Tim Wakefield got shelled early and the trend continued as the Tampa Bay Rays now have a 3-1 lead over the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.
The Rays hitters scored 5 runs in the first two innings including homers by Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria.
Carl Crawford collected 5 hits and is only the third batter in ALCS history to do so.
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food for thought: we could’ve had Santana. for Ellsbury, lowrie and masterson.
this is gonna keep me up tonight.
I don’t want to see us win the World Series (if there’s any hope left). This team disgusts me. If I was at the game tonight I’d make my way down near the dugout and give them a piece of my f*cking mind.
What losers. Just lay down and die for the fourth straight game guys, alright? I’m tired of watching the pathetic “Defending World Champions”
THANK GOD FOR THE BRUINS!
Changing my vote to Sox in 7.
Rays will start Kazmir tomorrow instead of Shields; he’ll pitch Game 6 instead.
Looks like a sound move on their part because Shields struggled mightily at Fenway this year. I don’t think it makes a Game 5 win any less likely for the Sox, but this is going to make things tougher in Game 6, and puts tons of pressure on Beckett if they’re able to get it back to Tampa.
look at how the 2007 ALCS played out and this one so far, very similar… (Dominant starter in game 1, extra inning loss in game 2, lackluster performances in 3 and 4)
Yes Steven, this team disgusts me as well. Alot. I felt sick tonight just watching this. But fans who quit on their team when all seems lost disgust me even more. This team can still win. They may not. They probably won’t. But until it’s all over. These are our Red Sox. Just Believe.
The Twins wanted Lester, Ellsbury, Lowrie and Masterson. Post season woes all aside the last three all helped during the regular season. I doubt Santana could have done much better than Lester this year, so you’d only be losing three players for little to no gain. And only God knows what would have happened with a full year of Lugo.
The team is getting spanked right now, and they’d be getting spanked if we had Santana and Lugo and Coco had to be the everyday SS and CF. They be getting spanked if Manny had not been traded. The Rays are just simply outplaying the Sox.
t sucks, but the Sox can turn it around. I’ve got faith in Daisuke (Websters, 2b, firm belief in something for which there is no proof) and Lester is allowed to have one bad game (no more though). So that leaves Beckett, who if not injured will rip out their hearts and drink their blood in retribution. And that is all the optimism I can muster this morning….
The Red Sox HAVE to turn it out around now. There is no choice: I just got WS game 3 tickets in Philadelphia. We need, need, need, need, need to come back.
yes we can.
Yes we can. And we would not be in the ALCS without trade bait Lester, Lowrie, Masterson, Ellsbury, Moss. As good as he is, Santana would not have been as much of a difference maker on a team that won 95 games without him.
That the Sox are in the ALCS is something of a miracle. It’s painful to say (no pun intended) but without a full season from injured Schill, Beckett, Papi, Lowell, Manny, Drew, Coco, etc., etc. the team hung in there better than anyone thought possible.
That the so-so hitting Rays are pounding the best Sox pitchers at home is one of those anomolies we can live with. That we can’t respond with several of our best hitters hurting is part of that anomoly.
Despite what the giddy Chip Caray says, the Sox are young and vibrant with 14 starters 29 and under, vs. the Rays 15, and we will get younger and faster next year. This ALCS will guarantee that. Our team is far more like the hustling, fighting Rays than, say, the more stoic Yankees. If we lose this, it won’t happen again next year.
Sorry, 14 players.
Just want to remind everyone that Theo was offered the ellsbury/lowrie/masterson deal for Santana right before they contacted the Mets. We were given final say, and since the Twins got nothing whatsoever of value from the Mets, it was ours to lose.
It may not have helped us in the regular season, but we would’ve been set for the postseason, even with meathead’s “injury.”
Definitely agree with Gerry on a few points. Without Masterson, Lowrie, and Ellsbury we wouldn’t even be in the playoffs. With all the injuries this year, this depth was absolutely necessary for taking the wild card.
I also agree that at this point we’re playing with house money. Beating the Angels in the ALDS was all I could reasonably expect from this team. Can I hope for more? Sure.
I just don’t get all of these people saying that this team disgusts them. This reeks of arrogance that we usually accuse Yankees fans of. If anything, this team should be easier to root for than the 04 and 07 teams. They’ve overcome adversity all season, be it injuries or tempramental overpaid stars (*cough* Mannywood *cough*). This team is full of young exciting talent that are learning in the playoffs. Even the veterans on this team can’t be accused of dogging it. This team has just reached their limit and run into a damn good Rays team peaking at the right time of year.
I’m still hoping for a Red Sox series win, but if they don’t manage it I won’t be crushed either. I sort of hope this distinguishes me from Yankees fans.
I think if they were smart they would go for the throat and pitch Shields, if Beckett hadn’t been so awful Kazmir’s horrendous start would have been the talk of game 2. By matching up their worst pitcher with our best they’re just giving Boston a chance to get back in the series.
When I heard the news of Kazmir’s Game 5 start those were my thoughts exactly Bob. Why give us a chance? I know he’s been good against us in the past and he is a strong pitcher, but he has not done well in the playoffs yet and we certainly got to him in Game 2. I’m sure they’re confident in Kaz but it seems pretty risky for them. You don’t want give life to a desperate team in the playoffs.
Maybe that’s a lesson we can teach them tommorrow.
Go Sox.