Red Sox vs. Rays, ALCS Game 4
MERCIFULLY, IT ENDS (11:15, END 9, 13-4 RAYS)
Two notable things happened in the ninth. Sean Casey pinch hit for Kotsay, his first at-bat in the postseason, and was retired by Edwin Jackson. Jacoby Ellsbury pinch hit for Cash and walked on four pitches, keeping him at 0 for his last 20. Drew struck out to end the game with two men on.
The Red Sox are down three games to one in the ALCS, the same hole they faced last season against the Cleveland Indians. Then, they won seven consecutive games (a streak they extended to nine this postseason) and took the World Series. Now, can they do it again? They'll have a long off day tomorrow to contemplate.
THREE OUTS LEFT (11:04, MID 9, 13-4 RAYS)
The Red Sox head to the bottom ninth needing a scant nine runs to get right back in this thing. This was an ugly night at Fenway. Is this series over? This Red Sox team is depleted compared to the one that pulled it off last year. Stranger things have happened than Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, and Jon Lester winning three straight games, I guess. What do you think?
RBI FOR PEDROIA (10:46, BOT 8, 13-3 RAYS)
Pedroia rolled a single through the middle, scoring Jed Lowrie, who had previously singled in very similar fashion. The hit knocked out Sonnanstine, who despite a few late, minor hiccups, was awesome tonight in his 7 1/3 innings.
CRAWFORD HAVING A NIGHT (10:38, TOP 8, 13-2 RAYS)
Crawford lashed a triple to right center, just off the glove of Drew. The hit drove in Pena, who led off with a walk. Crawford is the third player to record five hits in league championship series. Paul Blair and Hideki Matsui are the others. Aybar drove in Crawford with a single, his fifth RBI. This is ugly.
TIMLIN TIES RIVERA'S RECORD (10:29, END 7, 11-2 RAYS)
No, really. Mike Timlin is entering the game and making 25 appearance in an ALCS, tying the most ever, a record previously held solely by Mariano Rivera.
ORTIZ RUMBLES LOOSE (10:20, TOP 7, 11-2 RAYS)
Ortiz came to the plate hitless in last 14 at-bats and 0 for 12 in the series. He led off with a hard line drive down the right-field line. It ricocheted left, and he hustled all the way to third. Youkilis drove him in with a grounder to short. It won't matter tonigh, but perhaps it's a good sign for Game 5. Or maybe not.
Bay also singled with one out.
12 IN A ROW (10:10, END 6, 11-1 RAYS)
The Sox pitching staff is sort of making it a moot point, but the Red Sox' offense has been terrible for the second straight game. Give Andy Sonnanstine some of the credit, though. He's figured out this lineup -- in 19 innings against the Sox this year, they've scored one run off him. He retired the side in order, giving him 12 straight batters retired.
THERE'S YOUR BALLGAME (10:04, MID 6, 11-1 RAYS)
After he allowed two hits, Lopez got two groundballs -- one of which scored a run -- and got out of a hellish inning for the Red Sox. All five runs were charged to Delcarmen, who threw only 1/3 of an inning. It's time to start considering if the Sox, for the second straight year, can come back from a 3-1 deficit. This team, clearly, is diminished from the group that did it a year ago.
STATION TO STATION (9:59, TOP 6, 10-1 RAYS)
The Rays launched balls out of the park for two days, but this inning has been a slow, excruciating drain for the Sox. Seven straight Rays have reached base, the last six moving along one base at a time and giving the Rays three runs -- and counting.
RAYS STILL PILING ON, DELCARMEN DONE (9:54, TOP 6, 8-1 RAYS)
Delcarmen walked Pena to load the bases, then he walked Longoria on a 3-2 pitch to force in Iwamura with the Rays' eighth run. Delcarmen had a fantastic late season and playoffs, but he lasted only 1/3 of an inning. He allowed two runs and walked three.
Javier Lopez replaced him.
RAYS SLAMMING THE DOOR (9:44, TOP 6, 7-1 RAYS)
Delcarmen started strong by striking out Perez, but quickly yielded another run. Bartlett lined a 99-mph fastball on the outside part of the plate to right-center, all the way to the wall, and he raced around for a triple. Delcarmen walked Iwamura, putting men on first and third with one out. Upton grounded the ball through left side to drive in Bartlett. The Rays still have two men on with one out. They could put it away right now, if they haven't already.
