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The Associated PressSo this is how it ends? Not with a bang, but with the fading sound of cowbells and a cold October wind?
We've had more than 24 hours to digest Boston's loss to Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
The Rays were the better team: They won the AL East title, they won the regular-season series against the Red Sox and ultimately they beat Boston over a grueling seven-game series.
Sometimes you've got to tip your cap to a worthy opponent.
Fine. Yet, as we begin to put a little distance between ourselves and the series, a loss to Tampa becomes even more unfathomable.
How did it ever come to this? How did a roster costing some $95 million less than Boston's knock off the defending champion?
The Rays did it with talent and, more alarmingly, with youth. We'd heard a lot about Boston's young players, and there is certainly reason to be excited about the likes of Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Yet, in the end, they were overshadowed by the Rays' youngsters, the likes of B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, Matt Garza and David Price.
Upton and Longoria already have combined for 13 home runs this postseason.
Not only is that a major league playoff record for a pair of teammates each under the age of 25, it's more than double the old mark. And, as we know all too well, their postseason isn't over yet.
It is over for the Sox. Boston summoned a mere three hits in the final game of the ALCS and went down meekly in all but two innings. Now, General Manager Theo Epstein has to figure out how to reinvigorate his aging lineup in order to compete for the division next season.
The Yankees are more than three weeks into their off-season already, and you'd better believe the Steinbrenner brain trust in Tampa has been paying close attention to what's been going on across the bay in St. Pete.
The Yankees are moving into a new ballpark, a palace that will generate tens of millions of dollars of additional revenue, and they will spend it. Their payroll will be well over $200 million next year, and they will go after a postseason berth with a vengeance.
On the other end of the financial spectrum will be the American League-champion Rays, a maturing team that will hit the field in 2009 brimming with confidence. They might even pack the seats at Tropicana Field a few times during the regular season next year.
Where does that leave the Red Sox? In the unlikely position of having to battle for survival. Epstein will need to make some shrewd moves in the off-season, starting with the catching situation.
Jason Varitek will turn 37 in the first month of next season and is coming off a .220 year that deteriorated into a 1-for-20 ALCS. There isn't much on the free-agent market (Josh Bard could return, but we know what happens when he tries to catch the knuckleball), so Epstein will have to look to trade for a catcher if he wants to go in a different direction, or at least find someone who can split time more frequently with Varitek.
Fans want the Sox to add an impact bat to the lineup, but where would Mark Teixeira play on this team? Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell aren't going anywhere. Manny Ramirez is available, but we've seen that act fall apart here in the past.
And, as always, there will be pitching needs to address. Mike Timlin has had 18 years, but it's hard to imagine him ever again pitching for the Sox. Justin Masterson moved to the bullpen to relieve the stress of Timlin's shortcomings, and if Masterson stays there for 2009, the Sox will need to find another starter. And it won't be Curt Schilling, who has worn out his welcome with the front office.
Last winter, the Rays traded young prospect Delmon Young for a good young pitcher. Matt Garza was expected to pitch the Rays into contention; Sunday night, he was named MVP of the ALCS.
In the days ahead,...
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