Analyzing Horror

I think that when something horrible happens, the first move you make is to think about why it happened and what exactly took place.  If you watch newscasts from 9/11, you immediately notice that everyone is speculating about what happened.  The coverage of horrible events tends to focus on speculation surrounding what happened and trying to gather information about them.  Then, in the next day's editorials, the question of "why" is discussed.  If an answer is found to this question, then comes the discussion of who will shoulder the burden of failure.
After watching the Red Sox combust last night, I immediately deduced two things; that a healthy Carl Crawford would have caught the ball that Andino hit to win the game and that Papelbon's fastball to Nolan Reimold with two outs in the ninth inning was the wrong pitch to throw.  The fastball in the strike zone should have been a splitter, a changeup, or a slider, because the pitches beforehand had all been outside fastballs.  The broadcasters were talking about how effective his outside fastball was.  They were wrong.  An inside fastball to Andino, a botched play by a normally speedy and good-fielding left fielder with bad legs, and a late throw.  Crawford and Pap will shoulder the blame.  As will the entire September offense and pitching staff.  And then the balloon that was my excited brain popped.  No more looking forward to a free, homework-filled day off from school (Jewish new year) with postseason baseball the next day.  At that point, I was wondering how I could possibly juggle watching a tiebreaker (I didn't think the Rays would win)  and all of my homework the next day.  I switched to ESPN, and soon enough, bang.  Longoria.  Deflation, and a dark fall and winter without Red Sox games coming up.
It's the worst feeling in baseball: when you know that a ball is about to leave the park, that you can't do anything to stop it from being a home run, and then once it's over, complete disappointment.  Heartfelt condolences I send to my fellow Red Frauds fans throughout the world.  Pay attention in the offseason; perhaps something good will come of this horrendous collapse.

Sources: mlb.com and Jason Robbins opinions