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The blame game: Red Sox collapse

On Aug. 9, the Red Sox were 72-43 and held a 2.5-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. The division was up for grabs, but the playoffs were all but assured. Then came September. The Sox had a nine-game lead in the wild card on Sept. 3 before collapsing, losing 16 of their final 21 games to miss the playoffs in dramatic fashion. No team in history ever lost a bigger lead in the final month of the season. It was a team effort, but several individuals played larger roles in the Sox' failure. Survey the key suspects and assign the right amount of blame to each.
Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis

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By Gary Dzen/Globe Staff
On Aug. 9, the Red Sox were 72-43 and held a 2.5-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. The division was up for grabs, but the playoffs were all but assured. Then came September. The Sox had a nine-game lead in the wild card on Sept. 3 before collapsing, losing 16 of their final 21 games to miss the playoffs in dramatic fashion. No team in history ever lost a bigger lead in the final month of the season.

It was a team effort, but several individuals played larger roles in the Sox' failure. Survey the key suspects and assign the right amount of blame to each.