J Rose
Boston-based opinion will all the subtlety of a sledgehammer

It’s the eve of the biggest series in the history of Tropicana Field and the whole town is, well, basically going crazy for the Rays.

Except for the approximately 1 billion transplanted New Englanders who live here, myself included.

For us exPats we’re caught in the crossfire, torn between our loyalty to the team we grew up loving and the region we’ve adopted as our new home.

Not that we’re rooting for the Rays, who just recaptured first place in the AL East on Sunday when they won a 4-3 decision over the putrid Pirates and the Sox dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the lowly ‘Stros.

But for the first time in over a decade us Boston transplants are feeling like the minority in our new home, and this series that starts Monday night could be the first one ever in which the home team’s fans outnumber those wearing the red, white and blue of the defending champion Red Sox

Don’t get me wrong I’m not looking for symapthy or wishing there weren’t any Rays fans at the games, but even the most diehard longtime “D” Rays fans (yes, there are some) will admit that it’s going to be pretty strange to see the loyalties at the teflon Trop divided down the middle.

After all Tampa Bay has earned the right to be proud of its team after wallowing in 10+ years of less-than-mediocre baseball only to suddenly have a bona fide division challenger in its backyard.

Even if most residents don’t want to think of South St. Pete as “their back yard.”

Making matters all the more interesting will be the reverberations of the beanbrawl that took place at Fenway a few weeks ago, the latest in a long line of dustups and brouhahas between these two division opponents.

In that series Sox center fielder Coco Crisp took offense to an objectionable tag by Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett, but instead of taking his frustrations out on Bartlett Crisp used his next time on base to retaliate on second baseman Akinori Iwamura’s package.

The next day Tampa Bay starter James Shields did what everyone who has ever watched baseball knew he would do - plunked Crisp on the leg - but instead of taking his base Crisp charged the mound, inciting an MMA-style event on the field.

Eight players were suspended for their roles in the Raysbrawl, including Crisp who will miss this series as he sits out his five game penalty, so we won’t be treated to Crisp/Shields II when the Rays righthander opens the series Monday night.

But either way the stakes are high and the tensions will be too in what should be a knock down, drag out three games to see which team is the beast of the East.

And then Boston will go on to play its real rival, the hated Stankees.

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