Quick! I Need a Rays Shirt & a Mohawk Wig!

I thought I'd be a loser for Halloween.

No, really, though, a tip of the wig, er, hat to the Rays for their great run. Now, if it wasn't for a little problem of three missing runs in the 9th inning of game #7 of the ALCS, it might have, it just might have been Sox in 4 over the Phillies. Y'think?

Be safe Halloween night!

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Rays Prove to Be Too Much For the Red Sox

The game started off so well; Pedroia's early homer and Lester mowing them down in order. The Rays tied it up in the 4th and took the lead in the 5th. Garza settled in and became untouchable, giving up just one more hit until he was pulled after 7 innings. Lester pitched well too but gave up a big homer in the 7th to Aybar. The Red Sox had a chance to comeback in the 8th but could not come up with a big hit and J.D. Drew struck out to end the top half of the inning. After striking out Drew in the 8th, Price returned to pitch the 9th. Bay drew a walk but then Kotsay and Tek both struck out. Lowrie grounded out to end the season for Boston. The Rays looked like the American League champs tonight and will be tough in the World Series. They have some good young talent and should be in the picture for years to come. The Red Sox have some big questions to answer in the offseason but we will get to those in the coming days. On a side note, I was on the live blog at WEEI.com during the game and Curt Schilling logged on to chat for a few innings, he was as outspoken as usual. Thanks to all of the readers who have stayed with Fenway West for our first season on the net and remember that even though the games are over, we cover the Red Sox year round.

Congrats to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Red Sox Lose 3-1 BOX SCORE

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Rays Lineup for Game 7 of the ALCS

Baldelli is back in there for Tampa Bay:

Iwamura 2B
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Crawford LF
Aybar DH
Navarro C
Baldelli RF
Bartlett SS

Garza SP

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Red Sox Lineup For Game 7 of the ALCS

Coco stays at the top even though Ellsbury has a good history against Garza and Cora will be in at short.

Coco Crisp, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Bay, LF
Mark Kotsay, 1B
Jason Varitek, C
Alex Cora, SS

Jon Lester, SP

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A Game Day Decision

In preparing for the upcoming final game of the ALCS, I am facing a dilemma. I look into my closest to pick my Red Sox shirt for the game and I don't know which one to pick.

Do I go with Tek, the hero of last night? My Tek shirt is old enough that it does not have the "C" on it and this could be the last time he plays a game for the Red Sox.

Do I go with the Papelbon shirt? Paps ended last night's game with such determination that he embodies the confidence of the Red Sox.

Do I go with the Big Papi jersey? Ortiz got the series turned around but it is a home jersey and the Sox are on the road.

Do I go with my Yankee Hater "Sox in Seven" shirt from 2004? It does seem appropriate but it is aimed at the Yankees.

In the end I go with a no name Red Sox shirt. After all, this is going to take a team effort, but I did pick one with a shamrock on it just in case.

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Panic By the Bay

As Game 7 fast approaches, one team from the American League is set to play its last game of the season. The Red Sox have been there before, multiple times with mixed results, and recent history is on their side. The Rays are in a state of shock, their hitting has dried up, their pitching has been shaky and now their fans and some of their players are beginning to panic. Here's a few examples of the fear and why they should be afraid:

Game 7 is Rays' shot at history- St. Petersburg Times

The Rays can say they are not shaken. They can pretend their nerves are not frayed. They can act as if they will take the field this evening with their usual carefree outlook on the world.

But history suggests they are scared hitless.

Who Would You Rather Be Tonight? - Tampa Tribune

They spend the winter thinking about being seven runs up and seven outs away from the AL pennant the other night in Boston. That's their Bartman.

Rays of (False?) Hope - WEEI

“We know what happened. We were on the damn field,” Floyd continued. “You never put it out of your mind. You never completely get over what happened the other night. Hell, we’re all human. I think the most important thing is you don’t want to watch it over and over and over and read the same thing.”

Yet that is precisely what the Rays will find it nearly impossible to avoid. Whether or not the team has moved on, all of its members face questions about where the American League Championship Series went off the rails.

A comment from a dbayrays.com reader:

but it’s going to be awfully tough. Garza in a Game 7 makes me extremely nervous… which one is going to show up?

