BOSTON -- When pitching plague Eric Gagne was called on by Terry Francona in the crucial 11th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS, Gagne seemed to have a look on his face that said: "Who, me? You serious?"
Out he trotted and Fenway Park collectively lost its lunch knowing what was going to happen next. The only thing missing was Gagne carrying lighter fluid and matches. Or a swarm of locusts.
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| Eric Gagne squanders the Red Sox chances at taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the ALCS. (US Presswire) |
The massive, filthy, unexplainable, disgraceful choke job by the Red Sox was ignited by Gagne who in 1/3 of an inning allowed one hit and two runs, or as they call that in these parts whenever Gagne pitches: Wednesday.
"It certainly didn't end like we wanted it to," said Francona.
Which part didn't exactly? The 13-6 loss or the part where every fan in Fenway committed ritual suicide once Gagne came into the game?
It wasn't Gagne's fault completely. This choke job was a total team effort beginning with Curt Schilling's horror show and ending with the poetic justice of former Boston player Trot Nixon's pinch-hit single against his old team to give Cleveland a 7-6 lead.
"This is all about me coming up small in a big game," Schilling said.
It's not always about you Curt. A seven-run inning cannot be blamed on one person.
Boston can only look back on this game one way: A lost opportunity. The game was close enough, until that explosion by Cleveland, for them to grab it. They blew a great chance to get a 2-0 stranglehold on the series.
Instead, they've made it interesting and given an Indians team hope, and that is a dangerous thing to hand an underdog.
One of the largest problems for Boston was the failure to take advantage of a major managerial miscue by the normally sharp Eric Wedge, who made the tactical error of taking out the extremely hot Fausto Carmona in the fifth inning. Carmona spent much of the evening confusing and battering the Boston lineup and held a solid 5-3 lead.
Wedge inserted the flaccid Rafael Perez too quickly. Perez then promptly gave up a two-run shot to Manny Ramirez and made it back-to-back with Mike Lowell.
