103 replies to this topic

[OilCanShotTupac]

Baseball just amazes me. No other sport - no other spectacle of any kind - can come close to what we just saw. I still can't believe it.

In the top of the 7th, this thing was OVER. DONE. And it wasn't just a matter of the score on the scoreboard - the Sox were flat.

My question to you: What happened??

Is it as simple as "Balfour, Wheeler, and Howell shit the bed?"

Did Maddon push the wrong buttons?

Or did a young, inexperienced team - for lack of a better word - choke? Not just the pen - were the Rays' defenders too tentative in the later frames?

Did the Red Sox come back (long ABs by Coco and Youk, good swings by Papi and Drew - finally, typical Red Sox hitting) or did the Rays blow it?

What the hell did we just see? How to explain it?

Discuss.

[Trautwein's Degree]

Did the Red Sox come back (long ABs by Coco and Youk, good swings by Papi and Drew - finally, typical Red Sox hitting) or did the Rays blow it?

What the hell did we just see? How to explain it?

Discuss.

What we just saw is why baseball is the greatest game known to man.

The Red Sox won that game. They hit like they should and like they hadn't and the Rays were in their way.

I have no idea what happens on Saturday but that was Red Sox baseball.

[rembrat]

I think we are going to finally see the Rays, feeling the pressure, piss it away how we all expected them to coming down the stretch. Their stud bullpen had nothing tonight. What I enjoyed the most was the final 3 innings where the Sox hitters put together their best at bats of the series. Working the count, fouling off pitches, zoning one and driving it. It was a thing a beauty. The thing we are use to seeing from the offense. I have a strong feeling it will carry over.

Oh, and Baseball is the greatest game. PERIOD. Because of games like this.

[PedroSpecialK]

Maddon isn't really fallible here, nor has he been the entire series. His decision to go to Kazmir tonight turned out to be a great one. His three bullpen stalwarts just couldn't hold up against what was the best sustained attack we've seen in the playoffs. One of the top 3 games I've ever witnessed, if not the absolute best.

[Archer1979]

Earl Weaver said it best:

"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all."

[gcapalbo]

If you had a time machine and went back to say, 2002 and showed someone video of people in Fenway holding up signs describing multiple playoff comebacks, leading to multiple world series titles-- you'd be hauled off to an insane asylum.

Once again, something happened tonight in the the psyche of the team in the late innings. The whole team just decided they were not going to lose tonight.

Some guts, some lucky breaks, and let's go to Tampa and play two.

That was a big ugly for the Rays to be up 7 runs and cough it up.

Big. Ugly.

[satyadaimoku]

What I enjoyed the most was the final 3 innings where the Sox hitters put together their best at bats of the series.

Yeah understatement of the year. It's all about Papi's HR. That was the moment where the Sox started thinking it was possible and that was the moment when the Rays bullpen started thinking "holy crap, could we screw this thing up?". Although if Upton plays that line drive like an adequate center fielder it would have been a different story.

[NomarRS05]

This is one of those games we'll be talking about 30 years from now. Games like this are the reason why you NEVER turn off the TV in the playoffs. They're the reason you NEVER, EVER leave the ballpark early in a big game. You just might miss out on a great memory.

Aside from the 2004 ALCS, I can't recall a more thrilling victory. Just awesome.

[mabrowndog]

Let's not overlook the fact that the Rays assisted the Sox in numerous ways tonight. Bringing in an obviously gassed Wheeler was one mistake. Longoria's throw in the dirt, and a failed attempt by Pena for the Ole! scoop, were others.

One key play that I doubt anyone in the media will point out was Kotsay's double that set up the tying run. What nobody will mention is that BJ Upton, being young and incredibly fast, sometimes relies too heavily on his recovery speed to offset his inexperience at getting good reads on balls. He was playing very shallow, as he has pretty much throughout the series, and perhaps TB's coaches bear that blame for positioning him there. On Kotsay's ball, he didn't react well off the bat, took a bad route, and tried to scramble for it. Too little, too late, and it glances off his glove.

