Here we are, looking up at the Yankees. Again. We all know this thing should have been over. The Yankees were there to be beaten. But the Sox eased up on the accelerator, broke down in key places, and now are in danger of finishing second to New York for a record eighth consecutive season. And only 10 games remain.
We thought we put all this stuff to bed last year. No more 1948, 1949, 1974, 1978, 1986, or 2003. No more talk of collapse. The 2004 Red Sox pulled off the greatest comeback in the history of the sport and did it at the expense of the hated New Yorkers. Suddenly the Yankees were the chokers.
Now this. The cleat is on the other foot and the apple is in the other throat.
Yesterday was the Sox' first day off in a month. After groaning about playing 30 games in 30 days, the Sox finally got a day off and the timing was abysmal. True, the Franconamen needed to rest, but it was unfortunate the vacation came on the heels of perhaps the worst night of the season. Wednesday's implosion in St. Petersburg, Fla. -- a truly terrible night in which the Sox yielded first place after more than two months on top -- was the type of game that called for an immediate opportunity for redemption. Instead, the Sox got an extra 24 hours to ponder their plight, while back home they were roasted nonstop by just about anyone with a telephone or a keyboard.
One season ticket-holder informed me that his postseason ticket package arrived via Federal Express Wednesday. More bad timing by the locals.
At this hour, Sox fans need to remind themselves that it is not over. It wasn't over when these guys fell behind, three games to none, in the American League Championship Series last season and it's not over now.
However, this is a bleak time here in the Nation. Among legitimate contenders in the American League, only the White Sox are struggling like the Red Sox and they still have a lead.
