The stumbling, bumbling Sox are idle (haven't they really been all month?) tonight before heading to the Bronx for a three-game series with the Yankees, who have become unlikely, if still reviled, allies in the Sox' pursuit of a playoff berth. The American League East-champion Yankees are blocking the Tampa Bay Rays from pulling into the passing lane in the wild card chase, but suddenly the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who have joined the Rays at 2.5 games behind Boston, are closing fast in the rear-view mirror.
Speaking of rear-view mirrors, that beeping sound you hear is the Sox backing into the playoffs.
The Best Team Ever and the undisputed champions of the Hot Stove circuit has been reduced to chiming its bell and hoping for some charity. So pray that old friend and former Sox pitching coach John Farrell, now the manager of the Blue Jays, helps out his former team tonight with a win over the Angels, and put pride and spite aside and pull for the Pinstripes one more time against the Rays.
But of more concern than the Rays and Angels is the mental state of the Sox. Even if they moonwalk their way into the playoffs they have the aura of a dead team walking. Where is the energy, the leadership, the defiance, the spunk that has marked previous Sox playoff entries?
Eleven days ago, David Ortiz said it was time to panic after the Sox were swept in Tampa. Last night, he ratcheted up the rhetoric.
"I’ve been here nine years. We’ve never collapsed that bad," Ortiz told the media. "Trust me, we've been through some tough times. But this is bad. No matter what we do, things are going to be bad. Right now, it’s depressing."
Between the time of Ortiz's call for panic and his pronouncement last night the Rays, who were 3.5 back at the close of play on Sept. 11, have made up exactly one game.