An epic choke by the Rays, and a great job of taking advantage of mistakes and opportunities by the Sox. I'll take it.

[Sille Skrub]

I think I've seen this one before.

Great win. This team showed lots of heart tonight. Hopefully, this carries on during the next two games.

[PedroSpecialK]

Let's not overlook the fact that the Rays assisted the Sox in numerous ways tonight. Bringing in an obviously gassed Wheeler was one mistake. Longoria's throw in the dirt, and a failed attempt by Pena for the Ole! scoop, were others.

This is a fantastic point. If Pena fields this with the glove in the proper position (i.e. tip of the glove above the wrist instead of below), Youkilis is out and we aren't having this discussion.

[OilCanShotTupac]

Let's not overlook the fact that the Rays assisted the Sox in numerous ways tonight. Bringing in an obviously gassed Wheeler was one mistake. Longoria's throw in the dirt, and a failed attempt by Pena for the Ole! scoop, were others.

One key play that I doubt anyone in the media will point out was Kotsay's double that set up the tying run. What nobody will mention is that BJ Upton, being young and incredibly fast, sometimes relies too heavily on his recovery speed to offset his inexperience at getting good reads on balls. He was playing very shallow, as he has pretty much throughout the series, and perhaps TB's coaches bear that blame for positioning him there. On Kotsay's ball, he didn't react well off the bat, took a bad route, and tried to scramble for it. Too little, too late, and it glances off his glove.

An epic choke by the Rays, and a great job of taking advantage of mistakes and opportunities by the Sox. I'll take it.

Mark, that was exactly what I was thinking about when I mentioned the Rays' defenders being a little too tentative. FWIW, I even thought Gross had a shot at Drew's game-winning hit, but bumblefucked around in right.

All series long, the TB outfielders have been aggressively running everything down. When it counted, they were strangely indecisive.

[xjack]

I don't believe what I just saw.

And afterwards, Drew talks to Gammons like he just won second price in a 4-H fair.

[TheYaz67]

My question to you: What happened??

JD Drew is what happened. The Sox batters had a WPA of .608 - JD had .554 of that, which is huge. And on a bad disc in his back, with not as many ABs as he would like, against a lefty. Awesome.

[The Napkin]

One key play that I doubt anyone in the media will point out was Kotsay's double that set up the tying run. What nobody will mention is that BJ Upton, being young and incredibly fast, sometimes relies too heavily on his recovery speed to offset his inexperience at getting good reads on balls. He was playing very shallow, as he has pretty much throughout the series, and perhaps TB's coaches bear that blame for positioning him there. On Kotsay's ball, he didn't react well off the bat, took a bad route, and tried to scramble for it. Too little, too late, and it glances off his glove.

The TBS guys were all over that in the postgame. Eck especially. I believe the line was "you gotta play no doubles there"

Also, I mentioned it in the game thread but Gross completely froze on contact for a good second on Drew's game winner. If he breaks on contact he might have a shot at catching it.

Edited by The Napkin, 16 October 2008 - 11:51 PM.

[OilCanShotTupac]

I don't believe what I just saw.

And afterwards, Drew talks to Gammons like he just won second price in a 4-H fair.

Considering the guy has two of the biggest hits in Red Sox playoff history, maybe that's a good thing that he's so even-keeled?

[normstalls]

Letting Balfour face Papi was criminal. Its not hindsight...I was saying it before had.
No question that should have been Miller.

Then you have Howell and Wheeler for the 8th and 9th.

I just think Maddon did a real poor job managing the late innings tonight.


Sox bats finally came alive and deserve a ton of credit too.

[JimBoSox9]

This is a fantastic point. If Pena fields this with the glove in the proper position (i.e. tip of the glove above the wrist instead of below), Youkilis is out and we aren't having this discussion.

Hard to tell for sure, but I disagree with this one. The replay from the third base camera looked to me like the ball bounced a lot higher than it should have given the angle. The ball stays down, and Pena is in proper position. Longoria probably didn't have a great grip on the ball, giving it a funny spin and a bad bounce.

