Papelbon Steals Third.

...and second, and first. Literally. He pulled them out of the ground and handed them over to the Fenway Faithful. Why? Because the Boston Red Sox are back in the postseason for the fifth time six years. That warrants a little vandalism, right?

Nevermind that Tampa Bay has all but locked up the division. Nevermind that the Yankees are officially missing the playoffs for the first time in thirteen years. The defending champs are back in the dance, and the rest of baseball has been put on notice. It seemed only fitting that, through all the injuries and turmoil plaguing this 2008 ballclub, one more giant obstacle stood in the way of a postseason berth: Cleveland lefty and soon-to-be-Cy-Young-winner Cliff Lee. Lee came into the night at a sparkling 22-2 for a team that had already been eliminated from playoff contention. He'd won eleven straight decisions and maintained a season ERA of 2.41. In today's game of baseball, that's nothing short of remarkable. Coming into last night's game, Lee had allowed five or more earned runs only three times all season. After the Red Sox dealt with him, that number would rise to four. Behind an injury-battered offense still missing Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew, the boys from Beantown hammered the eventual Cy Young winner for five earned runs on nine hits over seven shaky innings. Call it poetic justice that Jason Bay, this season's prized acquisition after the departure of Manny Ramirez, knocked in the game-winning run.

And then, the party was on. As Jonathan Papelbon went an inning-and-a-third to secure his 43rd save of 2008, playoff matchups started rushing through the head of everyone in the New England area. The presumptive Divisional Round opponent? The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, champions of the A.L.'s West Division. The obvious stat pops out that the Angels have never beaten the Red Sox in a postseason series. With Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka heading up Boston's rotation, many people won't expect a change in that trend.

But that's a topic for another time. The Red Sox are back in the postseason, and that's all that matters right now. In seven days, I'll be whistling a different tune. Hopefully, it'll be "Dirty Water" at the tail-end of another Papelbon save.

Posted by Dan Zappulla, VendorBall Columnist.