Game 7

It is the ultimate in sports. One game, winner take all. The reason why we watch the Red Sox play Tampa Bay in April is so we can watch them play in a Game 7 in October. The pressure is on and it is the drama that exposes who is ready and who isn't. The Red Sox, down 3-1 to the Indians in the ALCS and on the brink of elimination before Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and the entire team decided they weren't ready to join the Yankees on the golf course, will host Game 7 tonight. They will put the dazzling inconsistent Daisuke Matsuzaka on the hill against unimposing Jake Westbrook. Matsuzaka -- in the role played by Derek Lowe in 2004 against the Yankees -- will shoulder the pressure and responsibility of not just the Red Sox team but also the entire population of Red Sox Nation. Is the 26-year-old Japanese rookie ready for Game 7? That won't be known for certain until tonight. Matsuzaka has shown flashes of greatness this season but his unwillingness to attack hitters has gotten him into trouble with walks and high pitch counts. However, he has a history in his native country of coming through when it matters the most, I don't think tonight will be any different. Matsuzaka will get the job done. The Red Sox will win the American League. They will come that much closer to winning their second World Series in four years. Did that sound overly optimistic or am I in deep denial? That is one of the pleasures and tortures of your team playing in a Game 7. There is that rush of excitement with the belief that the home town team will get the job done and everyone will be running and screaming as they exit Fenway Park headin' for the Baseball Tavern (including myself). Of course, there is also the knowledge that maybe, juuuuuuust maybe, the guys in white won't come through that maybe the enemy will be the ones celebrating. With all the confusion and uncertainty filling the air, just be glad the Red Sox are home tonight. The magic of Fenway could be the deciding factor that puts the Sox over the top. Matsuzaka v. Westbrook? David Ortiz v. Travis Hafner? Manny Ramirez v. Victor Martinez? Jacoby Ellsbury v. Grady Sizemore? Jonathan Papelbon v. Joe Borowski? None of that might matter when the score is tallied up some time around midnight here in Boston. It could be the closeness of the Green Monster when Manny is at the plate or the triangle in centerfield that confuses Sizemore or even the position of Pesky's Pole as a Big Papi fly ball chases down the bleachers that decides whether or not the souls of Red Sox fans will be happy or sad tomorrow morning. Red Sox - 5 Indians - 2 It will be Soxtoberfest v. Rocktoberfest in the Fall Classic.