Just Calmly Admit To Yourself That It's Over And Life Will Be So Much Easier

There are two games left in the 2011 MLB regular season with the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays tied for the AL Wild Card.

Those are the facts but I'm here to tell you that's it over for the Red Sox (89-71) after tonight's 6-3 loss at Camden Yards to the Baltimore Orioles (68-92) which frittered away the last game of Boston's lead. Tampa Bay beat the Yankees 5-2.

I've never found myself basically rooting against one of the four Boston pro sports teams but that's what is has come to with this miserable operation. I want their season to be over so we can just get away from this team and hopefully make some big changes in the offseason (dumping John Lackey, Carl Crawford, etc.). They're mostly unlikable, they have no pulse and now, they're about to pull off one of the great September choke jobs in MLB history.

For the second time in less than a week, Josh Beckett (13-7) was not up to the task of beating the O's. The fraudulent Texas toughguy went six innings but he allowed six earned runs on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

Boston staked Beckett to a 2-1 lead in the fourth, following Jacoby Ellsbury's RBI double in the second and Jed Lowrie's solo homer in the fourth (his sixth of the season).

Chris Davis (2 hits, 2 RBIs) tied it with an RBI single in the fifth and put his team ahead for good with an RBI double in the sixth. The biggest blow was an inside-the-park three-run homer by Robert Andino. For a team that has found new and different ways to lose since the calendar changed to September, this was a unique one even for them.

Jacoby Ellsbury had the ball in his glove in center field but it popped out as he ran basically full speed into the wall. That's the play all the old-timers will be talking about for years to come, that is assuming they are still watching this bunch of losers.

Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, walk) had an RBI single in the ninth as the Red Sox tried to rally but Adrian Gonzalez flew out for the second out and Lowrie struck out to end it when he represented the tying run with two runners on base.

David Ortiz and J.D. Drew each had two meaningless hits in the latest disastrous setback.

Matt Wieters tied it in the second for the Orioles with a solo homer. Tommy Hunter outdueled Beckett once again, proving that Beckett's big-game reputation doesn't really fit anymore. Hunter went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Troy Patton (2-1) got five outs for the win and four other Baltimore relievers followed him.

I would say this was a soul-crushing defeat for the Red Sox but that would be incorrectly assuming this team had one to begin with. They're an overpaid, underachieving bunch that should rightfully be taken apart this winter. Good riddance.

On the bright side, Erik Bedard faces Zach Britton tomorrow night as Boston tries to stave off all the negative momentum you could ever possibly imagine one team facing in the regular season.

Who knows who will be catching Bedard since Jason Varitek was a late scratch last night with a bruised knee (he was hit by a pitch on Sunday in New York) and Jarrod Saltalmacchia had to leave in the eighth inning after taking a foul ball off his collarbone.

Keep in mind that no MLB team has ever blown a nine-game lead (what Boston had) in September but then again, this squad hasn't won two games in a row since a day-night doubleheader vs. Oakland on August 27.

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