Oh Well... - Jenn

As Dad said in his previous post, the Red Sox were refusing to lose. That is until last night. Our faithful Sox put up the good fight, but in the end, those newbies from Tampa Bay simply wanted it more.

So all our players are headed home to watch the World Series instead of taking part again this year. But that's okay. The Rays made a real go of it, and as much as it pains me to say so, they deserve their chance. They just better not f*ing lose!

So what is there left to say? Well as we all weep into our coffee this morning let's look at the bright side. First that spectacular come back from being down 7 zip in Game 5. I mean, would you really have wanted to lose after just five games and by a slaughter like that? Absolutely not! That come back gave us and our team the lift we needed to head back to the Trop and give it their all.

Then in Game 6 as Dad stated, Beckett proved me wrong and showed he still had the stuff needed to keep his team in it. While he didn't have his usual speed, he had the command. And after what I'm sure was an indepth conversation with John Farrell, Beckett discovered the way to beat the Rays was with his curve ball, not his fast ball. A long overdue homer from The Captain, helped put the Sox on top and keep those spirits up for the do or die game of the weekend.

That would be Game 7. A pitching matchup of Lester and Garza. We were all hoping it would be a reverse of their last outing. One where Lester was super hot and Garza sucked. While we got the first part of that desire, we didn't get the 2nd. Both Lester and Garza were white hot last night. Unfortunately Garza was just a little hotter - limiting the Sox to just two hits through the first six innings. And that would have been fine considering one of the hits was a home run by Dustin Pedroia to put the Sox up 1-0.

But after being perfect through the first three innings, Lester faltered in the 4th and gave up three consecutive hits to the Rays to tie it. The game continued downhill from there. Things looked up in the 7th when Garza put two men on, but he got out of it unscathed. And that was the rest of the game. Just as we thought there was a chance, the Rays pitching staff slammed the door. The Sox left 8 men on base. All they needed was two of those men to come home to tie up the game and give the Sox the glory they and Red Sox Nation wanted. But it never came to fruition.

Even though the Sox are headed back to Boston, they put up a great fight and showed why their fans are so loyal. Sure they'll lose here and there, but they never give up. As I said, the ALCS had two earlier opportunities to end in the Rays favor. But the Sox held their ground and fought tooth and nail to get to Game 7. Did we all want to see them kill the Phillies in the World Series? Sure. But the fact that they made it to Game 7 and got at least one run on the board at Tropicana Field can make every member of Red Sox Nation, proud of the oldest team in baseball.

But I'm not just sad because the season has come to a close. I'm sad because the end of the Red Sox season also means the end of Duffy's Cliff - at least for a few months. Dad and I are going on hiatus. (Sorry, TV term creeping in.) But don't worry, if something major happens in the off season, like there's a problem with Lowell's recorvery... bite my tongue or The Captain is traded to another team... kill me now, Dad and I will be here to report it and keep all you rabid Sox fans up to date.

And of course once the season starts up again in April, we'll be back reporting game by game as our beloved Sox try again for those beautiful jewel-studded rings. Thank you all for joining us on our maiden voyage. We had a blast and can't wait for Spring Training. See you all in a few months.