A Tale of Two Collapses

Baseball fans witnessed two epic collapses at the end of this regular season.  One in Atlanta.  One in Boston.  From my Braves fan point of view, it was like watching a slow motion train wreck.  Honestly, I truly believed the Braves were going to pull it out at the end.  The Braves love to torture us and I knew that it was going to come down to the last game of the regular season, just like last year.  I knew that the Braves would make the post season as the wild card.  In all my Pollyanna-ness I knew Atlanta would see October baseball again.  Nope.  At the end of that game on September 28th I stood there in disbelief, watching my team walk silently into the sunset of the 2011 season.

The Braves acted swiftly.  Hitting coach Larry Parrish was dismissed.  President John Schuerholz sent what is best described as a letter of apology to Braves Season Ticket holders.  The local media was the toughest they've ever been on Fredi Gonzalez and the failings of individual players were openly dissected.

But that is NOTHING compared to what is going on in Boston!  Terry's gone.  Theo's gone.  Am I watching sports reporting or some baseball version of the Real Housewives!?!  I won't even bother to laundry list the names of Red Sox legends who are rolling over in their collective graves.

Terry Francona has gone from being the savior who broke The Curse to what various news sources are portraying as a pill-popping, hotel-dwelling, head case.  Certain superstar pitchers, were reportedly drinking beer, eating and playing video games while their teammates were on the field.  There are reports of players whining about a day/night double header due to Hurricane Irene and then ownership appeasing the players with a gift of pricey headphones and a party on owner John Henry's yacht.  The Red Sox are airing their dirty laundry and it's getting uglier and uglier.  What's left of upper management seems to be in disarray and the players are looking like what we don't want them to be...spoiled millionaires. 

Red Sox.  What has become of you?  For the past decade you were the shining model of how to build a championship team.  It was the ultimate comeback story 86 years in the making.  And just to prove it wasn't a fluke, you did it twice.  Now, it's a circus, a soap opera, an embarrassment to your Red Sox Nation.