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The Sox Go Wild: Fans Do Not
September 27, 2008
9.27.
08, 2:00 PM
Yankees 19, Red Sox 8
The Sox Go Wild: Fans Do Not
Sox Take Wild Card, No Repeat In East
By: Jared Carrabis
What a mess, and I mean that in all aspects that it could possibly be meant in. The field was a mess, the playing conditions were a mess and the game itself was a huge mess. Rain fell all day and into the night here in Boston and the inclement weather may have cost the Red Sox another day of fighting to win the AL East division crown.
Manager Terry Francona had originally penciled in David Ortiz to make his first start of the season at first base on Friday night but later scratched him so that he would not be playing under poor conditions. Due to the delay at the start of the game, Daisuke Matsuzaka was no longer to take the mound for the Red Sox after an delay of an hour and 31 minutes (not to mention a second delay later in the game).
Why this game was even played in the first place is a mystery to me but after the game finally got underway Mike Lowell was removed from the lineup after tweaking his injured hip in his very first at bat. Call it mailing it in if you want but I would certainly have to disagree. Sure, winning the division would have been nice but the Red Sox were already in the postseason. This close to the ALDS, there's no need to risk the safety of your best players when you already have just as equal of a chance to win the World Series as the remaining seven teams you are set to enter the postseason with.
It doesn't matter if one team goes 162-0 and another sneaks into the playoffs one game over .500.
They all start at 0-0 when the calendar turns to October and once you're in, we are all witnesses to seeing that literally anything can happen.
I suppose you can say that the Red Sox settled for the Wild Card because they definitely still had a shot at winning the East but it is the simple fact that the Red Sox did not field their best team on Friday night and it was for a good reason. Terry Francona was protecting his players and preparing for the postseason, plain and simple.
By the time the Yankees were done pounding the Sox into the ground, the final score was very reminiscent of a one Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS. A game in which the Yankees embarrassed the Red Sox at Fenway Park by the same exact score. Of course, that game was followed by a rain out and then eight straight wins to bring the first World Series title to Boston in 86 years. Call it a sloppy mess of a game if you'd like, but I call it an omen.
The Sox will wrap up their two meaningless games against the October-less Yankees this weekend and then pack their bags to head out west. The Red Sox will be playing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs. The same team that the Red Sox have gone through both in 2004 and in 2007 going 6-0 in those six Division Series games en route to a World Series title on both occasions. Of course, this is a new LA Angels team and they are not one to be taken lightly, no team in the postseason ever should be. The Angels have two games remaining on their schedule and with one more win they will become the first Angels team in franchise history to have won 100 games in a season.
The 2008 ALDS will begin Wednesday as Game 1 is set to be played at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The two teams will get a day off on Thursday and resume action for Game 2 on Friday. Saturday will be another day off as the teams travel back to Boston for Game 3 on Sunday. If necessary, Game 4 will be played on Monday at Fenway Park and the decicive Game 5 if needed will be played back at Angel Stadium a week from Game 1, Wednesday October, 8.
PS - I won't hold it against you if you don't buy any Wild Card gear. I'm a little bitter myself about the division but you have to give credit where credit is due. Congratulations to the 2008 American League East Champions, the Tampa Bay Rays (doesn't sound right). What a great story for the game of baseball. We can only hope as fans that we can settle this once and for all in the American League Championship Series.
-Jared Carrabis
-Jared Carrabis
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