Biggest Choke Ever?

The last post written on September 7th, the Red Sox were flying high, having an eight game lead on the Rays for the wild card playoff spot and only behind the Yankees by two and half games for the AL East lead. Fast forward to September 27th, how things have changed... The Sox have slowly eroded their lead to a tie with the Rays, with only two games remaining in the season. After an exceptional summer, which they won 53 games and lost only 27 over three months, the Sox have lost 20 of their last 27 games.

The biggest issue has been ineffective starting pitching. Injuries have taken somewhat of a toll, as Buchholz has been out with a stress fracture in his back, Matsuzka's out all season, and Beckett was out a bit because of an ankle. Injuries aside, the team's top three pitchers; Beckett, Lackey, and Lester have pitched quite awful, even against inferior teams. Lester has allowed 16 earned runs in his last three starts, Beckett has allowed 12 in his last two, and ditto for Lackey. Even worst for Lackey, he's getting even more media scrutiny due to his personal life, and he is not adjusting to Boston, even after his second year.

Offensively, the Red Sox bats have been inadequate. Over the month of September, they are averaging five runs per game, which may be skewed due to a couple games in which they scored 18 runs. Their struggles may be due to panicking because of early deficits, which leads to pressing and overexertion to score runs.

Two games left, Bedard on the mound tonight and Lester tomorrow. If they end up in a tie with Tampa, then it's up to Wakefield or Lackey on short rest. Tampa has their aces going in rookie Hellickson and David Price against the Yankees' minor leaguers, because they've already clinched. I want to be optimistic, but I can't. This fall from grace reminds me of the Red Sox, prior to 2004, which they would always lead the division/wild card, then lose it over the last month. My take: Sox win the last two games, Tampa loses tonight because Hellickson can't handle the pressure, wins tomorrow with Price, but too little too late as the Red Sox back into the playoffs.

Red Sox playoff tickets will be trending towards the cheaper side because the demand isn't there for a lackluster team playing in a first round playoff. TicketsofBoston.com already has playoff tickets available, so check out the website for options.