The Art of the Meltdown

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, last night we all witnessed the greatest single night of baseball ever. All of the exciting things in baseball occurred last night. Everything that makes baseball fans say, "WOW!" happened last night. Last night's games featured two walk-off wins, a 13 inning thriller, a seven run comeback, an old fashioned blowout, and of course the upset. But caught up in all of this great baseball, is the historical collapses of two great franchises.

On August 25th, the St. Louis Cardinals trailed the Braves by 10½ games in the Wild Card race. St. Louis had every reason to throw in the towel and give up on their season. Their fans had every reason to say, "maybe next year". However, they refused to give in, led by the leadership of skipper Tony La Russa and 1B Albert Pujols the Cardinals clawed their way back into contention, with a little help from some friends. Most of the attention in the media is being focused on the collapse of the Red Sox, but the Braves should not be overlooked. Atlanta went 9-18 in the month of September, while the Cardinals won 23 of their last 31 games. The two teams went into last night tied for the lead in the Wild Card race. St. Louis took care of business as usual last night, stomping on the lowly Astros 8-0. It was a little bit of a different story for the Braves.

Atlanta got out to a 3-1 lead over the mighty Phillies early, with Tim Hudson going strong, it looked like the Braves would hang on. However, when the game mattered most, the Braves put the game in the hands of their rookies. In the top of the 9th, rookie closer Craig Kimbrel had a chance to ice the game for Atlanta. Kimbrel, who had a rookie record 46 saves this season, couldn't hang on allowing a RBI single to Hunter Pence, tying the game at 3. The Phillies led in the bottom of the 13th, and with 1 out in the inning the Braves sent rookie 1B Freddie Freeman to the plate. What happened next defined the Braves season, disappointment and frustration. Freeman grounded into a game ending double play, throwing his helmet to the ground in frustration. The Cardinals will advance to the Postseason thanks to the collapse of the Braves.

For the Boston Red Sox their season ended the same way it started, in disappointment. Boston was supposed to be the team to beat this year in the American League, acquiring All-Star sluggers Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in the offseason. On September 3rd, Boston held a 9 game lead over the Rays, a seemingly insurmountable lead. Going up against the struggling Orioles last night, one would think that Boston had the Wild Card in their hands. Boston led in the bottom of the 9th, 3-2 with the Orioles down to their final strike, then the meltdown happened. Nolan Reimold nailed a crushing double to deep center, driving in the tying run. In the very next at-bat, Robert Andino became a hero, smacking a shallow ball to left field, which was dropped by Carl Crawford, driving in the game winning run with a walk-off RBI single. Boston's season was in the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Before the season, most people believed that Tampa Bay was rebuilding, having lost their All-Star outfielder and most of their bullpen, along with slugger Carlos Peña. The Rays were the comeback kids all season long. At the All-Star Break, the team was in 3rd Place in the AL East. They trailed 7-0 in the 8th, but never looked back. But in the 8th inning, Tampa Bay came alive scoring six runs, capped by Evan Longoria's 3-run shot. The Rays trailed 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th, when pinch hitter Dan Johnson was called to the plate. The Rays found themselves down to their final strike, when Johnson hit the ball over the fence in right field to tie the game. Just three minutes after Robert Andino hit the walk-off single for Baltimore, Evan Longoria came to the plate in the bottom of the 12th. Tied at 7, Longoria got the bat on the first pitch of the at-bat and drove it deep to left field, ending the season for the Boston Red Sox, and sending the Tampa Bay Rays to the Postseason on the walk-off blast.