The 2008 Boston Red Sox were hard to put a finger on. They could go on tremendous win streaks followed by epic failures on the road. Injuries were there from the beginning with Schilling’s news about the $8 million dollar mistake and right through the playoff with the loss of Mike Lowell. Some players had great years: Pedroia and Youk, some did not: Tek and Ellsbury. In a way the ALCS was very similar to the season; role players had to step up, players that used to be automatic were less than stellar, and the team could be amazing one minute and woefully bad the next. There will be those that say the Red Sox lost because of injuries or because Manny was gone but the Rays had the drive to win and the Sox did not catch them when they had Manny earlier in the season. The team overcame some major challenges this season but never could get over the top. A loss like last night’s is not nearly as tough to take as the ’03 loss to the Yankees; especially since we are only a year removed from a World Series victory. The loss did show how tough it is to repeat as World Champions. You have to play with the cards you are delt and the Sox did about as well as could be expected. The team could look pretty similar next season with the limited number of free agents unless Theo makes a major deal. Stay tuned.
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