I don't know if you can call it a bad decision, because you always need to lean on your top 2-3 relievers till exhaustion in a long series, but mabrowndog is totally right about Wheeler having nothing out there. After a couple pitches, Crisp hitting a line drive off of him is something I would have bet the house on. He had nothing from the get-go, almost certainly from fatigue; really that is the pitching coach's responsibility to tell Maddon if there is a reliever who should be kept in the pen at all costs.

[exGloucester]

They just seemed to find their I am unoriginal and unfunny. Please put me out of my misery again, and so suddenly. The game had the 7-0, 7-4, 7-6, and 7-7 plateaus and they could have lost the thread in any of those places, taken one shitty at bat, whatever, and it wouldnt have happened, but it did. There was like a massive shift in mental approach in there, on both sides, and the Sox batters started waiting out the pitchers and the pitchers obliged by unraveling. Plus a bunch of luck, like the Longoria-Pena snafu. But in total, a complete shift of the mental wind. Crazy and great. Baseball.

[The Napkin]

Hard to tell for sure, but I disagree with this one. The replay from the third base camera looked to me like the ball bounced a lot higher than it should have given the angle. The ball stays down, and Pena is in proper position. Longoria probably didn't have a great grip on the ball, giving it a funny spin and a bad bounce.

Yeah, I have a hard time blaming Pena for that. Those tweener hops are a bitch. Of course I'm a first baseman so I'm biased. It's never the first baseman's fault.

[paulftodd]

The tide changed when Tito decided to bring in Paps for the 7th, announcing to everyone the game was not over. This was at 5-0.

At 7-0, Maddon announced by not having BJ Upton steal 3rd that the game was over. This would not have gone unnoticed by Red Sox players.

After the top half of the 7th many fans seemed to decide the game was over, given the apparent exodus (many of them were able to return since the comeback began soon thereafter).

The Red Sox then woke up. After scoring 5 runs in 27 innings, they go on to score 8 in 3 innings.

[Montana Fan]

Watching this team makes me feel like a 15 year old schoolboy again. Playing 5 on 5 or 6 on 6 against the team from the next neighborhood...for bragging rights. Tonight the Sox have the bragging rights and win or lose the series they showed the Rays that they ain't going easy.

[yazisgod]

My question to you: What happened??

Simply another example of NLISIFP (No Lead Is Safe In Fenway Park). A really fun example!

[Andrew]

I know it seems dumb, but I'd like to believe the Legends of the 2004 and 2007 epic comebacks had an effect. That knowledge had to sneak into the minds of the Rays after Ortiz's homerun.

[IpswichSox]

Game 4 in 2004 never felt like this because at least that game was still close, and, no matter how improbable, something could happen quickly. Tonight, the first six innings were the worst possible scenario -- everything that could go horribly wrong did. Starting and relief pitching to that point sucked. Bats invisible. Fenway crowd on their asses. There was no hint of a pulse. It was over.

Given all that, this comeback was monumental.

Sox in 7.

[xjack]

I know it seems dumb, but I'd like to believe the Legends of the 2004 and 2007 epic comebacks had an effect. That knowledge had to sneak into the minds of the Rays after Ortiz's homerun.

Remember Jeter's "Wait for the ghosts" comment in 2003?

I think he was onto something. It's just now the ghosts seem to work for us.

[amarshal2]

A couple guys got on base and then Fenway happened.

[The Allented Mr Ripley]

There's a scene in Jaws where Hooper and Brody are drinking wine and lamenting over the fact that the shark is still at large, but the only way to prove it is by doing an autopsy on a recently caught tiger shark, the results of which should yield definitive proof.

Brody says, "So let's have another drink and cut that sonofabitch open."

Brody's wife responds, "Can you do that, Martin?"

Brody slurringly replies, "I can do whatever I want. I'm the Chief of Police."

The Red Sox are the Chief of Police.

