RSS Feeds
 |
|
|||||||||||||
News » Breaking News
Article rated a 0
by 0
users |
Tampa Bay Rays' Carlos Pena, left, and Ben Zobrist celebrate after the Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 13-4 in Game 4 of the American League baseball championship series in Boston, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
~ADVERTISING~
Rays blast past Red Sox for 3-1 ALCS lead
By MIKE DiGIOVANNA, (c) 2008, Los Angeles Times
BOSTON -- Tampa Bay’s 13-4 manhandling of the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League championship series Tuesday night left Fenway Park’s famed Green Monster begging for mercy and Fox Network executives gnashing their teeth.
A Dodgers-Red Sox World Series would be a ratings bonanza for Fox, which would be so amped up about a Manny Ramirez-returns-to-Boston angle that it probably would try to rig the Dodgers left fielder with a Manny-cam.
A Tampa Bay-Philadelphia World Series? The on-field action would be compelling, but the story lines aren’t as sexy, the markets aren’t nearly as big and, with limited national interest, it probably wouldn’t be must-see TV.
The Rays don’t care. After crushing three home runs in three innings off knuckleball-throwing veteran Tim Wakefield in another blowout win, giving them a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, they had an emphatic two-word message for television executives: Wear it.
Doormats for a decade, winners of no more than 70 games in any of their first 10 seasons, the Rays, like the Phillies in the National League, are one win from reaching the World Series.
"It’s still hard to say those words right now," left fielder Carl Crawford said. "It’s one of those things you could never imagine, so those are words you don’t want to say just yet. We’re one step closer, but we’ve still got work to do."
Crawford did his share Tuesday night, tying an ALCS record with five hits -- two doubles, two singles and a triple -- and driving in two runs. Willy Aybar drove in five runs with a homer and three singles.
Carlos Pena drove a two-run homer and Evan Longoria homered over the 37-foot-high left-field wall in the first inning -- it was Longoria’s fifth homer of the playoffs, a rookie record -- and Aybar blasted a two-run shot to left in the third.
The Rays sent 10 men to the plate while peppering the Red Sox for five runs in the sixth inning, and right-hander Andy Sonnanstine gave up four runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings for Tampa Bay, which outscored Boston, 22-5, in Games 3 and 4.
"They’ve been killing the ball," Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said of the Rays. "Everybody in the lineup is raking; everyone is pretty much locked in. You don’t see that too often in the playoffs.
"You might see three or four guys hot, but everybody? It’s crazy."
It would be premature to write off the Red Sox, who came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Cleveland in last year’s ALCS and became the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit while beating the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
"We don’t want to talk about (the World Series) yet -- we’ve lost seven in a row before; it can happen in the blink of an eye," Longoria said. "The guys in here understand we can’t ride the high horse too long. It can turn in an instant. We’ve got to keep our minds right."
The challenge facing the Red Sox seems as daunting as the one in 2004.
The Rays look faster, stronger, healthier and far more athletic than the Red Sox, who lost third baseman Mike Lowell to a hip injury and have lost the postseason swagger they displayed while winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007 and beating the Angels in the division series this month.
Boston does have this going for it, though: Of the previous 15 teams that fell behind, 3-1, in the ALCS, only three have come back to win the series, the Red Sox in 2007, 2004 and 1986 against the Angels.
"We have experience coming back, so I guess you can have some kind of feel for what you’re supposed to do in these situations," Boston center fielder Coco Crisp said. "But at the same time, that was last year, and we’re not playing Cleveland."
A Dodgers-Red Sox World Series would be a ratings bonanza for Fox, which would be so amped up about a Manny Ramirez-returns-to-Boston angle that it probably would try to rig the Dodgers left fielder with a Manny-cam.
A Tampa Bay-Philadelphia World Series? The on-field action would be compelling, but the story lines aren’t as sexy, the markets aren’t nearly as big and, with limited national interest, it probably wouldn’t be must-see TV.