SONNANSTINE KEEPS ROLLING, MASTERSON DONE (9:35, END 5, 6-1 RAYS)
Since Cash got the Sox on the board with his solo home run, Sonnanstine has retired nine men in a row, most recently Kotsay (deep fly to right center), Crisp (grounder to short), and Cash himself (grounder to third).
Masterson was solid for 2 1/3 innings, and now he will yield to Manny Delcarmen.
RAYS TACK ONE ON (9:28, MID 5, 6-1 RAYS)
Crawford doubled off the scoreboard with one out to move to 3 for 3 on the night. Aybar followed with a grounder through the hole on the left side, allowing the fleet Crawford to sprint around and score. Youkilis wisely cut off Bay's throw and nailed Aybar sneaking off first base, but he had his RBI. Masterson induced a grounder to short Navarro to end the inning.
ORTIZ CONTINUES SLUMP (9:17, END 4, 5-1 RAYS)
Ortiz led off the inning, which at this point puts the Red Sox at a disadvantage. He grounded weakly to the right side again, dropping to 0 for 12 in the series. Youkilis blasted a ball to the warning track for the second time, but again it settled into Upton's glove. Bay smoked one to third, but Longoria recovered after a slight bobble and threw him out. Another 1-2-3 inning.
MASTERSON DOMINANT (9:11, MID 4, 5-1 RAYS)
The Rays, it seems, are having a hard time adjusting to Masterson after battering Wakefield's batting practice. He's blazing pitches by them. Bartlett and Pena both struck out, and Iwamura grounded softly to first. Upton walked, but Masterson may allow the Sox to get back into the game.
NO MORE (8:59, END 3, 5-1 RAYS)
The Red Sox went in order after Cash's home run. Drew flied to left, and Pedroia smoked a liner right at Bartlett at short. That's a start, though, at avoiding a second straight embarassing loss. The Sox are now asking an awful lot out of their bullpen.
CASH MONEY (8:56, BOT 3, 5-1 RAYS)
Kevin Cash led off by hitting a 2-1 slider over the Green Monster for the Red Sox' first run. Tim Wakefield is gone, but his catcher helped the Sox clean up the mess he created. That's the first earned run off Sonnanstine for the Red Sox all season.
Jed Lowrie followed with a ground out.
MASTERSON STARTS STRONG (8:53, MID 3, 5-0 RAYS)
Masterson struck out Fernando Perez, the first batter he faced, but that will come as little solace to Red Sox fans. Wakefield's line is complete: 2 2/3 innings, six hits, five runs, two walks, two strike outs and three home runs. He threw 44 pitches, 30 strikes.
That is the second shortest start ever by a Red Sox starter in the postseason. Wakefield played a part in the other one -- he came on in relief after Bronson Arroyo lasted two innings against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
GOING DEEP, WAKEFIELD DONE (8:46, TOP 3, 5-0 RAYS)
With two outs, Crawford dribbled a hit between the mound and the first base line. Wakefield dove to stop it and flipped to Kotsay at first, but not in time. The hit may as well have been a double, as he stole second easily. The hit became more damaging when Willy Aybar crushed a moon shot down the line in left, way over the monster. That's the seventh home run in two days. Navarro followed by crushing a double off the Monster.
After the double, Francona trudged to the mound, ending Wakefield's night. The oldest starting pitcher ever in the ALCS didn't reach the fourth inning. Masterson will enter with Navarro on second and two outs.
FIRST CHANCE SQUANDERED (8:38, END 2, 3-0 RAYS)
Nothing is going right for the Sox. As soon as their first scoring chance materialized, it evaporated just as quickly. With men on first and third and one out, Coco Crisp -- in for Jacoby Ellsbury -- grounded Iwamura at second. He flipped the ball with his glove to Bartlett, who fired to first in plenty of time.
Kevin Youkilis flied to deep center, where Upton made a backpedaling catch. The Red Sox earned their first base runner when Evan Longoria botched Bay's grounder to third, then sent him to second, too, with a bad throw to first. His two errors were Tampa Bay's first of the playoff. The Red Sox got their first hit a batter later, when Kotsay laced a line-drive single to center. Then, just like that, the inning ended.