I’ve never believed in momentum, but when you give a team like Boston life after having the series all but wrapped up, the other team does get a ton of confidence. I also don’t believe in “comeback magic” but Boston can do no f'ing wrong when they get down big in these series. Like I said earlier, it’s like they almost purposely get down in these series.

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Red Sox Step Up in a Big Way

Even though they did not have to stage a big comeback, the Red Sox did have their share of heroes tonight. Youk and Tek each had big home runs, and Papi had a big 2 out base hit. Josh Beckett pitched well enough to keep it close and get it to the pen. You can't say enough about how well the bullpen was tonight; Okajima, Masterson, and Papelbon pitched 4 no-hit innings giving up just 1 walk. All of the momentum is now with Boston in the final game of the ALCS tomorrow night.

Red Sox Win 4-2 BOX SCORE

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Red Sox Lineup for Game 6 of the ALCS

Ellsbury sits, Coco gets the nod at the top of the ordah.

1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mark Kotsay, 1B
8. Jed Lowrie, SS
9. Jason Varitek, C

Josh Beckett, SP

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Josh Beckett's Friday Press Conference -Video

Beckett says he does not have to make any adjustments because of the oblique injury.

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This just goes to show you....

You NEVER leave a Sox game before it’s over! And the game is never over until it’s over!

To those ‘ f a n s ’ (and I use that word EXTREMELY loosely) who left early: SUCKAS!!!!!

Holy shizzit, I am still stunned!

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Rays Lineup for Game 5 of the ALCS

Iwamura, 2B
Upton, CF
Pena, 1B
Longoria, 3B
Crawford, LF
Floyd, DH
Navarro, C
Gross, RF
Bartlett, SS

Kazmir, SP

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup Game 5 ALCS

Here it is, Ellsbury is out, Coco is at the top of the ordah

Coco Crisp, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Jason Bay, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Jason Varitek, C
Mark Kotsay, 1B

Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP

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27 Outs

Could it be? After the long season that started in the Land of the Rising Sun, the Red Sox are just 27 outs away from the end of their 2008 season.

27 outs away from the possible end of Mark Kotsay, Sean Casey and Coco Crisp's time in Boston

27 outs away from possible end of Mike Timlin's career

27 outs away from the possible end of Tim Wakefield's career

27 outs away from the possible end of the Red Sox Capitain, Jason Varitek's time in Boston.

This is a prospect no true fan wants to face. The long winter is fast approaching but we can have a few more weeks of summer if we:

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Off Day News Roundup

Scott Kazmir will start Game 5 for the Rays....maybe there is a chance to get back in the series.

Jacoby Ellsbury's blog goes as quiet as his bat.

Mike Lowell goes under the knife next week.

The Tampa media thinks its over:

The Rays are sprinting around the bases, making it look oh so easy. Upset? This is no upset. At this point, the only upset would be if the ALCS requires a Game 6 on Saturday at Tropicana Field.

and so do some in the New England media:

The Red Sox season is just about over....Game 5 is Thursday, and this does not appear to be the year for any big comebacks.

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Big Papi Goes All Rickey Henderson in the Locker Room

According to Big Papi, Papi isn't the problem.

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More General Suckiness

Here's the rundown: Wake sucked, Tito's new lineup sucked, the bullpen sucked, the crowd sucked, and TBS sucked.

Red Sox Lose 13-4 BOX SCORE

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Tito Discusses The New Lineup - Video

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Rays Lineup For Game 4 of the ALCS

Akinori Iwamura, 2B
B.J. Upton, 8
Carlos Pena, 1B
Evan Longoria, 3B
Carl Crawford, LF
Willy Aybar, DH
Dioner Navarro, C
Fernando Perez, RF
Jason Bartlett, SS

Andy Sonnanstine, SP

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Red Sox Lineup for Game 4 of the ALCS

Ellsbury is out, Drew leads off

J.D. Drew, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youklis, 3B
Jason Bay, LF
Mark Kotsay, 1B
Coco Crisp, CF
Kevin Cash, C
Jed Lowrie, SS

Tim Wakefield, SP

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The Hypnotizing Power of Craig Sager's Suit

The only thing that can break the spell is the soda guy hitting you in the face. Watch Below:

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