2011: A Red Sox Year in Review: Part 4- The Fall Out

Happy New Year Dear Readers! With just 47 days before the Boston Red Sox pitchers and catchers report, I am sure everyone is eager to move on from the painful 2011 season. We have already covered the hopeful 2011 pre-season, the early season’s ups and down and the Herculean fall of the second half. This final piece brings us right up to date, wrapping up the off-season to date as the team moves toward the new season in hopes of redemption. When the Baltimore Orioles celebration ended and the Tampa Bay Rays startling comeback was completed, theBostonmedia began looking for their sacrificial lamb. Unlike the failures in 1986 and 2003, this collapse had no clear goat. The team had not blown just a single game; it had gone 7-20 over the full month. While closer Jonathan Papelbon had lost the final game of the season, he could hardly be blamed for the collapse in its entirety. Setup man Daniel Bard had a terrible September, blowing four leads in the month, but he had also been ca...