Over

"Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!" If only the Sox had John "Bluto" Blutarsky's spirit then this might not be over. But they don't and it is. The Sox officially were eliminated from the American League Wild Card race yesterday. Their October hopes "ended not with a bang, but a whimper," 14-1. (First Animal House, then T. S. Eliot's The Hollow Men. What a Renaissance publication The Update is!) Either their loss or Minnesota's win would have been enough to guarantee the Twins a post-season berth, along with the Tigers; both happening just added insult to injury. In truth, this has been over for a while. The Sox have played .500 baseball since June 16, when they were 42-25. That's more than three months of mediocre performance. It's actually kind of amazing that they made it to the last week of the season before the Tigers and Twins clinched. All of this goes to show just how special last year really was. Go Sox!