The Rays don’t care. After crushing three home runs in three innings off knuckleball-throwing veteran Tim Wakefield in another blowout win, giving them a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, they had an emphatic two-word message for television executives: Wear it.
Doormats for a decade, winners of no more than 70 games in any of their first 10 seasons, the Rays, like the Phillies in the National League, are one win from reaching the World Series.
"It’s still hard to say those words right now," left fielder Carl Crawford said. "It’s one of those things you could never imagine, so those are words you don’t want to say just yet. We’re one step closer, but we’ve still got work to do."
Crawford did his share Tuesday night, tying an ALCS record with five hits -- two doubles, two singles and a triple -- and driving in two runs. Willy Aybar drove in five runs with a homer and three singles.
Carlos Pena drove a two-run homer and Evan Longoria homered over the 37-foot-high left-field wall in the first inning -- it was Longoria’s fifth homer of the playoffs, a rookie record -- and Aybar blasted a two-run shot to left in the third.
The Rays sent 10 men to the plate while peppering the Red Sox for five runs in the sixth inning, and right-hander Andy Sonnanstine gave up four runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings for Tampa Bay, which outscored Boston, 22-5, in Games 3 and 4.
"They’ve been killing the ball," Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said of the Rays. "Everybody in the lineup is raking; everyone is pretty much locked in. You don’t see that too often in the playoffs.
"You might see three or four guys hot, but everybody? It’s crazy."
It would be premature to write off the Red Sox, who came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Cleveland in last year’s ALCS and became the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit while beating the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
"We don’t want to talk about (the World Series) yet -- we’ve lost seven in a row before; it can happen in the blink of an eye," Longoria said. "The guys in here understand we can’t ride the high horse too long. It can turn in an instant. We’ve got to keep our minds right."
The challenge facing the Red Sox seems as daunting as the one in 2004.
The Rays look faster, stronger, healthier and far more athletic than the Red Sox, who lost third baseman Mike Lowell to a hip injury and have lost the postseason swagger they displayed while winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007 and beating the Angels in the division series this month.
Boston does have this going for it, though: Of the previous 15 teams that fell behind, 3-1, in the ALCS, only three have come back to win the series, the Red Sox in 2007, 2004 and 1986 against the Angels.
"We have experience coming back, so I guess you can have some kind of feel for what you’re supposed to do in these situations," Boston center fielder Coco Crisp said. "But at the same time, that was last year, and we’re not playing Cleveland."
 |
 |
More Stories from News » Breaking News
Jurors find Damm eligible for the death penaltyParkersburg doctor's office honored for tornado effortsHikers find 6-foot high pot patch in SE Iowa1 dead, 5 hurt in SW Iowa car crashFairfield man charged with arson, attempted murderWoman pleads not guilty in western Iowa human trafficking caseHoward Dean to campaign at UNI Thursday for ObamaRays blast past Red Sox for 3-1 ALCS leadPublic health proposes smoking ban amendmentsUPDATE: Missing Fla. girl’s mom appears in court; no bond 
Postville man charged with forgeryBHC sheriff's candidate forum set for ThursdayFlorida man arrested for cheating at Riverside casinoDozens fill up in Wisconsin for 35 cents a gallon
Due to the amount of spam and negative comments received, the Courier implement a registered-user system for participation in the comment portion of our site. In doing so, the Courier reserves the right to ban any user(s) at any time without notice if we feel they are not following the terms of agreement.
DISCLAIMER: The Courier provides our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. For a more in-depth explanation of our policy, please see our Rules of the Road. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.
~ADVERTISEMENT~
NEWS |
SPORTS |
COMMUNITY |
BUSINESS |
ENTERTAINMENT |
FEATURES |
OPINIONS |
OBITUARIES |
CLASSIFIEDS |
PRIVACY POLICY |
CONTACT US |
CARRIER PAGES
|