Every Fairy Tale Must Come To An End

It seems like it was over before I even watched the first inning of playoff baseball.

The Red Sox looked truly outmatched in this series, with Bobby Jenks looking like Mariano in his prime. The bats simply did not get it done, and worse, the defense was embarrassing. Although, the D was just as bad last year but had the bats and pitching to clean up.

The story of the game was the 6th inning. No outs, bases loaded and the next 3 batters went down 1-2-3. I truly thought that God had set this stage for Graffanino to redeem himself, but I guess I was wrong. El Duque looked unstoppable, like he was 26, not 36.

I don't feel as wronged this year as I have in years passed.

At least this wasn't the Yankees. At least this wasn't Aaron Boone.

I do feel for the youngsters though. Those who don't know better. The kid who was crying on his Dad's shoulder at the end of the game. They are in for a lifetime of pain, being probably too young to even remember what 2004 felt like.

The truly heartbreaking result of this series is the fact that this is the true end of 2004. Millar will be gone, Manny will be gone, Billy Mueller will be gone, and theres a good chance that the Caveman will never again lead off a Red Sox game.

The 2006 Red Sox team may boast a Manny-less David Ortiz, which will see Ortiz challenge Barry Bonds for the single season walk record. Pitchers just will not give Ortiz anything to hit. Not to mention the fact that Ortiz without Manny will be a very different Big Papi in attitude. I predict that big smile will be flashed much less and his happiness may falter. Losing Manny is effectively losing Big Papi as we know him.

And that, my friends, makes me sadder than any Red Sox loss this season.

All there's left to do is give one more big thank you to the 2004 Boston Red Sox. Thank you Manny, Johnny, Billy and even El Bencho. And thank you Pedro, Dave Roberts and Orlando Cabrera once again. You will never be forgotten in Bean Town.

2005 Boston Red Sox RIP.