Oh, what might have been.  Had the last place Baltimore Orioles managed an unlikely victory with the world watching, sullying the raucous, heartfelt Yankee Stadium celebration by making a post-season denial a mathematical certainty, it would have been a night to remember.  The 2 million pound elephant sitting quietly in Monument Park would have been impossible for the ESPN talking heads to ignore.  As expected, Chris Waters (yes, there’s a Major League pitcher by the name of Chris Waters.  Now you know.) and the 50-legged septic tank that is Baltimore wilted under the national spotlight, and my ravenous appetite for schadenfreude was not sated.  I suppose wishing for such a thing speaks volumes about me as a human being.  Some Red Sox fans have managed to shed their bitterness and angst like snake skin, but not this one.

The silver lining is that we’ll probably see the Red Sox celebrate a playoff berth in front of 40,000 fans at their house, and it’s likely to happen tonight against a floundering Cleveland Indians squad.  Why will it happen tonight?  Tonight’s pitching matchup:

Josh Beckett vs. Zach Jackson

Since coming back from injury, Beckett has been nearly untouchable, pitching 19 innings and only giving up 2 runs.  He has 21 Ks to go with only 3 BBs and 1 HR.  On the other hand, Zach “Action” Jackson has a combined 6.64 ERA in the minor leagues this season, to go with his 6.35 Major League ERA.  In other words, the plastic wall coverings, the champagne goggles, and the copious amounts of booze, they are all being carted into 4 Yawkey Way as we speak.

It’s time to give the 2008 regular season a flying elbow off the top rope.