It's been 203 days, and 172 games against 18 different opponents with 96 victories... and that's not even counting spring training. Six and a half months of the daily agony and ecstasy of the Red Sox season-- and it all comes down to this:

It's a winner-take-all battle between the Sox and the Rocks, and only one team is gonna emerge from the scrum. After being down 3-1 against the Tribe, not everyone expected that this would be the ultimate matchup-- MLB and the city of Cleveland certainly didn't, judging by all the reports of World Series merchandise on sale around town there, and this cart-before-the-horse snafu that was displayed in the MLB shop before Game 7 of the ALCS even took place:

I imagine those shirts are winging their way to a scrap heap located somewhere in the wilds of Ohio by now. Or will people just wear them anyway, and just hope no one looks too closely at the date and assumes the shirts are from 1997?

Cleveland: you had a great team and a great run- but you never, ever, EVER say something like this during the ALCS... even if you have a 3-2 lead at the time:

This Indians team is better than the Red Sox and will prove it once and for all in cramped Fenway Park. Sure, a home-field celebration would've been nice, but silencing Red Sox Nation in its house will be just as sweet.

"The champagne tastes just as good on the road as it does at home," first baseman Ryan Garko said.

Because that? That's just asking for it.

Here's hoping the Sox clubbies sent a case of champagne over to the visitor's dugout at Fenway last night -- I sure would hate for Ryan to have to go back to Cleveland never having that drink of champagne on the road.