QUICK AND NECESSARY (8:31, MID 2, 3-0 RAYS)
Wakefield needed roughly two minutes to retire Tampa Bay in order, settling down and, at the very least, guaranteeing an easier for the bullpen. Jason Bartlett grounded to short, Akinori Iwamura flied to the warning track in right, and B.J. Upton, who walked and scored in the first, grounded to third.
BRUTAL START CONTINUES (8:27, END 1, 3-0 RAYS)
You could hear a pin drop in Fenway Park right now, so long as you weren't sitting next to one the people hurling boos. The Red Sox went 1-2-3 in the first against a strike zone-peppering Andy Sonnanstine. J.D. Drew, batting leadoff for the ninth time this year, lined the third pitch he to left. Dustin Pedroia struck out foul tipping a low, 90-mph fastball. David Ortiz grounded routinely into the shift, and he is now 0 for 11 this series.
SURVEYING THE DAMAGE (8:20, MID 1, 3-0 RAYS)
Tim Wakefield escaped the first inning without further damage, but his knuckleball was eminently hittable in the first. The Rays hit two home runs, stole two bases, hit two home runs and drilled one double. A nightmare for Terry Francona.
When the Red Sox pounced on Scott Kazmir in Game 2, the Rays responded. The Red Sox need to mimic that now before the game -- and the ALCS -- sprials out of their grasp.
DEJA VU (8:14, TOP 1, 3-0 RAYS)
Remember all those Rays jogging around the bases yesterday? It's happening again -- two more balls flying over the Green Monster, another sullen Fenway Park. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria hit back-to-back home runs, both crushed over the Green Monster, Pena's a two-run shot. Carl Crawford followed with a double.
Justin Masterson is warming up five batters into the game. Wow.
TROT TO BOSTON (7:59, PRE 1, 0-0)
Trot Nixon just threw out the first pitch to former teammate Jason Varitek. He got a nice cheer from the crowd, which, like the Red Sox, could use a better performance than in Game 3. Actual first pitch will come in minutes.
Het Adam, are ther more Rays fans there tonight . Sounds like and looks like more Rays fans than I would expect at Fenway. It is as if, Sox fans "sold" their tickets last night.
Well, let's hope for some bullpen heroics and for our lineup to step up to the plate.
Well then.
Wakefield is Wakefield. Figure him for 4 runs. Just didn't expect 3 in the first. Let's not concentrate on Tim, but let's hope the bats wake-up. Great 2nd inning, showing he is probably in this for the long haul.
Yes, I am an optimist. As any Sox Fan over 40 readily admits, we are optimists.
Sox fans are spoiled. Bottom of the first and it was silent. Stunned? c'mon. If it was inTampa the home crowd would have tried to pick them up. Francona had no business starting Wakefield. Not fair to Wake .... besides I don't recall him pitching at all last year in the postseason. tito is spoiled too,
Uh oh.
What a great "fake" by Bartlett. Jason didn't have a chance to score because of it. then Coco does the worst of possible scenerios.
Are These Rays on Steroids cause a Team Just don't go from WORST team to one ofthe Best w/ out a little pick me up I would have them TESTED for drugs RIGHT IN THE DUG OUT
sox pitching is a DAMN JOKE
Sox crowd is spoiled. Bottom of first and it was silent. Tito had no business starting Wakefield. Not fair to Wake. Wake didn't pitch last postseason for exactly what we're witnessing. Tito is spoiled too.
How many runs is too many to make up?
Well it ain't over till it's over....... but it sure doesn't look good. All I can say is if the Sox win Thursday night then we have Beckett and Lester going.
Looks like Francona waited too long. Another losing night.
If I could tell Wake had nothing from my couch in my motherluvin' living room, what was preventing Tito from seeing it from the dugout? EPIC fail.
FYI
It's Willy Aybar, not Manny
Trot should have stayed on the mound. He would have done better than Wakefield. THIS SERIES IS OVER!!!
5-0 top of the third. We will play Boston straight up. No one gets hurt and lets play ball.
