Oh, man. To be a Red Sox fan is about sitting solemnly in front of your TV in the middle of the 9th telling yourself that no way the Sox would pull this out, even with the team up by a run. To rest the season on the right arm of Williamson, wild the entire year and pushing his luck in his fifth consecutive game, after a 28 pitch outing the day before, was insanity. (Kim's shoulder is allegedly sore, but I think they've just lost all confidence in him. Kinda unfair, and it may come back to bite Little. After all BK was fairly dominant in September.) Another harbinger of doom is the Sox going feebly the last couple of innings, sitting on their lead. But unbelievably, against all expectations, DLowe, whose heart and cajones has been relentlessly questioned by Red Sox Nation, came through. What a fuckin' great series.
You gotta feel for the A's though. A small market team with likeable personalities like Zito and Hudson, and that talent. I would've probably pull for them the rest of the playoffs, had they pulled this out. But it's a moot point.
Bring on the Yanks.
NB: Marlins v. Cubs. Marlins have the superior lineup on paper, and they play sound defense. Their rotation is solid, though obviously less potentially dominant than the Cubs'. If you start lining up the players, the Marlins would have an overall edge. But the Cubbies rotation makes up for a lot of deficiencies. They're kind of like Arizona in 2001, with more starter depth and a less dependable bullpen. But if they can get either Zambrano or Clement to bring their "A" game, they'll be very difficult to beat. Predix: Cubs in 7.
