Is there any more agony in American sports than to be a fan of the Cubs and the Red Sox? Tonight was a microcosm of everything those fans have endured for decades of their faithful patronage. And you could see the pain and the doubt in both sets of fans as they filed out of Fenway and Wrigley. Heartbreak snatched from the hands of victory.

The Cubs, up three games to two and needing only one win to get to the World Series, had their best pitcher on the mound and five outs to go with a 3-0 game lead. Pierre doubles. No problem. Prior has been in total control all night. Luis Castillo then hits foul pop to the left field line. Moises Alou is primed to jump and catch the ball. He jumps and one of his own fans reaches out and knocks the ball away. The announcers state that the fan did not reach over. My view is that the fan did reach over. No matter, the result is that the second out is now just a strike.

Castillo then walks. And then Gonzalez boots another out and all hell breaks loose. Eight runs later and the Cubs fans are stunned, demoralized and fighting long held demons. It doesn't matter that Kerry Wood is pitching tomorrow--their second best pitcher. What matters is that these tired fans fear and dread the worst. And who can blame them.


The Red Sox game was far less dramatic. The Yankees simply beat them with sound fundamentals, great pitching from old warrior, David Wells, and cold, cold hitters in the middle of the Red Sox lineup.

As reported here yesterday, Torre made a mistake by not pitching David Wells in his normal turn. Wells has won so many big post-season games for the Yankees and if he had pitched yesterday, the Yankees could have entered today's game up 3-1 instead of tied at 2-2. But Wells did pitch today and he was fantastic. The man simply knows how to pitch. No longer overpowering, Wells changes speeds and eye levels better than most pitchers in baseball.

Now the Yankees go back home with a 3-2 lead and Pettitte pitching tonight and Clemens in reserve for the seventh game if needed. The equally fractured fans of the Red Sox would be down by the state of the series, but more so since it is against the Yankees. These tired fans also fear and dread the worst. And who can blame them.

They still have to play the games and anything can happens but...a Cubs/Red Sox World Series would have been a celebration and it was a pleasant dream while it lasted.