The Rays are finally in! They are going to the World Series! After defeating the Boston Red Sox 3-1 in Game 7, Tampa Bay ended Boston's hopes of making another unprobable comeback.

Game 7 lived up to the hyped. It was close early on, pitchers duel throughout. Boston got off to a good start in the 1st inning with a Dustin Pedoria HR putting them up 1-0. It stayed that way until the 4th inning when Evan Longoria doubled off Boston starter Jon Lester to score Carlos Pena from first base. In the 5th, longtime Ray Rocco Baldelli got a go-ahead single to score Willie Aybar. Aybar then added a HR in the 7th to give Tampa some insurance.

Matt Garza was named ALCS MVP for his performance in the series (2-0 1.38 ERA). He pitched into the 8th inning giving up just 1 run.

“As a kid I think everybody pictures this night,” he said. “Usually it’s Game 7 of the World Series but I’ll take Game 7 of the ALCS.”

A couple big plays in the game: in the top of the 6th with Pedoria on first and a 3-2 pitch to David Ortiz, Garza struck out Ortiz and Dioneer Navarro threw to second to nail Pedoria trying to steal, inning over. Then in the bottom of the 8th with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Tampa manager Joe Maddon brought in phemon David Price, the 4th Tampa Bay pitcher of the inning. He came in and struck out Game 5 hero JD Drew, inning and rally over. The Rays finally punched their ticket to the Fall Classic. It was a few days later than expected but it was worth the wait.

“It’s unbelievable,” center fielder B.J. Upton said. “We battled a lot of adversity this year. We stuck together as a team.”

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cinderella story continues. They will face the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday in Tampa for Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. I'm glad I was correct with my prediction of the Rays winning in 7. It brings great joy to me to see Boston get their hopes up only for them to get crushed right in front of my eyes. Maybe if they still had Manny this series would've gone differently. No more about how scrappy Pedoria is or how Big Papi delivers the big hit, no more Papelbum nonsense. Nothing! Time to go home guys, you are NO better than my NY Yankees. I don't care how far they got, they didn't win it all and thats all that matters.

The World Series should be interesting this year as both teams are well matched. More on that later in the week.

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Tags: ALCS, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays

The Sox have forced another Game 7 in the ALCS for the 3rd time in 4 years. After last night's 4-2 Boston win the series is now tied 3-3. It's time for Tampa Bay to panic. I'm not going in-depth with last night's game because I didn't see the game and there's no need to rehash my thoughts about who I want to win or who needs to do what to win this series. It's just amazing how the Red Sox can be down for the count, all the way to 9 and seem to rise up and get that second win and ride that momentum to victory. The Sox are 9-0 in ALCS elimination games under Terry Francona. That's just unheard of. The Rays better stay hungry tonight or else the clock will strike 12 and Cinderella will be no more.

Boston throws Jon Lester against Tampa Bay's Matt Garza.
TBS 8:07pm

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Tags: ALCS, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays

In order for the Rays to erase Thursday night's historic collapse they must continue playing the way they have been the entire postseason prior to the 7th inning of Game 5. That means continue the solid pitching, continue the power surge in the beginning innings and stay aggressive early on and don't let up. If Tampa can respond with these things in tact then they might be poppin' bottles at the end of the night.

It's going to be a tough task as Boston will have Josh Beckett going in Game 6 against James Sheilds. Beckett isn't the dominant ace he was last season in October and the Rays got to him and roughed him up in Game 2. He's given up 12 runs and 18 hits in just 9 1/3 innings this postseason. Another factor going into Game 6 will be if David Ortiz can keep the momentum going after his 3-run HR in the 7th inning in Game 5. If his bat awakens for tonight's game then the Rays might be in for a long weekend. If the game comes down to a late inning matchup where Tampa manager Joe Maddon needs to get Big Papi out, does he go with Grant Balfour, whom which he went with in Game 5 and served up the HR or does he go with the lefties David Price or Trevor Miller? It'll be interesting to see what Maddon does tonight after seeing his bullpen implode on Thursday night.

BJ Upton and Evan Longoria hit back to back HRs in both Games 4 and 5, is it possible for them to do it again tonight? Both men are having great postseasons (6 HRs each) and they both need to continue to play up to their potential if the Rays are to advance to the World Series. The Sox are 8-0 in ALCS elimination games under manager Terry Francona. That goes back to Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, a game where they were one out away from being swept. Tampa Bay is still the favorite in the series for obvious reasons, being up 3-2 at home is a lot better than being down 3-2 on the road. I predicted the Rays to win in 7 but if they lose tonight I DO NOT like their chances of winning Game 7 tomorrow night because if it gets to that point, you would have to think the baseball gods are members of Red Sox Nation. Oh man, can you imagine if Boston won this series and went on to win the World Series? It can't happen a 3rd time can it?