Im totally speachless. Everytime we get a chance to answer we shoot oursleves in the bleeping foot!! That was a killer double play absolutely terrible!! Its totally deflating (willy aybar hits a bomb). This is basically batting practice for them now. They are making us look like a little league team. This series is over. I know we were down 3-1 last year but this is different this year we have no Josh Beckett not even close.
Sorry Paula, just good TEAM coaching. We don't need the "pickme ups" so adourned by the "old timers". Obviously you don't remember what they look like on the juice....good luck and good day.
How difficult it is to admit that the Rays is a better team ?
The Sox right now is lifeless. Who is this year White Knight ?
Cash: it's just as good as money.
Sox really needed big night from Wakefield. Home field advantage gone last night and now the home crowd is out of it too. Rays in five.
NIce bomb by Cash.
Now if only the rest of the lineup would show that kind of energy!
Maybe they could make it a game.
Whatever happened to the good old days when you had a runner on base that was expected to steal second base, that we would see a "split-screen" and see both the pitcher and runner and possily even a third view of the batter.
Doesn't technology go forward. The producers are very poor in their timing of changing the camers and I find it a negative the way TBS does it.
It would have been nice to concentrate on both Mastersn and Upton ...
ESPN reports the 2008 Rays did not blow a lead of three or more runs all year. Red Sox needing miracle to stay alive.
"but Masterson may allow the Sox to get back into the game..."
if the bats get going.
TB-RAYS
Congrats your team is better than the Sox and I mean that in a sincere way. Good luck in the world series I just hope the sox dont get eliminated at home thursday. As long as the Dodgers dont make it that will be good.
no--you are wrong. Masterson will be great and we will never get close. Why in the world pitch Wakefield, who is totally washed up, when you had Dice K on short rest to save us? Series is over now. I would like to see Wakefield publicly humiliated for what he has done.
Was that Wakefield's finall appearance on the Sox?
Rays 40 and 0 going into 8th inning with 5 run lead. Actually 3 run lead has been enough for the same stat. Go Rays!
"Ortiz slump continues", not "Ortiz continues slump". Your headline makes it read like Ortiz chooses to have his slump continue.
I will say that we sat with some of the best fans in the Trop both from Boston and Boston transplants. I know how hard it is to loose and yet we have finally been able to enjoy a winning season no matter what happens from this point on, we believe in them as a team. We wish no ill feelings to anyone. Just good baseball and no injuries.
They aren't giving up and neither should we. What a SMART play on that cut-off to first to nail Aybar. Yes, I know they jusst go tthe lead back to 5. But, we still have plenty of opportunity.
Only the Red Sox could make the Rays the second coming of the 1927 Bronx Bombers....remember how everyone thought this was going to be a low-scoring series? One team got the memo and the other is circling the bases like the Disney carousel.
No the game isn't over in 5 innings. We will not consider it over until the end of the ninth inning. Boston has always been able to produce when you least expect it and we respect that.
Do you remember the Garza Navarro "beef" early in the season? Maddon put an end to the blame game. No finger pointing. Win as a Team, Loose as a Team. Great concept to live by both in life and sports.
Go Phillies!!!
Why is Masterson out after only 2 1/3 innings?
Rays just added another one...
Runners on 1st and 2nd with only one out.
When will you drunk Red Sux fans (yes, I know I'm being redundant) give the Rays (and us fans) credit where credit is due? Your Red Sox nation is on the verge of becoming a failed state! Maybe 'Dubya, Cheney, Rice, et al can make a preemptive strike and take you out of your well deserved misery before Longo, Pena, Upton, Crawford, Baldelli, Garza, and a host of Rays do. Those of you who slither into Tropicana Field are exponentially more obnoxious than your Yankee counterparts (as hard as that is to fathom).
I'm a long-time Yankees fan with, unfortunately, nothing better to do than watch the ALCS games. It's becoming clearer with every inning that we are seeing a changing of the guard. The Yanks are on the outside looking in and it seems like the Red Sox may be following.
It is getting pretty tiresome listening to the TBS announcers cheerleading the Rays. I know everyone in the media is rooting for the Rays, but do they have to be so obvious about it?
