Boston Red Sox Fall Short in Bid for Another Comeback ALCS Victory

What would you rather have happen as a sports fan?  Seeing your team lose in a close, competitive game (or series), or watching them lose easily, even in blowout fashion?

I imagine all Red Sox fans today found their answer to that question.  Trailing 7-0 in the seventh inning of Game Five of the ALCS, it looked like the Sox were about to go down without putting up much of a fight against the Rays, losing four straight including three in a row at Fenway.  

As the end of that game grew near, I began to move on from the season. I was at peace with that too.  This year’s team was a flawed team from the start, and it was really a testament to the depth of the organization that they were able to win 95 games.  

Then of course Boston stormed back, won Game Five, won Game Six and found themselves with yet another chance to pull off an amazing postseason comeback.

The result we all know now is that the Red Sox came up short, losing 3-1, mustering only three hits off of Matt Garza and the Rays' pen.  

So I ask, knowing what we know now, what would you have preferred?  The comeback falling short in Game Five, and the season ending there?  Or Boston putting up a great fight and just not finishing the job in Game Seven?  

Game Seven was not a heartbreaking loss like the end of the 2003 ALCS.  But it was frustrating nonetheless.  It began well, with Dustin Pedroia smacking a Garza change-up into the stands for an early 1-0 lead.  But Garza learned from his mistake, and fed Boston virtually all fastballs the rest of the game.

The Sox still had their chances.  In the sixth, as Garza started to show his first signs of possible fatigue, Pedroia walked with one out.  Up came Ortiz, and everyone had to be wondering if Papi have another October miracle in him?  

The answer we all got was no, as he struck out.  And instead of Kevin Youkilis coming to the plate, and a chance to at the least add pitches to a growing pitch count, it was a strike him out, throw him out inning-ending double play, as Francona decided to start Pedroia on the 3-2 count.  (An outcome I have to give my brother credit for, as he predicted it when the count was 2-1 on Ortiz).  

On to the seventh inning.  The normally patient Youkilis pops out on a 1-0 pitch.  The Sox though then put the next two on after a walk to J.D. Drew and a single by Jason Bay.  After a Mark Kotsay fly out advanced Drew to third, up came Jason Varitek in maybe the key at bat of the game. 

The Sox carried three catchers this postseason for one reason—because they knew they had to be able to pinch hit for Varitek in certain situations.  This certainly seemed like one of those situations. 

There are a lot of bad offensive numbers for Varitek this season, and they got worse in the postseason.  But the ones that jump out to me and point towards Francona needing to pinch hit here were that he hit just .175 with runners in scoring position, and was an even worse .157 with two outs and runners in scoring position (8-51).  

But Francona let Varitek hit.  Francona may have been influenced by Varitek’s homerun the night before.  Or maybe it was just that Francona didn’t really like any of his other options.  The Sox bench was definitely limited. 

Sean Casey hit just .213 after the All-Star break and struck out in his only two post-season at bats.  Jacoby Ellsbury was likely being saved for a pinch running situation, leaving only rookie Jed Lowrie.  Lowrie did have the series-winning hit in the ALDS, but after a fast-start to his career, hit just .213 in September and .207 in the playoffs.  

Needing just a hit, maybe Francona should have gone with Lowrie, but none of those options made a decision a no-brainer.  

Regardless, Varitek struck out on four pitches. End of that chance.

The frustration continued when the Rays immediately answered with a home run off the bat of Willie Aybar.  But back came Boston in the eighth. 

The man the Sox wanted at the plate, Pedroia, came up with two on and no out representing the potential go-ahead run. He got a pitch to hit too from Dan Wheeler, but just missed it.  Instead of his typical line drives for base hits, Pedroia harmlessly flied out to right.  

When Pedroia didn’t get on base, I for the first time last night, began to really think it was not going to happen.

But the Red Sox never make it that easy.  Following the out by Pedroia, they loaded the bases.  J.D. Drew, who was the hero of Game Five, hit the game-winning home run in Game Two of the Division Series and of course had the huge grand slam in Game Six last year against the Indians, came up to face Rays’ rookie David Price.  Drew would not be the hero again, striking out to end the possible Boston comeback.  

The Sox would have one more chance in the ninth.  Bay led off with a walk which brought the tying run to the plate.  But he would be the last Sox to reach base in 2008, as Price retired Mark Kotsay, Varitek and Lowrie to end the game, sending Tampa to the World Series.

As those last several paragraphs point out, it was an extremely frustrating loss.  

Had Boston just lost in Game Five, it would have saved me some heartache, and I definitely wouldn’t be playing the what-if game in my head all day long like I am today.  

But I think if I could do it all over again, I would want to see my team fight to the absolute final at-bat, even despite the heartache and the frustration, as compared to going down in a series where the outcome was never really in doubt..

Of course if I had the power to actually do it all over again, I’d probably tell Sox pitchers not to wait until Game Seven to stop challenging B.J. Upton on the inside portion of the plate.