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| "Where'd everybody go?" (Getty Images) |
At first glance, it looks pretty benign, this box score from September 5 of last year. But look at the names contained therein ...
In that 1-0 Red Sox loss to Toronto, Josh Beckett was the starter for Boston. Later in the game, Jonathan Papelbon made a relief appearance. Adrian Gonzalez started at first base. Kevin Youkilis manned third. Carl Crawford and Josh Reddick occupied the outfield corners. Marco Scutaro was the shortstop, and behind the plate was Jason Varitek. The manager, of course, was Terry Francona, and his boss was GM Theo Epstein.
Even after that loss, the Sox held a 7.0-game lead over the Rays for the AL wild-card, and they were just 2.5 games back of the Yankees for the AL East lead.
Now? Things are ... different.
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