Sure, they're the better team right now -- the Sox have too many guys who are hurt, over the hill or both -- but how many times do we have to sit through, "Wow, what a great routine play! Let's see it five more times! And rave about how the Rays are the greatest athletes to ever put on a uniform!"
Plenty of us are giving TB credit. They're clearly a great team. Sox fans are allowed to be disappointed, it doesn't mean that TB fans have to be poor sportsmen even in winning.
It's bad enough watching the Red Sox lose, but having to listen to it narrated by TBS (which clearly stands for Tampa Bay Suck-Ups) going on and on and on and onnnnnnnn about how amazing their darling team is, just makes it worse. Is it too much to ask for unbiased and professional commentators?
No pitching... no hitting... what a great combination for the ALCS. Manny Del-walk-man has become the new Manny being Manny as he's already walked 3 batters this inning...
Let's all look to next year, when we should have 3 legitimate aces, provided Beckett returns to form. Could have 3 guys with 20 wins next year...
4 months until pitchers and catchers report
From the Rays radio guys: "A Boston Tea-off party"
Man, this is rough.
Too funny. Nobody knows how to deal with a (GASP!) Sox choke in the post-season. How things have changed around here.
It's been sad seeing Boston become Jerk ville with every uneducated loudmouth fan to completely bandwagon Joe riding the Sox wave for all it was worth. NESN and WEEI just fuel the stupidity and overkill 24 x7.
Maybe now I won't see a ZILLION Sox car stickers or license plates everywhere on 128 & 93 and the Pike. We should all be so lucky.
Deeeeee...
...pressing.
I will be rooting for Tampa in the World Series. Great young team.
Red Sox: They got us to the playoffs, again. Hopefully they can reload for next year.
Uh Huh... Unbiased will come when Rays don't put up nearly 30 runs in three games on the Sox.
There really wasn't a good reason to take Masterson out. Not good enough to warrant this drubbing.
Excuse me folks, but all I have had to listen to was how the "upstarts" wouldn't survive the "Nation" by the TBS announcers since game one and that includes last night! If TBS has finally figured out the Rays are for real, then let it be so. You enjoyed your time now it is ours. Unbelievable how soon you forget when your in a pinch. Remember the series isn;t over and neither have we. That's the difference at this point.
There really wasn't a good reason to take Masterson out. Not good enough to warrant this drubbing.
So do you think the Celtics can win without Posey?
If we someone can win a game on Thursday, Lester will (and should) pitch game 6 on normal rest so we have any remote chance of getting to a game 7.
We never had a great offensive team to start with this year. Then lose Lowell and trade Manny and have our starting pitching staff blow up say hello to 2009. Tampa has a great team and they are on a roll right now and I tip my cap to them. After having the first overall pick in the draft four of the last 10 years and picking no lower than eighth in the same time frame they ought to be good.
As far as the Jimmy B post. I was at Game 2 and have lived in St. Pete. Tampa is a bandwagon town. And I'm guessing you are one of them. You should thank Red Sox and Yankee fans for coming to the Trop in the years leading up to and including this year. Otherwise you my not have had a team. The 18 Red Sox and Yankee games saved your franchise from averaging UNDER 10,000 fans per game.
It doesn't matter how many runs get put up against any team. To be unbiased is their job.
TB-Rays, quick question.. how long have you been a fan? Was it after the all-start game, or in September that you purchased all your merch gear? There are plenty of bandwagon BoSox fans out there no question (probably 95% of the idiots who post here and in these forums and no absolutely nothing about baseball), but please, were you there the other 9 years when Tampa sucked? I doubt it.
TB-Rays - TBS has been nothing but pro-Rays and in general, anti-Sox throughout the ALCS and ALDS. What games have you been watching? We haven't forgetten anything, More to the point, we haven't misheard anything.
Finally Papi woke up. Still....this is brutal.
We certainly have been spoiled. But this ALCS showing, particularly pitching and offense has been absolutely pathetic.
LOL, Ortiz chugs out a triple!
Would someone please tell Youkilis where the men's room is.
Every time I see him dancing at the plate he reminds me of a 4 year old that's held it in for too long and can"t find the bathroom.
I dont know about the TBS announcers rooting for the Rays. The media darlings are clamoring for a Sox-Dodgers series. You actually think the ratings will be higher with a Rays Phillies series? Boring! One out of four aint bad with the Celtics winning this yr. theres always next year!