[Archer1979]

Remember Jeter's "Wait for the ghosts" comment in 2003?

I think he was onto something. It's just now the ghosts seem to work for us.

No ghosts. That was just an inexperienced team getting too comfortable in front of an opponent's jazzed-up crowd. Those guys thought the last three innings were a formality. Once Papi's blast left the field, the crowd got into it. Once the crowd got into, the brows started to furrow. The smiles started to disappear. The scoreboard got closer. The fun that they were all having was drifting away.

That was inexperience there. And a playoff-hardened team took advantage of it.

[Lose Remerswaal]

Upton coasted on the line drive to Center, and Gross did stand still for a second on Drew's shot in the 9th. How did I know? In the 7th, folks in the front row of the bleachers left, and I moved down and had perfect views of both of those plays.

Tito outmanaged Maddon -- Maddon brought in first a reliever who hadn't been effective in the series, and then brought in Wheeler who had nothing (after some great lengthy at bats). Tito used the relievers who were rested and were best suited for the situations.

Lopez and Byrd threw complete games in the bullpen.

NO one dances on our field but us. Tear down that plastic!

[Myt1]

I was sitting in front of the dumbest whining 17 year-old and his mother. The little asshole had been babbling nonsense all game and started whining that he wanted to leave ("I'm just down because we can't win at home."). They left, my blood pressure dropped, and the Red Sox came back.

I hope he hates himself.

[RedOctober3829]

Anyone else hear that TBS was going through it's thank-you's to their crew on a good job during the playoffs? Someone said it, but is it true?

[trekfan55]

No ghosts. That was just an inexperienced team getting too comfortable in front of an opponent's jazzed-up crowd. Those guys thought the last three innings were a formality. Once Papi's blast left the field, the crowd got into it. Once the crowd got into, the brows started to furrow. The smiles started to disappear. The scoreboard got closer. The fun that they were all having was drifting away.

That was inexperience there. And a playoff-hardened team took advantage of it.

Best explanation.

The interesting thing about baseball is that things happen unexpectedly. I fully expected them to hit Kazmir and he shut the Sox down for 6 innings. Then their vaunted bullpen came up short to the tune of 8 runs after the 2nd out of the 7th inning.

Kudos to the Fenway crowd. I remember Dennis Leary in the Reversing the Curse of the Bambino HBO doc saying that any Red Sox fan who told you they would come back after being dow 3-0 was full of sh-t. Well, I don't think many Red Sox fans (if any) thought they could come back in this game once the 7th inning started. Hell, I thought they were gonna strand Kotsay at 2nd after 2 outs.

For those of us who thought they had seen everything, guess again.

Me personally I am buying his game from mlb.com and rewatching plenty of times in the off season regardless of what happens in this series. Can I still do that?

[Wakefield's Heart]

Papi's three-run homer. I think psychologically that's really what the breaking point was for the Rays and for the Red Sox offense. Papi is so important to Boston's offense; quite often, as Papi goes, this team goes. Knowing he has it in him to do that in big moments is huge for this club, and as they say, hitting can be contagious. That belief that as a group you can do it in those moments really carries through. The looks on the faces of Sox players in the dugout changed after that hit. It was like one big fat, "YES WE CAN!"

Notable non-fiction sidebar: I was heading home around 1:15 from my downtown NYC Sox bar with my Sox cap and bizness suit on. Without giving away my age too blatantly, let's just say I moved to NYC in '96 and proudly wore my Sox cap pretty much since day one when I landed on the island, I was born in the early 70s, and I watched the Celts from age 4 on, and the Sox/Pats from age 6 on.

So I'm crossing First Avenue, all alone, and I prance passed a yellow cab stopped at a stoplight. There were 3 guys about ten years my junior with the windows open...business types, with dorky ties and dress shirts. They spotted my cap atop my head and yelled out the window, "Hey...so did you buy that cap 5 minutes ago, Boston bitch?"