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Tags: ALCS, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Other, Tampa Bay Rays

I stayed up to write a World Series preview and write how Tampa Bay was so amazing in winning the AL pennant and instead, I got this...How in the world does Tampa Bay blow a 7-0 lead? The answer: Dan Wheeler threw 3 and 1/3 innings in Game 2 had nothing tonight and not having a legit closer hurt the Rays tonight in Game 5. Now the series shifts back to Tampa Bay on Saturday.

BJ Upton and Evan Longoria hit back-to-back HRs for the second straight game to put Tampa up big early on. Scott Kazmir pitched well in 6 innings, giving up 2 hits, striking out 7 and walking 3. The main event players for Boston finally awoke in the bottom of the 7th inning. Dustin Pedoria got a two out to put 2 men on for David Ortiz who got the big hit everyone was waiting for, a 3-run shot to right field to cut the Rays' lead to 7-4. JD Drew followed with a 2-run HR in the 8th to bring Boston closer at 7-6. Then Coco Crisp had the at-bat of the night fouling off pitch after pitch and finally got a pitch he could handle and hit a ball over Upton's head in center field and got the tying run to score. The Rays had 2 men on in the top of the 9th but Carlos Pena hit into an inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the 9th and 2 men out, Kevin Youkillis hit a chopper to third where Longoria made a great play to field the ball but eased up on the throw thus causing the ball to short-hop Pena at first and went into the stands. After an intentional walk to Jason Bay, Tampa manager Joe Maddon elected to pitch to Drew. He wanted the matchup of lefty-lefty with JP Howell but the numbers didn't fare in Tampa's favor. Drew was 4 for 7 in his career off Howell. Drew eventually knocked a ball into right field over the head of Gabe Gross and sent the Red Sox to victory and sent this ALCS to a Game 6 Saturday in Tampa.


Tampa Bay still leads the series 3-2 but with thoughts of 2004 (vs Yankees) and 2007 (vs Indians) in which the BoSox came back from 3-0 and 3-1 respectively, tonight had that feel of uh-oh here we go again. Boston still has alot to accomplish if they're going to make the World Series this year but with Josh Beckett and Jon Lester starting Games 6 and 7, you can't write them off just yet. Tampa counters with James Shields and Matt Garza, if it goes 7. I predicted the Rays would win in 7, but after seeing them up 7-0 tonight I thought there was no need for a Game 7, but now I'm not so sure. I guess it's not over until the fat lady sings, in this case, I hope she's in Tampa Saturday night and is ready to belt out a few notes. In case you didn't notice, I hate Boston and always will, so I was looking for their demise tonight. I guess I'll wait a few more days. Boy I hope my face isn't red after this series is over.

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Tags: ALCS, Boston Red Sox, Other, Tampa Bay Rays

That's right I predict Tampa Bay to reach the Fall Classic. It's the perfect Cinderella story. A team that has been at the bottom of the A.L. East for it's entire existence since 1998, finally got their act together and is making a serious run at a championship. The youth and talent on the Rays is endless, thus making it difficult for a veteran team like the Boston Red Sox to easily put them away.

Boston in their own right is leaning on youth to guide them through this postseason. Names like Jed Lowrie, Dustin Pedoria, John Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury are leading the way. There's no more Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz isn't a god anymore at the plate and last year's World Series heores Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell aren't contributing as expected. This also is a even matchup in my opinion. Although Boston gets a slight advantage at the end of the bullpen with flame thrower Jonathan Papelbon as opposed to the Rays and Dan Wheeler (?) as their closer. Troy Percival, the Rays main closer has been hampered by injuries and was left off the ALCS roster.

The Rays have had that magic that has led many teams into the postseason in past years. They grind out one run victories, they gut out nail bitters...in other words they find a way to win. They had Boston's number all season long and held on to first place for the last 75 days of the season. A feat that is very impressive given the competition in the A.L. East. Tampa lost a hard luck game in Game 1, a game in which they had numerous chances to score and couldn't. Game 2 saw them get to Beckett and overcome various deficits and ultimately won in 11 innings. The series now shifts to Fenway Park, a place where the Sox usually hold an advantage, especially this time of year. The Rays however have not been backed down from any challenge all season and have not been afraid of the Fenway faithful. They won 2 of 3 in their last series in early Septemeber. One of those games the Rays won a game in 14 innings.

I like the underdog story of the Rays and I hope they can eliminate Bsoton. I can't stomach another Red Sox World Series appearance. I hope Joe Maddon and his crew has what it takes to stand toe to toe with Terry Francona and his troops. It seems to me that they do. The health of Boston ace Josh Beckett is a big question going into the rest of the series. He is scheduled to pitch Game 6 if it goes that far. A year ago Beckett was lights out in all of his postseason starts. This year, his production is uncertain. That could be the leading factor into whether the Sox make it back into the Fall Classic. Even then, I still like the Rays' chances and their never say die approach.

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Tags: ALCS, Boston Red Sox, Other, Tampa Bay Rays