"Excuse me folks, but all I have had to listen to was how the "upstarts" wouldn't survive the "Nation" by the TBS announcers since game one and that includes last night!"
We must be listening to a different TBS, because all I've heard all October from all the media outlets is what a 'great story' the Rays are and how wonderful, etc. The experts didn't think the Red Sox would even get to the ALCS.
Quiz: What team came back from 3-1, 3-0, and 3-1 deficits in the 1986, 2004, and 2007 ALCS? This isn't over until it's over.
The Manny-haters are thinking it, but they won't say it - addition by subtraction is very bad math.
At least Timlin can set the record for most appearences in a meaningless game...and...he can't do much worse than Delcarman
Good run but too injured. Ortiz and Beckett being hurt is enough to kill us. Goodbye Wake, goodbye Tek, goodbye Lugo to someone while we eat his salary. I like our rotation if we can just get one more arm.
Take away Wakefield and Delcarman an the Sox are still in this thing!!!
PAGING "THE FAT LADY"......please pick up the white courtesy phone......
Can we not blame Wakefield for tonight. Based on the hitting clinic going on, I'm not sure anyone could have done better. Certainly not the Game 2 Beckett, nor the Game 3 Lester.
The Rays have it going on tonight, and last night, and 2 days before that. I'm sensing a pattern here.
The only saving grace for this fan is that we are ALREADY 1 better than the Yanks series of 2004. The eternal optimist - David
To answer questions - simple. Anyone want to share one of my season tickets and post season ticket seats (4)? The only thing you have to do is wear a Rays Jersey. Hope that answers your question. I have lived in Fl.orida for 30 years. Worked as a Firefighter/Paramedic for the 30 years and have been going to games since 1998. Does that make me an original?...also went to see the Marlins as a franchise team too. Oh ,got to see them go the Series. Enough said. Stop your whining and your attacks are as ridiculous as your post.
We were so overrated! Tampa Bay's Brain Trust Is Smarter than Theo Now!
Beckett -- juiced out and pitching hurt!
Ortiz -- juiced out and overrated!
Elsbury -- Rookie of the Year talk? Pleassssse!
Timlin -- Theo, give him another two years!
Tek -- give him 3 more! He knows pitchers and the game! Doesn't it show?
Wakefield -- bring him back until he needs dentures!
Theo should have listened to Luccino -- don't fall in love with your veterans!
How
Aj are you one of those 95% you refer to as bandwagon bosox fans? Like I said, your posts are ridiculous.
Robert, you must not have been listiening to the Rays Sox post season games. LOL last night we were upstarts..tonight we are the inexperienced post season players. Need a Q-tip there? Enough said. It is all in avaiable for replay if you look for it.:)
At least Paps is ready for some innings on thursday!
If you do a little asking around you will find out that only Season Ticket holders can buy extra seats. The rest are sold on a lottery. And no you won't get one unless you know someone. The shame of it is there are folks out there that will sell their tickets for the profit margin. The 4 I hold are not for sale. Enough Said.......
Okay I'm done, one to many beers and not enough spell check. Hope you all feel better about yourselves than you displayed here tonight. Like I said earlier, we win as a team we loose as a team. You keep on doing what your doing and slander your own players..it reminds us why we are who we are and smile as we hold our heads up win or loose.........
hey what happen to all those great sox fans that fill the stadium. Oh that is right they are now on the street going home early.
Ouch!!!
Chargers , Tampa Bay .
Put That In Ya Chowder
hey what happen to all those great sox fans that fill the stadium. Oh that is right they are now on the street going home early.
I'm furious! and maybe it's the pitcher coming back out in me, but I said in game 2, these Rays look WAY too comfortable in the box. When they start dropping massive bombs over the wall, you HAVE to make them uncomfortable. Not ONE Red Sox pitcher has brushed back a Ray, not ONE Ray has been hit. I can guarantee if a Ray gets pelted with 95 in the back, those comfortable swings will tighten up a bit with the thought of getting drilled, and those bombs and free and easy swings and smiles would be less and less. WOULD A SOX PLEASE BRUSH SOMEONE BACK, COME INSIDE, DRILL SOMEONE!?!?!
