Wally brought the car to a quick stop in the breakdown lane. In one quick yet well thought out move I opened my door and vomitted. That, as Wally pointed out, pretty much sums up this season.

I've had a nagging urge to be at the last game, a game without significance. I needed my Sox fix one more time. I have the 'hard to believe syndrome'. Hard to believe this team won so many games, had so many guys with big years, and yet sucked so bad. This will go down as (another) tough one to swallow.

We arrived before the bars started serving, but timed our entrance onto Yawkey Way for high noon. As soon as we entered the bar downstairs, the opening bell rang. Wally grabbed two mexicans with lime.

This is not necessarily a happy trip to the old ballyard. It will be six months before we return here, and the pall that I sense over the place is a gray reminder that another New England winter is around the bend. Another winter wondering what could have been, and what will be. Another winter deep in anticipation.

We work the roof boxes for a while, those Row D counter seats seats are cool. Around the fifth we head out for a cuban, and I'm too spaced to offer Tiant a beer as he's leaving. We'll catch him next year.

In the eighth I head Wally over to the Player's Club formally know as the Diamond Room. We chug down another round and head towards the Sox dugout for the end of the season.

It's over in a flash, and there's nothing to cheer about. As I stand at the rail I hear someone calling. I look up and see John Henry with his hand extended, the usual grin in place. As I squeeze his hand I can tell he wants me to be the first fan to convey a gut reaction. 'One more year, give it one more year.' I can tell he gets it.

Some of the players start throwing foam baseballs into the stands. I grab one from under a seat, and as I stand up there's some kid, around six years old, wearing his glove. I plop the foam ball into his mitt. He's speechless, but his eyes say it all. Baseball as we know is for little boys.

We won 93 games. We're close. Very close. We've got most of these guys signed for next year. I say we do it again, and if they all go free agent and we get nothing in return, so be it. That's when we'll start rebuilding. It makes no sense to break up a team of talented, proven veterans if your goal is to win four games of the World Series.

And from where I sit, that is the only goal.

What do I know?