Boston Red Sox: Will the "Woe Is Me" Red Sox Nation Mentality Return?

When Baltimore Orioles second baseman Robert Andino singled to drive in outfielder Nolan Reimold for the winning run Wednesday night, he struck the final blow signalling one of the worst collapses in MLB regular season history by the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox were already punch-drunk when Andino delivered the knockout roundhouse, having been bloodied and battered throughout the month of September. At 7-19 entering Wednesday night's game, the Sox were already looking at the worst record in September of any team on target for a playoff spot.

So Wednesday's loss just added icing to a really bad souffle that had already flopped miserably.

After the game, a reporter asked Red Sox pitcher John Lester what he will remember the most about this season. Lester gave a quick, one-word answer. "September," he replied.

Ah yes, September. Red Sox Nation will certainly look at September, 2011 as the month that brought back the "woe is me" mentality.

Red Sox Nation has been somewhat spoiled in recent years. Starting with the sale of the team to the John Henry-led consortium in 2002, the Red Sox had only finished outside the postseason three times, won the World Series twice, and have sold out Fenway Park for 711 consecutive game (by far a major league record).

However, with Wednesday's loss, the Red Sox will now have missed the postseason for two straight years, something that has never happened on Henry's watch. And with their epic collapse now in the history books (along with the Atlanta Braves), Red Sox Nation will surely be heating up the local sports talk shows with cries of anguish and despair.

For 86 long years, long-suffering Sox fans carried the stigma of hopelessness, anguishing over the fate that beset them in 1946, 1967, 1978, 1986 and 2003.

Their World Series championship in 2004 brought an end to that pain, and three years later, a follow-up World Series championship further assuaged their grief.

Epic collapses however have a way of bringing back those fears and misery-laden feelings all over again. And no doubt that Red Sox Nation will wear that pain like a badge of courage for the next several months.

Heads will no doubt need to roll, if Red Sox Nation has any say over the matter.

"Send Theo off to the Cubs," they'll be crying. "Let Tito (Terry Francona) go the White Sox, better them than us," they'll chatter.

Of course, closer Jonathan Papelbon, who gave up the final two runs of the miserable 2011 season, will be the newest scapegoat, too."Don't you even think about re-signing that bum," they'll be imploring of Sox management.

That's the way of the world if you're a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation. "Sure, those two World Series championships were nice, but you let that nasty feeling return like the plague," they'll say.

As a former Bostonian now living on the West Coast, I'm no longer ensconced in Red Sox Nation, so I'm shielded from the venom that will be flowing the next several months.

But for the several million people who are still stuck in New England, keep your little ones close and make sure the dog is locked up and secured safely in the back yard. Because it's gonna be a long and miserable winter in Red Sox Nation once again.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.