@TB-RAYS
Enjoy. We've are lpaying ball in mid-October, the Rays are playingball in mid-October. Life is good.
Why all of the negativity by others? I don' t know. The Rays, Red-Sox, Dodgers, & Phillies are currently the 4 best teams of 2008.
I can live with that. The Rays are the hottest team in baseball for the last 4 days. Right now , I am hoping for another game in Tampa for the Sox.
First of all, let's not forget that the series is first to four wins, not first to three.
Second, Red Sox players have been in this situation in '04 and '07.
Just some historical perspective (twenty-first century):
- the last player before Carl Crawford to have 5 hits in an ALCS game was Hideki Matsui. He did it in 2004, when the Yankees beat the Sox 19-8 in Game 3. We all know what happened after that game that year....
Boston in Game 5: 2-1. Two game fives won at Fenway Park.
Boston in Game 6: 3-0. Two of these games were won at Yankee Stadium.
Boston in Game 7: 2-1.
If Tampa does close the deal, there's no shame in losing to Tampa Bay. They're a good young team and if we don't win the WS, I hope they do. But frankly, the fan base at Fenway has been disappointing. It's showing more energy now (when the game is all but out of reach), but Fenway when the game was even somewhat close both yesterday and today was silent when it in years past would have been electric. Somebody tell the folks at the ballpark to wake up and remember the reason the Sox've had home field advantage for all these years. The Sox haven't played well these past two games, but the fans at the games look like they have been worse. I hope every fan comes out of Fenway on Thursday having lost their voice from screaming so loud and having their feet sore from standing for the whole game. It'll be pathetic if this isn't the case. The Sox deserve some fan-driven energy!
To Red Sox fans asking if people were there when the Rays sucked, grow up. Were you there when the Red Sox could never quite win? Fenway didn't always sell out, you know -- or you would know, if you were more than 8 years old.
Anyway, the question in the main entry suggests that "Stranger things have happened than Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, and Jon Lester winning three straight games, I guess." But that's the important thing to remember -- it's no longer a question whether the Rays can beat all of them again, but whether they can beat one of them.
hey, anyone one of us fans could be going through hell week at BUDS. One evolution at a time. One pitch at a time one innning at a time. they need to win game game 5. and thats it.
is there any other team that look at strike 3 calls than the red sox? working the count only is only successful if the guy isn't throwing strikes. casey, lowrie and drew (the king of this technique) go down like a house of cards. the batting coach needs to pack it come the end of the season as well.
see you: varitek, ortiz, timlin, wakefield, okajima, delcarmen, lopez, lugo.
need youthful strong arms, big power bats and gutsy coaching. and theo needs to wake the fuck up. get over love affairs. the only ones he should have are with the fans.
"It is getting pretty tiresome listening to the TBS announcers cheerleading the Rays. I know everyone in the media is rooting for the Rays, but do they have to be so obvious about it?"
All I hear is Sox cock gagging by Shaughnessy...its all cheering for another Sox comeback. LOL at Sox fans crying about media bias.
Guess what, it aint happening. Nite, ladies.
Ouch!!!
Chargers , Tampa Bay .
Put That In Ya Chowder
Anybody seen Bernie Carbo?
Sure, they were _praising_ the 'upstart Rays' and raving about what an incredible job the 'inexperienced in the postseason' players were doing. Those were compliments.
Boo hoo. Announcers are cheering for the Rays!
Did you think they would continue to ride the Sox tip?
It was great when they were cheering for the Sox against the Yanks.
I've got more news for you. All those pink hats across the country will be wearing Rays hats next year.
You've lost the hearts and minds of America.
Boo hoo. Announcers are cheering for the Rays!
Did you think they would continue to ride the Sox tip?
It was great when they were cheering for the Sox against the Yanks.
I've got more news for you. All those pink hats across the country will be wearing Rays hats next year.
You've lost the hearts and minds of America.
