Bill Burt

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Other than the heartache of losing a Game 7, the strikeouts at inopportune times to kill rallies in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, and the fact that the greatest postseason victory in franchise history went for naught, it was one heck of an October in New England, wasn't it?

That might be a little too much "silver lining," but it's the truth.

The Boston Red Sox didn't choke this time. In fact to the contrary. The Tampa Bay Rays, with history telling us and them that they should buckle under the pressure, played a near perfect game.

When push came to shove here last night, the Red Sox lost fair and square, 3-1.

"Their pitching was the key," said Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who admitted after the game that he was nowhere near 100 percent this month. "Sometimes you have to give the other team credit. They have some very good pitchers, like the guy who went last night (series MVP Matt Garza). They deserved to win."

The Red Sox had many reasons not to be in St. Petersburg the last few days.

From injuries to Ortiz, Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell, the blockbuster Manny Ramirez trade, the miracle Game 5 comeback ... it's a wonder the defending World Series champions were almost able pull this off.

"That's the thing," said Ortiz. "We were not the same team from a year ago. We had a lot of guys, a lot of guys that play every day, who weren't right. It's hard, man. It's really hard. But we were there fighting until the end."

A lesser opponent than the Rays would have buckled to the Red Sox Light squad. The Red Sox still have the resiliency that's been their calling card for a half-dozen years.

Do you think Terry Francona wanted Jason Varitek (.050 ALCS average) and rookie Jed Lowrie up in the bottom of the ninth inning?

He had no choice.

"I am proud of the organization," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. "Sure, I'm disappointed. We're all disappointed losing the last game of the year. But we have a lot to be proud of. We have principles we believe in and they are still there going forward. We've been to four ALCS's in five years. That's not too bad."

No it isn't.

The Rays were lucky, if we can use that word. They were 100 percent ready for the Red Sox. Other than their closer, Troy Percival, they had their best out there the last 10 days.

"They were playing hurt, and they extended us as far as they could," said Rays manager Joe Maddon.

It hurts. The Red Sox were five games away, five stinking games, from another parade and putting another nail in those foolish "curse" stories.

But it didn't happen because the Red Sox weren't good enough.

And that's the truth.

E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.