Put Away the Foam Finger and Papelbon Puppet: New York Media Declares the 2009 Season Officially Over

It's okay to admit that you felt it, even for a few brief moments. When Victor Martinez went yard in the eighth last night, I had a brief flashback to some of that 2004 magic, when nothing was impossible and no game was out of reach, no matter how dire the circumstance. In fact, watching Ortiz manhandling V-Mart in the dugout after the latter swatted that two-run homer, I swore I hadn't seen the guy so animated since the Last Days of Chez Manny. And it felt good.But then the wheels fell off the wagon, again. And the Sox were forced to eat it, again. And the idea of the Sox dropping all six games of this critical tour--something I swore was unthinkable before that first game in Tampa--was suddenly as real and painful as a Lady Gaga/Katy Perry double bill.So does this mean the season is over? That nothing matters from this point forward? That the Yanks won the keys to the kingdom this weekend, dooming us to a couple months of pressing faces against the glass, staring longingly...