A Red Sox comeback vs. one from McCain

By Dan Tobin

Up 3-1 in the ALCS, are the Rays more like the 2007 Indians or the 2005 White Sox? Is this the moment just before the Sox come raring back once again, or is this the moment when we find out Boston's gone to the dramatic comeback well one too many times? Only once in franchise history has an ALCS with a Red Sox team failed to go seven games and the Rays are good, but I'm not sure they're the '99 Yankees. Still, I can't help but feel like I did proclaiming in the 2005 division series, "Hey, we were down 0-2 against Oakland in '03 and against Cleveland in '99... we've got them right where we want them!"

There's a lot of that refrain going around these days. Like for John McCain, who apparently thinks that being down by double digits in the polls with under a month to go means his campaign has Obama's right where they want theem. Really, John? We've heard a lot of bull-plop come out your mouth in the last six months, but this may be the bull-ploppiest (pig-lipstick aside).

I expect tonight to be nasty and weird. Weird because McCain's so bad at being nasty. He's built his brand on being tough with a grandfatherly demeanor, of literally speaking softly and figuratively carrying a big stick. He comes off as likeable but tough. But when he goes on the attack, he just comes off as a dick. The real John McCain shines through and it is UGLY. He doesn't have the Palin ability to deliver a baseless attack with charm (or the Obama ability to deliver a substantive attack with charm). So I say Mac goes on the attack and looks terrible, while Obama maintains his cool and deftly swats him away. You think Obama doesn't know have a snappy comeback to McCain's stupid questions about Ayers and ACORN? He's got Al Jaffee on speed-dial, baby!

I think the Red Sox have a better shot tomorrow at a win that launches a comeback than McCain does tonight. In the last 89 years, the Red Sox have won exactly one series that did not end with them winning three games in a row, and that was last week. This team has closed out a plaoff series with a three-game win streak 10 times from 1975-2007. If Dice-K can get us back to Tampa, Beckett and Lester will be eager to redeem themselves, and if we can push this to Game 7, the weight of history has to be on our side. I say we have a 25% chance of winning the pennant, but that's a lot better than the latest scenarios for Big Mac.

(Cross-posted at Surgical Strikes.)