We had our Cy Young-caliber ace on the mound...and they had all the pressure. As strange as this may sound, I viewed Game Seven of the ALCS as ours to LOSE.

And we lost it.

I didn't watch Akinori Iwamura throw Jed Lowrie's ground ball to one of his teammates to register the final out. I didn't need to. When J.D. Drew struck out with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning, I knew we were done.

Mike had wheeled across the hall to come watch the Red Sox threaten the lead in the eighth. I was surprised to see the bases loaded.

"This is gonna be a strikeout or a ground out. I'll bet good money on it," I said to Mike, as Drew stepped into the batter's box. When the count reached 1-2, I muttered, "If Drew doesn't drive in at least a run, the game is over."

In the vein of my favorite fictional character, Dr. Perry Cox, I not so affectionately referred to Drew by a female's name during each game of the playoffs. Tonight, it was Courtney. And tonight, Courtney cost us the pennant.

The worst part of it all was watching the Rays beat us playing the game our way. They used stellar pitching from starter Matt Garza and a virtual cast of thousands out of the bullpen to shut down Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Drew, Jason Bay and a struggling David Ortiz. They used timely hitting to manufacture the runs that tied, and eventually won, the game. And they used the long ball to put the game out of reach in the late innings.

I watched the Red Sox pitching cause two groundouts to second base. In the 2004 ALCS, it was Ruben Sierra grounding out to Pokey Reese that clinched the AL pennant and capped our epic comeback. Exactly one week later, it was Edgar Renteria that grounded out to Reese, locking up the sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, and ending the 86-year world title drought.

It was fitting to see the Sox go out that way.

These Rays aren't going away. They're young and confident. They are four wins away from becoming the third AL East team to win the World Series in the last nine seasons.

If you're looking for a comparison, the closest may be the 2003 Marlins. A young team led by a young stud-pitching ace knocked off the powerhouse New York Yankees in six games.

Now the Rays face the Phillies with their first world title in striking distance.

The key to the World Series will be Tampa Bay's ability to shut down Philadelphia's hitters. If the Rays pitching staff silence the Phillies bats, this series won't last long. If Philly's bats stay hot, it won't be a long series either.

The Red Sox just won the World Series last season...and hell, we won it in 2004 too. Why do I have any reason to be upset, right?

Watching your favorite team be eliminated from the playoffs sucks, regardless of how long it’s been since your last world championship. The ramifications of this loss, however, are long lasting. Now that the Yankees have temporarily fallen, the Rays will step into their place as Boston's toughest rival.

It'll be nice to see which fans stick around if the Rays get walloped in the World Series. I loathe bandwagon fans. Every Rays fan outside the Tampa-St. Petersburg area is a bandwagon fan. There is nothing that one person can say that will convince me otherwise. I have never met a Rays fan until late this year...when they were winning.

One of my best friends in the entire world told me everyone loves a feel-good story. He was right for the most part. I love to root for a feel-good story—unless it's at my team's expense.

If you think I'm bitter, you're right. This sucks. I hate that I won't watch a meaningful Red Sox game until April 2009.

And you're damn right I'm rooting for the Phillies. Red Sox fans have a special place in our hearts for long-suffering fans.