Most Red Sox fans will tell you that they’re still heartbroken about what transpired throughout September, which culminated with one of the most improbable collapses you’ll ever witness on the final night of the 2011 regular season. As if it wasn’t disheartening enough to watch the Sox put themselves into a situation where they needed a win and a Tampa Bay Rays loss to get into the postseason, the way in which they went out was devastating.
As the Rays fell behind 7-0 to the Yankees at Tropicana Field, the Red Sox jumped out to a lead on the Orioles at Camden Yards. However, after being down to their final strike, the Rays rallied to tie the game. Still, the Sox seemed poised to at least ensure a one-game playoff on Thursday, as they were one strike away from downing the O’s with their dominant closer, Jonathan Papelbon, on the hill.
Yet, the O’s strung together three straight hits with two outs in the ninth, including the dagger in the form of a Robert Andino walk-off single on a ball that a sliding Carl Crawford was unable to haul in. At that point, the Sox needed the Rays to falter, but star third baseman Evan Longoria made sure that wouldn’t happen, ripping his second home run of the game in the 14th inning to give the Rays the win and the AL wild card.
Just days later, it was announced that Terry Francona would no longer manage the Red Sox going forward after eight seasons with the organization.
Is Tito to blame for the collapse? Is general manager Theo Epstein to blame for not making the right decisions leading up to the 2011 season? Or is it simply a matter of the players not coming together in order to preserve the big lead they had established in the standings?
Whatever the case may be, there are certainly more questions than answers. And while Red Sox Nation will undoubtedly continue to show its support moving forward, it’s still difficult to sit back and watch postseason baseball without having your team to root for during it.
