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Sox Couldn't Rays The Bar In Game 7
October 20, 2008
10.20.
08, 1:15 PM
ALCS Game 7: Red Sox 1, Rays 3
Sox Couldn't Rays The Bar In Game 7
As Red Sox Nation Prepares For Long Winter
By: Jared Carrabis
So this is it. Almost feels surreal doesn’t it? I mean, not in a sense that you expect the Red Sox to win the World Series every year but I mean it in a sense that once their backs were to the wall and they came all the way back, all we’ve ever known was the Red Sox finishing the job. Well, if you have any idea in your mind that the Red Sox fortunes have changed and that they are now going to decline after not being able to get past the Rays to advance to the World Series, you are sadly mistaken.
Give all the credit in the world to the Tampa Bay Rays. They won the division, they secured home field advantage for the series and they took advantage of that. They outplayed the Red Sox when they had to and in Game 7 their pitching staff stepped up and held the Red Sox to just three hits in a game where the Red Sox offense usually explodes for double digit runs to advance to the World Series.
Jon Lester pitched one hell of a game going seven innings and giving up three runs with eight strikeouts but was simply out-pitched by Matt Garza who held the Red Sox to two hits through seven innings. You really got the feeling that the Red Sox were going to pull this one out after Dustin Pedroia’s solo home run in the first inning but that would be all the Red Sox offense could muster against Garza and co.
Make no mistake about it, with a healthy Red Sox club taking on a healthy Rays club, this series would have been a little different but this is no time for making excuses. The Tampa Bay Rays played their hearts out and we as fans should be happy that the Red Sox went down fighting. Sure it’s disappointing to have that realization that meaningful baseball is over for 170 days or so, but that’s what makes baseball great. It keeps you coming back for more.
Baseball can give you the most amazing feeling you have ever felt in your life, it can put you within reach of your first mild heart attack and it can also put you into a depression, but you know what? That’s why you watch it. 162 games during the regular season just to get to this point and all you want to do is win another championship and you put your emotions on the line as a fan knowing that you very well that your spirits could be crushed. But if that one day comes where your team wins the World Series (again), then there’s no feeling like that.
It’s losses like Game 7 that make us even more hungry for the next one, and the next one. This Red Sox team is loaded with young talent and is not going anywhere as far as competitive baseball goes. The once inexperienced young rookies are now becoming veteran superstars before our very eyes. This team is anchored and driven by home grown talent that are now some of the top names in the game and it’s scary to think that they’re all getting better and better.
With the weight of the Manny Ramirez contract off the shoulders of the Boston Red Sox, expect Theo Epstein to have one of the busiest offseasons since the ’03-’04 offseason.
The 2009 free agent pool is loaded with talent in all positions. Anywhere that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox brass feel that they need to improve, they can do so if they make the right moves. Obviously one of the areas that needs to be tended to is the catcher position.
Has Jason Varitek really seen his last game in a Red Sox uniform? Your guess is as good as mine. I suppose it will all come down to how much the Red Sox truly value his game calling skills because you are not going to get a big contract from the Red Sox after having a season with a batting line of .220/.313/.359/.672, not going to happen. Luckily, this ownership thrives on its player’s chemistry and Jason Varitek is a true leader in the Red Sox clubhouse, clearly shown by the “C” he wears on his chest. Surely the captain of any team does not have to be the “best” player on the team but he is almost always the “most valuable asset” to the team from what he or she brings from a leadership standpoint, almost the “glue” of the team. Jason Varitek is and has been that for the Boston Red Sox for quite some time now and it will be one of the toughest decisions in Theo Epstein’s illustrious career as Red Sox general manager to make.
The decision to let Jason Varitek walk very well could go down with the Nomar trade and the Manny trade we all saw this past July. Something that Red Sox Nation has mixed emotions about but full well understands that whatever Theo Epstein does will create the greater good for the Boston Red Sox. Which brings me to my closing statement, in Theo we trust.
I just wanted to thank all the readers of Sawx Heads for tuning in every day to the daily blogs that I have taken the time to write throughout the course of the season. Without you guys, I would just be talking to myself, so a big thank you goes out to all the loyal readers. It has been an honor and a privilege to cover such an amazing season for all of you. Don’t go anywhere because I will be keeping all of you posted throughout what has the potential to be as I mentioned a very, very busy offseason. So keep your chins up Red Sox Nation, you have nothing to hang your heads about and rather you have a lot to look forward to with this team.
This is Jared Carrabis signing off for one final time in the 2008 season, thanks for ride Red Sox!
-Jared Carrabis
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