Well, after almost two weeks of drama, drama, and more drama, America's hopes for a mythical Cubs/Red Sox World Series were dashed in two nights of unfortunate managerial decisions. In both cases, Woods in the case of the Cubs and Martinez in the case of the Red Sox, pitchers were left in when they should have been taken out, and in both cases the teams lost everything. Certainly not all of it rests on pitching, but momentum by both the Marlins and Yankees was only increased as the two pitchers rapidly crumbled. In Martinez's case, the manager even asked the pitcher if he's was still good. Deciding not to overrule his star pitcher, the manager went back to the dugout and it was completely downhill from there. Only Aaron Boone remained to finish things.

And so America is bummed. After eons of failure this year was supposed to be the cinderella year: Cubs-Red Sox in the World Series. For the Cubs it would be their first trip since 1945 and for the Red Sox it would be another chance to break the Curse of the Bambino and win the Series for the first time since 1918. What made this America's bummer, ultimately, is the huge Chicago and Boston fan base stretched across the country. Sure the Yankees have a similarly huge fan base, but the Yankees also have an ever-increasing tradition of Braves-like playoff appearances. Which makes them boring for those of us who watch baseball in more nostalgic mindset. And now one of the most up-and-coming boring teams is playing the Florida Marlins. Yes, Florida, that team with the boring Pro Player Stadium that's an awful "throwback" to the multi-purpose fields of the 1970s and 1980s. Florida, that team who are very much a product of the high-stakes "economy" of modern baseball. (Yes, so are the Red Sox and Cubs. I'm well aware that nostalgia is essentially a falsehood. This is my blog, not yours.) And that's what makes the Yankees so gosh darn dull: they're a team full of superstars who've been thrown together at the cost of three less-affluent major league teams (or something). There's only the Yankee history holding the current team together, but the current Yankees seem so "painted on."

And so America is bummed. Fox experienced amazing ratings with the Cubs and Red Sox chasing the pennant, and now all they've got to look forward to is a dull Yankees/Marlins World Series. Sure, there will be some great baseball, amazing plays, pitching, and home runs, but it's going to be the Yankees and Marlins. Sorry, but I'll be sitting around waiting for network reruns to end.

Maybe I'll watch the second half of Game 7 though.