I turned around and answered, "Try 15 years ago, junior." I kept walking. They replied, as their cab got ready for the light to turn, "Hey, so if you like Boston so much, why don't you fuckin' go back there?" And I replied, "Because this is New York City. And I wouldn't miss experiencing our total dominance alongside assholes like you for all the tea in China, my dears."

The light turned green, and they sped away. Fast. Just like the Sox tonight.

Good night, friends. This is one to cherish always.

[Larry Gardner]

OMG, I was in Menomonee Falls, 20 miles from home in a bowling alley (I bowled like shit tonight), in the bar watching from the 7th on.....my teammates left, I don't know ANYONE in the bar, huge place, at least 50 people there, and everyone knew I was a lunatic Sox fan..........I said after Drew's HR out loud to the entire place that "if anyone hits a walk off here, I'm buying one for the house".......and since I left my job last week, and still couldn't give a shit about the cash, it was one of the greatest rounds I ever bought..(I guess it was better after my 1st 300)...........everyone was yelling "RAYS, RAYS, RAYS", and I was the ONLY SOX fan in the BAR. I am still in shock, liquored up with my good friend "Old #9", and OMG, what a game.............

[Savin Hillbilly]

Also, I mentioned it in the game thread but Gross completely froze on contact for a good second on Drew's game winner. If he breaks on contact he might have a shot at catching it.

I can tell you that I, and everybody near me, had the same reaction on that hit: after the initial thrill of seeing the solid contact, we all let out a big 'awwwww' of frustration before we saw it go over Gross' head and make everybody into crazy happy loonies. That ball looked 100% catchable off the bat. I'll be curious to see what it looks like on video.

[Mystic Merlin]

After what I just witnessed, this series has turned from "well, hopefully we save face at home" to "let's fucking do this shit".

If the Sox had merely won today, I wouldn't have been as heavily invested in the rest of the series. A game like this, though...you don't win them without there being a carry-over effect.

[Redkluzu]

I am still so wired I cannot sleep. And I agree that as we got our bearings, TB lost theirs. Being at that game was simply, as Joe Posnanski says in his column today, "unbelievable" in the best sense of the word. I posted snippets from the column in the media thread but it's worth repeating one of his lines here:

The insta-poll question after this crazy game is this: Can the Rays recover? And it leads to the bigger question: Is there even such thing as momentum in baseball? I don't know the answer to either of those questions. My gut tells me that the Red Sox probably feel pretty invincible now, and even though Josh Beckett hasn't looked like his post-season self, you know what that guy can do in October. And the Red Sox certainly would feel good with Jon Lester in Game 7. It's hard, at least in my mind, to think that the most dramatic comeback in postseason history will not carry over.

[cannonball 1729]

This is one of those games we'll be talking about 30 years from now. Games like this are the reason why you NEVER turn off the TV in the playoffs. They're the reason you NEVER, EVER leave the ballpark early in a big game. You just might miss out on a great memory.

Aside from the 2004 ALCS, I can't recall a more thrilling victory. Just awesome.

Weird parallel to that ALCS. Remember in game 7 when the Sox were up 8-1 in the 7th and Tito brought in Pedro? It was pointed out as one of those instances where most fanbases wouldn't have worried, but because we're Sox fans (and because of all of the "Who's Your Daddy" crap), we got extremely nervous when Pedro gave up two runs before getting the last out.

Turns out we weren't so crazy after all...

[The Four Peters]

I know it seems dumb, but I'd like to believe the Legends of the 2004 and 2007 epic comebacks had an effect. That knowledge had to sneak into the minds of the Rays after Ortiz's homerun.

Sounds like Mystique and Aura, to me.

I was sitting in front of the dumbest whining 17 year-old and his mother. The little asshole had been babbling nonsense all game and started whining that he wanted to leave ("I'm just down because we can't win at home."). They left, my blood pressure dropped, and the Red Sox came back.

I hope he hates himself.

I hate him too.

Without giving away my age too blatantly... I was born in the early 70s,

Yeah, that kind of narrows it down...


