Rays even series in a wild game at the Trop

From afar, I'm sure this looks like a beautiful story. The American League's favorite punching bag, the endlessly futile Tampa Bay Devil Rays, drop the 'Devil' and start winning. With no superstar, the entire team pulls together as one, and unites to win their division over 3 other great teams (and the Orioles?) and then the ALDS. Wow! How incredibly heartwarming...

The nation's love affair with Mike Timlin continues! I figure most of y'all didn't stay up or were out and about for the end of the TBS postgame show, but apparently the nice folks at Sox & Dawgs were still up or had the TIVO set, because lookit what they found: This is just brutal by beisbolct **** It ain't [...]

On the heels of last night's excruciating, agonizing, 5+ hour,A 9-8A eleven inning loss to the Rays in Game 2 of the ALCS, I have come to a decision regarding my viewing habits for extra inning Red Sox games: I'm changing the channel after nine innings are completed, regardless of the score, and well before Mike Timlin takes [...]

So yes, Boom Boom Beckett lost a bad one, but I'll take 3-1. Wouldn't you?

This whole series relies on Daisuke Matsuzaka limiting the amount of walks he gives up and the amount of pitches he needs to throw to get outs. Let me throw some numbers at you.. IP by the bullpen in 2007: 447 innings IP by the bullpen in 2008: 479.2 innings This year saw an increase by 32.2 innings. Can you say 'dead arms?' The biggest (but not the only) reason for...

It's official. The Josh Beckett circa 2007 is gone. I don't know where he went... and I'm starting to wonder if he was really a robot from the future. Beckett was handed a 2-0 lead before he even took the mound but gave it right back on a Longoria home run. Then Pedroia the Destroyah broke out of... Click the link to read more...

There is a common theme running through Eric Wilbur's Prediction Roundup: "Red Sox in Seven." That's our pick here at The Bottom Line... That's Eric's pick... and but the Bottom Line readers think the Sox will take it in 6 (see poll). Have you voted yet? * * * Here are a few of the predictions,... Click the link to read more...

Rational Iain: You know, we had no business even being in the 11th inning. Josh Beckett - Commander Kick-Ass himself - gave up 8 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. It's a miracle we even made it that far.Tired, Grumpy, Been-Up-All-Night, Saw-This-Coming-A-Mile-Off Iain: Hey, go take your cheery, it's-October-baseball disposition and stick it where the sun don't shine.RI: The Sox showed...

Last night, I watched the Rays knot up the ALCS with the Sox. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to watching this team and seeing how they come out in Fenway. They are talented. They fight. I dig that Maddon's rocking a Rayhawk. I'm in. One thing bothers me, though. Last night all the elements were there for electric drama. A young Rays team already having dropped...

Sox 2, Rays 0 WP: Matsuzaka (1-0) LP: Shields (1-1) SV: Papelbon (2) HRs: None Summary: After a shaky start, Daisuke Matsuzaka took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and Boston used a sac fly and a misplay by Carl Crawford to take Game 1 of the ALCS at the Trop. #1 Stunner: Matsuzaka 7IP, 4H, 0R, 4BB, 9K, [...]

"We're going to have to wait him out and see how he's throwing," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "Walks are so important, and if he's going to come out and do what he normally does, he usually walks a ton of guys and throws a lot of pitches early. If we can get him on the ropes early, we've... Click the link to read more...

...let's take a tie game in the bottom of the 11th inning and put in a relief pitcher who's really blown opponents away with a 1.68 WHIP and all the control of the local softball ace after happy hour. This was not a game that the Rays won, it was a game Terry Francona lost. He lost it in the 8th inning when Coco Crisp doubled to center to put the winning run on and left Jacoby Ellsbury...

I was talking the other day to a colleague of mine in television production. During a lull in our activity, the talk turned to the ongoing MLB playoffs -- specifically, the Cinderella Tampa Bay Rays. Neither of us are fans of theirs, it turns out. While he couldn't really pinpoint the reason why he's not on the TB bandwagon, I offered a suggestion. "The fans there...

If you don't have skin in the game -- which is to say, at least serious money, but more likely a longtime love for the Red Sox, Rays, Dodger or Phillies laundry -- just how are you supposed to actually watch playoff baseball?I'll let you into an inside glimpse of the miraculous life of the off-time sports blogger here, folks... it doesn't always work in real time, or...

After the Rays pulled Scott Kazmir early and the Red Sox were able to stagger through another inning and change with the plainly ineffective Josh Beckett, I thought that Boston ought to have the advantage going into extra innings last night. But Terry Francona seemed to overdo it with matchups, and you knew as soon as 25th man Mike Timlin came in that it was all over for Boston.