Will The Rays Collapse Under Pressure?

The Tampa Bay Rays are fading fast and could have been in the Red Sox rear-view mirror if not for a few breaks last week. Tonight's game starts a series that could send them into a tailspin before the playoffs start. If either team can sweep it is very likely they will end up being the division champs. The Red Sox enter the series looking like the team to beat while the Rays have been stuggling lately. Red Sox players and fans are used to these type of games, Rays fans are not. Take a look at what the Tampa media is saying about the series:

OK, it seems an uneven match for September. After all, the Red Sox have tradition and salary. And there's the city of Boston itself, with all that history. Oh, if only Paul Revere had ridden a golf cart through Sun City Center shouting "The British are retiring!"

The Rays can make their own history this week.

They can start tonight.

The Red Sox have played 9,871 of these kind of series, dating back to when Cy Young was hardly old - the kind of series that makes fever in the streets. The Rays got a taste of it at Fenway. Now it's in their breadbasket. The lead is one. Just one.

What a week it could be at the Trop.

Uh, bring a friend.