Minus the snark, that game was awesome. I only caught a snippet of the game early, and then innings 8 and 9, but holy shit was that fun. William Robertson in my sig says it best. There was no belief, aura, or special Sox ability at home, just like there was no curse.

It was just a manifestation of why baseball is amazing.

[Reverend]

Let's not overlook the fact that the Rays assisted the Sox in numerous ways tonight. Bringing in an obviously gassed Wheeler was one mistake. Longoria's throw in the dirt, and a failed attempt by Pena for the Ole! scoop, were others.

One key play that I doubt anyone in the media will point out was Kotsay's double that set up the tying run. What nobody will mention is that BJ Upton, being young and incredibly fast, sometimes relies too heavily on his recovery speed to offset his inexperience at getting good reads on balls. He was playing very shallow, as he has pretty much throughout the series, and perhaps TB's coaches bear that blame for positioning him there. On Kotsay's ball, he didn't react well off the bat, took a bad route, and tried to scramble for it. Too little, too late, and it glances off his glove.

An epic choke by the Rays, and a great job of taking advantage of mistakes and opportunities by the Sox. I'll take it.

Hey now, let's be clear, as the concept is being so loudly proclaimed around here, some of this is baseball.

If you extend the logic, then anything hit within the park (and then some) would be fielded for outs. They benefit form the young stud Upton because he's a stud, they lose because he's young. That's the game, yeah?

I was sitting in front of the dumbest whining 17 year-old and his mother. The little asshole had been babbling nonsense all game and started whining that he wanted to leave ("I'm just down because we can't win at home."). They left, my blood pressure dropped, and the Red Sox came back.

I hope he hates himself.

Teenager wants to go home--he'll eventually figure out he sucks, or he will continue to suck. Hopefully this game brings things into focus for him.

[CSteinhardt]

I didn't see the replays, but from the CF bleachers, it looked like Gross made three bad to awful plays in the last three innings. First, it looked like he could have caught Pedroia's hit. Then, a good throw had a great shot at getting Kotsay at the plate, but he managed to many-hop the first baseman. And then finally, he broke in a liner straight at him hit by Drew.

If they complete the comeback, does he get a WS share?

[Pandemonium67]

Part of what happened is that the Sox were finally able to use the one tangible advantage they have over the Rays: Papelbon.

The Rays can outhit, outfield, outrun and outpitch the Sox EXCEPT for the back of the bullpen. Balfour, Howell and especially Wheeler all start to look hittable once you've seen them a couple of times. (Percival is even worse; the Rays are lucky he's gone.)

When Paps cleaned up after MDC and followed it with a shutdown 1-2-3 inning, it gave the bats the opportunity they needed.

[Pandemonium67]

Oh, and Maddon also made the mistake of leaving Gross in rightfield. Perez should've been in after the 6th inning.

And BJ SuperGlide in center was poorly positioned for that Kotsay blast, took a bad route, lollygagged, and mistimed his catch. The ball clanked off his glove. The TV jerks were talking about it almost being a spectacular play, but that was really an error. Good job, asswipe. He's the ballplayer equivalent of that whiny 17-year-old. Arrogant cocksucker reminds me of Cano.

[paulftodd]

One of Tampas writers:

Just before midnight, the Rays turned back into a pumpkin

http://www2.tbo.com/...-u/sports-rays/

Maddon made a critical mistake by assuming games was over in the 7th when he got up 7-0. With Upton at 2nd and nobody out, he suddenly put the brakes on his runners, not wanting to run up the score, and showing respect. Upton would have been the 8th run.

This is the 2nd greatest post season comeback since the 1929 Athletics came from 8 runs back to defeat the Cubs. Given the financial climate today, it is quite a coincidence.

It will be interesting how a young team like Tampa handles a devastating loss such as this, having an off day to dwell on it.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Just got home from the game and I have to say this was one of the most phenomenal experiences of my life. By far the best sporting event I've ever seen live. Could be the most amazing I've seen, period. Getting post season Papi back for a night, clutch hitting out of J.D. Drew, Dustin Pedroia, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, Kevin Youkilis and Mark Kotsay, Tito going to Papelbon in the 7th of a 7-0 game...

