The Braves and Red Sox Blow It in Epic Fashion

The title says it all. I have a feeling we'll be talking about the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox's epic fails for quite a while. How these two teams choked away their leads and waved goodbye to the playoffs is something that is mind blowing. I'm not sure whose fall was more shocking, but I'm leaning towards the Sox. Actually let's just start there.

Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

Boston lost to the Orioles (the Orioles!!) on Wednesday night 4-3. I guess Baltimore can now celebrate being the team to bounce Boston out of the playoffs. The Red Sox led by 9 games and somehow (some way) choked hard enough to waste that epic lead away. I mean, at that point, they had practically punched their card to the playoff train! Their 7-20 record in September is the worst record for the month since 1952. That's insane. The blame doesn't just fall on Jonathan Papelbon, David Ortiz, or Carl Crawford..itt falls on the team as  whole, and that includes management. We can go back and forth bout whether or not the Sox were arrogant or thought they were owed a ticket to the playoffs, but what good does that do? The bottom line is they had one of the most epic collapses in recent history, and I'm pretty sure the city of Boston is pissed. Really pissed. Honestly, I can't say I blame them.

John Bazemore/AP Photo

Atlanta. Oh dear Atlanta. You were thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close. And you, like Boston, choked. The Braves led by 8 1/2 games only three and a half weeks ago. How do you mess that up?! The Braves struggled with hitting and their defense was on some nights and totally off the next. And so, now instead of the Braves in the playoffs, we'll see the Cardinals, and you know what? They deserve it more. The Braves failed to play well, they failed to turn it on when they needed to, and they failed to play like a team with heart. Disappointing may not even be the right word. Welp. See ya later, post-season. Back to football for sports fans in Atlanta.

So, now I'll root for the Tampa Bay Rays (who, by the way, I said would make it to the playoffs at the beginning of the season...I'm just sayin'). Why the Rays? Because they had the most awesome, bad-ass comeback against the Yankees after being down 7-0 in the 8th inning. Yep, 8th. Go Rays. To summarize my excitement for the little team that could, see the video below. I love Dick Vitale, and I'm pretty sure he loves the Rays.