What Happens If the Red Sox Lose

Musing After Game 4

The Red Sox got S-H-E-L-L-E-D last night by the team formally known as the Tampa Bay Devil Hens in game 4 of the 2008 American League Championship series. I know the Sox have had their back to the wall before, but in reality they stole game 1 �€" scoring on a blooper that really should have been caught. Else, we may have been looking at a sweep, by a team that finally put it all together, that shed it's ugly step sister image and is now positioned to become American League Champion.

I'm sure that with the new crop of Tampa Bay Rays fans that have been coming out of the woodwork �€" interestingly enough, I've been reading some puff pieces on people claiming to have been Rays fans from the start, way more than apparently could get tickets I guess (they were 12 of 14 in the AL for attendance this year) �€" the interested reader can gain a perspective of what an AL Pennant may mean to the city. What I'm here to do is cast a little perspective over Red Sox nation about what the last 20 years (21 seasons) has looked like.

We pick up our story in the Summer of 1988 �€" a season and a half removed from that fateful October evening in which Bill Buckner was left to play first base just a little too long by John McNamara. On July 14 and 9 games out of first place (at a time in which there was but two divisions), Mr. McNamara was fired and replaced on an �€Å"interim�€� basis with third base coach Joe Morgan. Morgan as skipper proceeded to win 20 of his first 21 games and the Sox ultimately won the East by a game. But lost in the playoffs