Times are strange. The Red Sox actually won three close games in a row to come all the way back from a two games to none deficit to beat the Athletics in five games. Four of those games were worthy of ESPN Classic status. The question now is: does this Red Sox team possess some magic or is this just another way to allow the Yankees to beat Boston again and multiply the pain for Sox fans? I, for one, would much rather not even make it to the playoffs than lose to the Yankees in the ALCS. But, winning this series would be the greatest moment in Red Sox history. It’s great to have that chance.

The Red Sox managed to win this series in spite of Grady Little. First, he put Damian Jackson in as a defensive replacement for Todd Walker in the 6th inning. THE SIXTH INNING! I don’t think I have ever seen a manager take a player out for defensive purposes in the sixth inning. Plus, it’s not like Damian Jackson is Roberto Alomar. He has more range than Walker, but scares me even more. This move set the stage for Damon’s injury. Not that I can directly blame Grady Little for a freak injury, but in a weird way his bad managing caused it. After making the right moves in the 8th inning, Little made the ultimate boneheaded move by removing Timlin from the game after pitching to only one batter in the 8th. Williamson has been pitching very well, but threw 28 pitches on Sunday and has a propensity for walking batters. Most of the offensive damage done by Oakland in the series was the result of walks. Timlin walks a batter about once every nine innings and had the fresher arm yet Grady took him out. It made no sense. In the ninth, Oakland had runners at second and third and one out with sinkerballer Derek Lowe on the mound. Clearly, the right move was to walk the bases loaded. The advantages: (1) With a force out at home plate the infield can play close to normal depth (2) It sets up the double play on a hard hit ground ball and (3) It sets up a play at home on a slow ground ball. The disadvantage: a walk will tie the game. The choice is clear, yet Grady pulled the infield in and pitched to the next batter even though a weak grounder through the drawn-in infield would have won the series for Oakland. Thankfully, Derek Lowe saved Grady’s tail with some of the nastiest pitches I have ever seen.

I know he was the key reason why the Sox won the game last night but I really hope that Manny Ramirez is not in a Red Sox uniform next season. After his ground ball single in the 8th inning of Game 4 (his third hit in four games), Manny trotted to first base, pointing to his dugout, not paying any attention to what was going on in front of him despite the fact that he was the go-ahead run. Luckily, it all worked out thanks to David Ortiz. Last night, Manny obnoxiously stood at home plate admiring his three-run homer. It should be mentioned that the ball did not clear the wall by that much. Had it hit the wall, Manny would have had a 360-foot single. Throughout the series Manny has been all smiles in the dugout after each failure at the plate. This coming from the same guy that couldn’t pinch hit because of a sore throat and declared that it was his dream to play for the Yankees. Part of the fault goes to Red Sox upper management, Grady Little and the Red Sox veterans for not putting a stop to Ramirez’s antics.

The Hypocrite of the Year Award goes to Miguel Tejada. The A’s shortstop was reportedly furious because of a gesture made by Derek Lowe after the final out in Game 5. Tejada claimed that the gesture was obscene and mentioned that the teams had families in the stands. Does Tejada not realize that he repeatedly screamed obscenities from the batter’s box and the dugout following his numerous strikeouts during the series? Lowe deserves criticism for that gesture, but it certainly shouldn’t come from Tejada.

I also could not believe the comments made by A’s General Manager Billy Beane following the Game 5 loss. Beane told reporters that the A’s wouldn’t have lost the series if they had another $50 million to spend on payroll (the Sox payroll is $50 million higher than Oakland’s). I wholeheartedly agree with Beane. If payrolls were even close to balanced, Oakland would probably have two or three pennants over the past four years and New York would have one pennant in the past ten years, rather than five. Still, Beane is sending the wrong message to his team by making these comments. The A’s made several silly mistakes in Game 3. They had every chance to win and didn’t. The GM should not allow his team to fall back on excuses even if they are legitimate. It is also ironic that Beane would complain about payroll disparity since he had an opportunity to take the Red Sox job last winter. I wonder if Beane likes running the A’s because he will always be able to blame a low payroll when his team loses. If he had taken the Sox job, he would have opened himself up to criticism – and plenty of it.

In the strange world of the Major League Baseball playoffs, nothing is stranger than the success of the Red Sox bullpen over the past four games. Between Game 2 and Game 5, the Sox bullpen pitched 11 2/3 innings, gave up 4 hits, 3 walks (all in the ninth inning of Game 5) and 0 runs. Mike Timlin retired all 13 batters he faced in the series. On the other hand, most of that success came from starters (Wake and Lowe), Timlin, Embree and Williamson. The Sox will need contributions from more than three members of the pen to beat the Yankees.

This season has been strangely reminiscent of 1999. That year, the Yankees clinched the American League East in the final week of the season. The Red Sox found themselves down two games to none to Cleveland in the ALDS before surging back to win in five. In 1999, Pedro won Game 5 of the ALDS on the road, though he came out of the bullpen to do it that time. Ironically, the 1999 Sox came back in round one because of their bats while the 2003 offensively-potent Sox came back because of pitching. The 1999 American League Championship Series also began in New York and featured a Pedro-Clemens matchup in Game 3 at Fenway. The Yanks won that series in five thanks to the most amazing run of luck I have even seen in Games 1 and 2 and horrendous defense by the Sox in Games 4 and 5. Let’s hope history does not repeat itself in that respect.

Two players in this year’s playoffs that Theo Epstein should be talking to over the winter are A’s closer Keith Foulke and Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo. Both are free agents after this season. Yes, Foulke blew the series save on Sunday, but to be fair the three hits he surrendered were all against MVP candidates. Foulke saved 43 of 48 games this year and had an ERA of 2.08. He has very good control (2 BB per 9 innings) and can pitch more than one inning. Castillo is a very good fielder and can run “wicked” fast. For some reason, he was caught stealing 19 of 40 times this season after stealing 48 in 63 tries in 2002. He batted .314 in 2003 and would be great in the Sox #2 spot in the lineup.

The Sox are often criticized for losing in the World Series, but to be fair they have lost each of their last four World Series’ in seven games and each time they played a great team. In 1946, they played a Cardinals team that was 98-58 (the equivalent of a 102 win season in a 162-game schedule). In 1967, the Sox lost to a 101-60 Cardinals team that won three times in the Series with the unhittable Bob Gibson. In 1975, it was the 108-54 Cincinnati Big Red Machine. The 1986 Mets also won 108 games. Many would argue that the ’67 Cards with Gibson, the ’75 Reds and the ’86 Mets are three best National League Champs of the past 40 years. Though the Marlins and Cubs are good baseball teams, the Sox will not be forced to play one of history’s great teams in the Series should they beat the Yankees.