Video: Reaction roundup

Amalie, in comparioson to last years team at this point, minus Manny, Schilling; what is wrong?

Outplayed and outmanaged. Maddon and his coaches had their team prepared to win with a solid gameplan while our manager keeps making inexplicable decisions and our players look lifeless. Varitek, as great as he is behind the plate, is a total liability at the plate and is costing us games. Papi's best days are behind him. He can pout all he wants that not having Manny behind him is what's hurting him but he has to face facts - he's not what he used to be. Theo's got a lot of work to do this offseason and not just with players. We need coaches on Francona's staff that can have our guys ready for a given opponent on a given night.

please spare us Dan with your "Red Sox are going to the World Series" Bullcrap... watching this game, it is OBVIOUS they are DONE!!!! They can have a little party with the crappy Pats too.. celebrate their crappiness..

BTW, you heard it here first - ORTIZ should be TRADED while he still has any value. Bad Wrist + No Manny = ZERO PRODUCTION.

I don't know who Mazz is talking about, who are these Devil Rays he speaks of? Never heard of them.

This series was lost in Game 2, and let's note that the writers glossed that fact over. The Globe staff said the Sox "were happy to have a split". Wrong. You get only so many chances to put a good opponent away. If you bungle those opportunities when they come about, you won't keep getting them. The Sox had the Rays on the ropes, and Tito left Beckett in an inning too long - AGAIN.

Assuming Lester would just come up with another amazing performance is the equivalent of believing money grows on trees. Again, see the note above. You put your opponent away WHEN the opportunity presents itself. You don't count on tomorrow's miracle to save you. That sort of thinking (the word "thinking" may be too generous here) ignores the fact that things DO go wrong, in baseball and in life.

As for "hoping" Ortiz et al recover their form - PLEASE. Ortiz' body, mostly his wrist, is falling apart. It's the curse of being the big man, really. Think Mo Vaugn and move on. Hey, I like Ortiz too. Great guy. But he can't hit anymore. That's baseball, that's life. For the rest of the playoffs, he should be on the bench.

Varitek? At this point he's letting pitches go by and hoping they'll miss the zone. This is not a hitter who believes in himself, and he is certainly not being pro-active. You're stuck with him, though, and that's another reason benching Ortiz is not just an option, but a necessity. At this point, after all, you're carrying THREE guys.

Which brings us to Ellsbury. Nothing much you can do but let him play. Of these three, he's the only one who might pull out of it.

After the season, the questions of Varitek and Ortiz will have to be dealt with. At least one is surely gone. As for Ellsbury, he'll either come around or find that the Sox have other outfielders coming up through the ranks. He certainly has the potential.

In closing, two words: Mark Teixeira.