I'm not a great eugooglizer, but bear with me. I'm only going to reference the giant kick to the testicles administered to me a few days ago by the now defunct 2009 Red Sox once.
I will say that it was a good, if extremely frustrating season, one that could just as well have ended up in the garbage heap along with 2002, 2006, and pretty much the entire decade of the 1990s (hold your horses Mr. "what about 99." The Sox had no realistic shot in that series unless Pedro Martinez had been able to pitch seven times), or could have ended with guys like me diving into the river to get closer to the duck boats.
What we got, as it turns out, is somewhere in the middle. A decent team that won 95 games, was streaky as all get out, and gave us more great memories at the start of the year than the end. They backed into the playoffs, came up against a "Team of Destiny" (we should all know not to bet against a team that lost a guy early in the season, it's just common sense), and got thrashed in the worst way possible.
This winter will be busier than usual for Theo Epstein and company on Yawkey Way. They need to add a bat, keep Jason "I should have been given a five-year, $80 million deal in June" Bay, and figure out what to do with the rapidly fading David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Jonathan Papelbon.
Yes, I did just say that Papelbon was fading. Yes, I did mean it. The Angels were more worried about facing Daniel Bard last week than Paps, and we all know that closers have expiration dates.
The collapse at the end of Sunday's game was just the last gasp of a season which he spent constantly teetering over the edge between being Mariano Rivera and Heathcliff Slocumb.
If he can be used to get Adrian Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez, or anyone else that will have a significant impact on the 2010 Sox and beyond (see C.C Sabathia and Mark Teixeira,) then Theo should jump at the opportunity. Especially with a rookie that throws 100 mph out there behind him. (this is not a snap judgement made after Sunday. It is a decision that I came to after many long conversations with my friends Johnny Walker, Sam Adams and Whateverhisnamewas Pabst.)
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