Poised to shatter what little enjoyment I get from baseball, the Red Sox instead fell short of their ALCS comeback quest, as the Rays won the decisive Game 7 last night, 3-1.
Series MVP Matt Garza was masterful, allowing two hits and striking out nine in seven innings, but he left with trouble brewing in the 8th. As Joe Maddon went through his bullpen looking to get outs (five Rays pitched in the 8th), he eventually settled on rookie David Price, the 2007 top draft pick/September call-up who began the year in Single-A. Price struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded, and at the moment, I became a little gay for him.
You know how Boston fans felt they deserved the 2004 ALCS comeback against the Yankees? Well, the rest of the world deserved this. We deserve to not have to hear about how the Red Sox will always come back, no matter what. This isn’t just a Cinderella worst-to-first feel-good string of cliches for the Rays bandwagon. It’s better: it’s several weeks of silence until the NBA season, when the braying about the Celtics begins.
FYI - Luke Richardson of the Ottawa Senators is 38 and the chump he KOs (Brandon Dubinsky) is 21:
Everyone at With Leather headquarters was relieved when the Chief's alma mater won in double-overtime on Saturday, but if the score of Sunday Night Football remains the same, he's going to be dropping interns and fact-checkers like Oggy Oglethorpe. At least he'll have that heavenly Highlands aroma. -KD
