Win Bigger Than It Looked

The Tampa Bay Rays 9-1 win over the Sox last night was bigger than it looked.

First, the Rays got back their home field advantage with that win. If the Sox want to win the pennant, they will have to do it at the Trop.

Second, it made the ostensible Red Sox ace, Jon Lester, look very human, not so intimidating.

Third, it gave the Rays back the confidence they've had all year. They are now in 'surge' mode.

On the other side of the coin,

It made the ostensible Red Sox ace, Jon Lester, look very human. Besides Jon, who else is there? Dice-K? He manages to get it done but not without a lot of drama. Beckett is clearly no longer the ace, and this starting rotation doesn't look so very strong any more.

Can we quit with the Ellsbury as lead-off batter experiment and put Crisp in there instead? Coco has been hitting, and he's quite fast. Ellsbury has left the building for some reason, along with a few other batters like the once-feared Big Papi.

Speaking of which, it would appear that David Ortiz only got to the place he did in hitting because Manny batted behind him. Take Manny out of the equation and apparently Ortiz is only a nominal hitter.

I predicted to a local radio show that if the Sox win the ALCS, it will be in seven games.

I also predicted that if the Rays win it, it will be in five games.

Everything is on track to come true.

On one good note: the Phillies are now one game away from getting into the World Series. They have a 3-1 lead in the NLCS. I am rooting for them to go all the way.

Unless the Red Sox make it in, of course.