When Pedroia hit his single in the 7th, despite the enormous lead the Rays had, the crowd seemed to know something special was coming. Everyone was on their feet, the place was electric... and then Papi went yard. I was like it was 2004 all over again. The second it came off his bat we knew it was gone and the place erupted.

I've never heard anything so loud and terrifying and beautiful. It was remarkable.

Tito credited the crowd with being magical during his press conference, and there was definitely something special about the group that assembled in the stands tonight. We were aching to let loose, to cheer for something... anything. But for 6 innings, there was nothing. Every line drive out, pop fly, 0-2 count... there was a buzz that started to build. But it faded time and time again. The sea of red and blue and white swayed with each pitch, gasped at each close call that didn't go our way and begged for something to cheer about in rapt silence.

When the offense exploded, so did we. All the pent up raging energy finally burst through and Fenway shook under our wrath. When J.D. Drew finally ended it, every man in that building was my brother, every woman my sister. We danced and shook and embraced total strangers. We cheered until our throats were raw.

Tonight, we were reminded why we love this time of year so much. Tonight we were reminded what it means to be Red Sox fans.

[Noah]

[LoweSox]

That's all I could manage to blog about this (cause I do that).

According to the game log, when Papelbon walked Pena after Upton made it 7-0, Tampa Bay was at a 99.4% win expectancy.

Boston's comeback started only after their chances of winning had been reduced to less than one percent.

(Edit, for an even sweeter perspective:

The Red Sox had a 1.1% WE when they went up to bat in the bottom of the 7th. 1.1% to 100% without making nine outs.)

Edited by LoweSox, 17 October 2008 - 03:30 AM.

[MentalDisabldLst]

Sorry, I couldn't let this quote from the gamethread go uncommented-upon.

So the only question is whether this is better than game 4 or 5 in 2004. I guess we need to wait until Sunday night to answer that question.

Damn this feels good.

Better than 2004 ALCS game 4? Possibly. History may yet be the judge.

Better than 2004 ALCS game 5? No fucking way. That game was the single greatest sporting match I have ever witnessed, and it damn near killed me, my girlfriend, and anyone within a 50-foot radius of a TV tuned to that game. It was 5 hours and 45 minutes of white-knuckle mayhem. Two truly great teams just beating the crap out of each other until there was nothing left they had to give. Clutch hitting the whole game long. Clutch pitching, the whole game long. Clutch fielding. A clutch ground-rule double. And it was ultimately concluded by a grinding 12-pitch at-bat, against their 7th pitcher of the night, in his 4th inning of relief, in which Loaiza finally yielded the game-winning hit, but easily kept his dignity.

This game was closer to 2004 ALCS game 1 than it was to 2004 ALCS game 5. It was a tale of two games - the long wait, the despair with it, and then... the furious rally. In that game we came up just short. In this game, we emerged gloriously the Rays came up small. It reinforced everyone's belief in miracles and our love for this game. But let's not go comparing it to games that were on a totally different plane.

[geoduck no quahog]

I can't imagine what it would have been like to be at the Greatest Game Ever Played at Fenway. I'm guessing strongly that the crowd leaving had a lot to do with it. When all the deadbeat faux fans vacated the stadium the negativity in that crowd was replaced by real fans filtering down to the now empty seats - and the entire place turned around.

My joy was only made greater by listening to Caray go from talking about a "deafening silence" and prepping the wrap-up toward a Ray-Philles Series (seriously, this guy does not know much about baseball) to his almost stunned disappointment in witnessing the greatest comeback in playoff history - his weekend soiree to the islands with BJ Upton now abruptly canceled.

But to any of you who were there to the end - thank you. We saw your energy on video and heard it on radio and you've been rewarded with one of the greatest experiences in your baseball life. You deserved it.

Now please fly down to St. Petersburg and keep the faith.