If you thought you heard a lot of screaming, or felt a disturbance in the Force last night at, oh, sometime between 10 and 10:30 pm EDT, you can probably trace it back to the Red Sox losing 7-4 to the Devil Rays, a result that sent the Sox from leading the AL East to out of the playoffs (if the season ended yesterday).

I thankfully avoid most sports media (Cooch notwithstanding), so the Red Sox Nation suicide watch that must surely be going on does so without me. Given how the team has played this season, what disappointment I'd feel if they didn't make the playoffs is tempered by the season-long display of inconsistency. It's not like you couldn't see this coming.

Besides, it's all working out as MLB planned, what with the three game series against the Yankees to end things. It could turn out that we'll win the AL East after all and somehow banish the Yankees from the playoffs.

Not that I'm expecting it. But it could happen.

The Patriots, on the other hand, are a cause for concern. They did not look good last week, and have to play Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Atlanta over the next few weeks. Most of these games take place on the road, to make matters worse. It would not be surprising if this team is sporting a 2-4 record at some point. It would also not be surprising if they then finished the season 12-4 or 11-5 and get into the playoffs.

The current offensive coordinator by committee will take its fair share of heat should the losing come to pass, but given how the defense let Jake Delhomme connect on a number of what can only be called eephus passes, you have to look over there as well. Mostly at the defensive backs, who are awful young. Super Bowl or no, they're still learning, and while you'd expect them to make more mistakes in big games, the idea that they'd play back to the mean over a number of games makes sense.

Only a month or so before I can start kvetching about the Bruins and Terriers. Things go right for the Sox, I can complain about all four in one post. That should drive off even the most persistent reader.