I was going to write a post here about how meaningful September baseball is great, but October baseball is better. I never got around to it (surprise, surprise) and as it turns out it would’ve barely mattered anyway.
I got to enjoy one baseball game with my friends, watched one while babysitting for a friend, and suffered through one all by myself. And then it was over. The series. The playoffs. The season. And David Ortiz’s career.
Ortiz did not deserve that. The fans did not deserve that. The team – got exactly what it deserved. A complete underperformance that leaves a bad taste in your mouth – one that cannot be squelched until (at the very least) February. But really, this bitter pill won’t be forgotten until they get back to the playoffs again. Will that be next year? It might not be – the MLB playoffs is the hardest major professional sports postseason to appear in. The Sox have only been in twice in the last seven years. Of course one of those ended in a World Series.
But that was three years ago. Standards have gone up in New England – and we demand more from our teams – so if we have to wait another three years to reach the playoffs it will be hard to take.
But if they win a game when that happens, it will be 100% better than this year.
Thanks for the memories Papi.
Go Pats!