Hey TB... if you are going to post every 10 minutes (in a game you are winning big, what a shock) maybe you ought to think about having someone help you spell "lose." It won't show up on spell check. And before you make a "Sox lose" joke, just remember what your team has done EVERY SINGLE YEAR OF THEIR EXISTANCE before this season. Lose. With one "o."
loose
Nation........I love Tek: Wake:and Papi but i think Theo will part ways this winter......I think Lowell is gonna be the DH-3B and dont be surprised if we sign Tex-Mex from the Angels and slide Youk to 3b......Start grooming Big Justin to start and pray Buchholz comes back strong.....There are no pitchers out there to sign although i heard Jake Peavy is available and you know Theo is still smitten with him...2 LEGIT bullpen arms would be nice....Just a piece here and there...We will be alright...Give the Rays credit...We waited all year for them to fall and they did their thing......Its not over though..........
Wake me up when Game 4 starts, I just had a really bad dream.
"It is getting pretty tiresome listening to the TBS announcers cheerleading the Rays. I know everyone in the media is rooting for the Rays, but do they have to be so obvious about it? Sure, they're the better team right now -- the Sox have too many guys who are hurt, over the hill or both -- but how many times do we have to sit through, 'Wow, what a great routine play! Let's see it five more times! And rave about how the Rays are the greatest athletes to ever put on a uniform!'"
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You know darn well if this series were on ESPN instead of TBS it would be all Red Sox all the time, like it was in the 2005 ALDS.
HAHAHAHA! ADIOS SOX! NICE KNOWING YA! and no you're not coming back against us. tell us how our ass tastes, LOSERS. we're going to the series and you've just been upstaged. HOW DOES IT FEEL! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
It's probably over. There isn't enough horsepower and there hasn't been enough horse sense in player selection. Surely Wakefield and Timlin won't be back, and that makes room for younger, better arms. Tek is a good dude, but he can't hit. Papi is cooked, that show is over and would only be painful to watch ... one homer for every 436 strikes and grounders ... no thanks. There isn't too much trade bait, and that's a problem. No one is gonna give up Santana or ARod quality players for Wakes and Teks and Timlins ans Papi's and such. Time to rebuild. So be it.
I believe you can look back at my posts and ALL were neutral until some wise crack. I will say it all in summary. Play Ball. Lets NOT get hurt (both teams). We will not forget the Sox are one of the best comeback teams in Post or regular season. I donot need spell check for lose or loser which you can't do in a blog like this as in MS Word. Obviously you don't know much about computers or software..:). I can post as often as I choose. You can't take the heat then get out of the kitchen. Oh it is called sore LOSER - SG. spelled right for ya.....................enough said.
"Ortiz came to the plate hitless in last 14 at-bats... He led off with a hard line drive down the right-field line. It ricocheted left, and he hustled all the way to third... perhaps it's a good sign for Game 5."
It's a "good sign for Game 5" only if you were introduced to the Game of Baseball five minutes ago. Ortiz got his hit during Garbage Time, with the pitchers under orders just to get the ball over the plate, sacrificing possible runs for the sake of getting the game over with and sparing everyone from additional effort in a game long won. The was a triple only by virtue of not having been caught and rattling around along the fence, not because of any "hitting breakthrough" by Ortiz.
If you insist on seeing the hit as some sort of crystal ball for Ortiz' immediate future, what's significant here is that the ball didn't leave the yard, and in a relatively short part of the park. The Ortiz of two years back would have put that ball in the seats with a generous margin of safety.
It has nothing to do with Manny, lack thereof. It owes to the breakdown of Ortiz' body - inevitable for a big man who continually places stress on certain key parts (usually wrists, knees, shoulders - joint injuries). Sox fans got to observe this with Mo Vaughn, but it has also happened to stars like home run king Mark McGuire and former Yankee Gary Sheffield (whose extreme swing caught up to his aging body in the end). The pattern is a swift deterioration, from which the player never recovers.
Time to bid a fond farewell to lovable Big Papi, for whom the Sox will no doubt have an Appreciation Day next year. His bat erased a lot of Sox' mistakes over the years. His days as a Sox DH, though, should have ended during the regular season, not this offseason. The Sox' lack of insight in dealing with this obvious and painful but inevitable and necessary decision is one of the key factors that will/has cost them a trip to the Series this year.
FROM ADAM: Thanks for the long assesment of the post. You may have missed the fact that I wrote "perhaps" before the point and "Maybe not" after.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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