Red Sox Sweep Hopes Raised And Dashed In Seesaw Ninth

In a season with so few redeeming moments, a late-season sweep of the Yankees would have been something to smile about.

But we just can't have nice things.

Simply put, Daisuke pitched well enough, allowing only a big homer to A-Rod in the seventh to put the Yankees on top 2-1. The Sox rekindled some old magic in the ninth inning to stage a comeback with four stolen bases by Ryan Kalish and Bill Hall bringing the Sox a 3-2 lead. But Jonathan Papelbon walked some guys, gave up some hits, and got some bad calls from Phil Cuzzi, and the game went to extras where Hideki Okajima walked in the game-winning run.

In one of their few lucid moments between hours of babbling, the ESPN announcing team managed to come up with "anticlimactic" to describe the ending. Accurate enough, and in more ways than one. In a week which saw the media come back to life with the memories of 2004, to have it come to an end with the Sox not managing the sweep thanks to the same thing that's ruined so many of their other chances throughout the year...It's just not what we were looking for.

The Yankees weren't going to lose their last seven, and the Red Sox weren't going to run the table (this, for those few still wondering, is exactly what needs to happen for the Sox to even earn a one game playoff), so it's not as if the Sox blew some huge opportunity to re-enter the postseason conversation. But it's a shame to miss out on that last stand that strikes just a bit of fear in the hearts of New York. Our own little Thermopylae.

Oh well, you know what they say. There's always next year.