SCOTT JACOBS

Pick up a phone, find Terry Francona’s number and put it on speed-dial. For the duration of this less then exciting World Series, the Rays should keep a pen and paper handy. Afterall, it’s Francona who’s teams have made a living, living on the edge, the brink of elimination. The Rays would know. Their 3 games to 1 lead barely held up in the ALCS, and now they’re the ones behind the eight ball.

Tampa Bay has overcome the odds all year, but the Rays finally look their age.

They look young, they look a little overwhelmed. One could argue their hitting looks a little lost. Call it great pitching, call it good hitting, but the Phils have been atrocious with runners in scoring position, yet they’re one win away from their first World Series championship in 28 years.

We’ve made no secret over the last few weeks of Philly’s title drought in the four major sports. Well, now they can practically taste it. The Rays, well, are getting a harsh welcome back to reality.

I thought the Rays could take their shocking AL championship, and ride that momentum all the way to a World Series title. But this time, they appear to have met their match. No shame in second best. Not to say that they’re done. O no, I won’t say that. I do though, think it’s about as close to done as done gets. Cole Hamels takes the mound in game five, and he’s 4-0 this post-season. I just don’t see this series getting back to St. Pete.

But the Rays have proven people wrong all year. So what’s a three game winning streak to end the year?

Probably too much to ask if you want honesty.

But what the hell, it ain’t over till it’s over, and the Phils have three chances to nail down a world title.

I think they’ll get it done tomorrow.

But Ive been wrong before.

SCOTT JACOBS

The Rays may be the comeback kids, but Brad Lidge is a totally different animal.

Lidge came out in the ninth, completely shut down Tampa Bay’s potent offense, and the Phillies walked out of game one with a road win, and a one to nothing series lead. That’s fifty saves in a row for Lidge, who was the acquisition of the offseason for the Phillies, who rolled the dice on a man people thought might be done.

Unless done means the opposition’s chances when Lidge takes the mound with a save on the line.

This was what the Houston Chronicle wrote when Lidge was traded last November:

“Lidge was an All-Star in 2005 and one of the most feared closers in baseball, but many say he has not been the same since he gave up a three-run homer to the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols in Game 5 of that year’s NLCS. The Astros were one out from reaching the World Series for the first time and didn’t clinch the pennant until winning Game 6 in St. Louis.”

It’s safe to say that Lidge looks just fine.

In the meantime, the Phils prevailed in one run fashion. The last time they did that in game one of the World Series: 1980. Also, the last time they won the World Series. The only time actually.

I thought the Rays would come roaring out of the gates, but I suppose that a letdown was also quite possible, considering the nail biting nature they won over Boston. Remember, they lost game one at home to the Red Sox too, so this team has shown they can come back. I highly doubt they’ll run off three in a row this time, but crazier things have happened.

Cole Hamels improved to 4-0 this post-season with another terrific start, and he is growing into a top of the line pitcher right before our eyes. Don’t get me wrong: his stuff was pretty filthy before, but he’s taken major leaps this post-season to becoming the pitcher that you want on the mound in your team’s biggest game.

So the Phillies, who’ve claimed one World Series in a tidy 125 years, are one win closer to making it two. The city of Philadelphia is starving for a championship, having failed to win a pro title in the big four sports in 25 years. Is this the year the Curse of William Penn ends?

Philadelphians certainly hope so.

SCOTT JACOBS

Okay, so they’re not going to Disneyworld. Well, not yet at least, but Tampa Bay is going to the World Series after holding off the pesky World Champion Red Sox in a thrilling game seven. It lived up to the billing, this game lived up the hype, and when it was said and done, the Red Sox had their heads down, and the Rays had their head doused. O what a series. What a night. What an amazing underdog story for the ages.

Bottom of the 7th
Willie Aybar crushes a towering home run off of John Lester, and the Rays extend their lead to 3-1. Aybar has scored two out of Tampa Bay’s three runs tonight. What an unlikely hero he has been.

Top of the 8th inning
Garza is cruising along when a routine ground ball skips off of Jason Bartlett’s wrist, and into the outfield. That’s it for Garza who was brilliant tonight, throwing 118 pitches and striking out nine. Truly the game of a lifetime for Garza, who was acquired in that incredible off-season trade for him and Bartlett. The Twins got Delmon Young. Safe to say that the Rays are happy right now with that trade. Garza allowed just two hits in his seven innings and was simply brilliant.

Man on first, no outs, you can feel the tension at the Trop.

Enter Dan Wheeler. Can he seal the deal? Here we go!

Coco Crisp quicky gets a base hit and now there’s two on with no outs. Do the Red Sox haveanother comeback in them? Because they’re going to need it. And how fitting that they have to overcome a 3-1 deficit, to finish off their unlikely 3-1 series comeback. Wheeler throws it into the dirt to Dustin Pedroia, who hit a home run in the first, Boston’s only run of the game to date, and the Red Sox are building something potentially big here.

1-1 count, and Pedroia pops out. Boy he just missed that one. Middle of the plate, just got under it. That’s all for Wheeler.

J.P. Howell will take the mound for the Rays. He comes in to face the struggling David Ortiz, who has really disappeared in this series with the exception of that game five homer. Ortiz hits the ball on the ground, and the Rays just get Crisp, who was trying to break up a potential double play, instead of trying to get into second. Tough break for Boston, and now there’s two outs.

Rays are now four outs from the World Series.

Crisp really should have gone for the bag there.

The Rays will bring in their fourth pitcher of the night, Chad Bradford. Bradford throws three straight balls to open the count, and after a few strikes, walks Kevin Youkilis. What a game so far. Boston has just three hits on the night, but a fourth one will tie this game up.

Bases loaded and the Rays are bringing in the rookie, David Price. What a gutsy call bringing in the rookie with the season on the line.

Price made his debut at Yankee Stadium on September 14th, surrendering just 3 hits and 2 runs in 5 plus innings against New York, but this is different. He can’t afford to allow anything here.

Price comes in and throws a strike to J.D. Drew. Crowd on their feet, an AL pennant hanging in the balance. Strike two. Price misse, ball one. The crowd is going to pee themselves in excitement if he gets Drew here. Price pitches, and strike three. He struck him out! What a pitch, a little low, but Drew couldn’t check his swing, and Price gets out of the jam.

Tampa Bay is three outs away from the World Series.

Bottom of the ninth
Tampa Bay was retired in order in the top of the ninth, and here we are: 3-1, three outs away from the most improbable AL champs in a very long time. Price will pitch the ninth folks. What an unbelievable story this kid has been. He went 12-1 in the minors, and now he’s on the big stage with the chance to deliver an AL pennant to Tampa Bay.

Do the Red Sox have one last miracle in them? Cause they’ll need it if they want to continue defending their championship.

Bay, Kotsay, and Varitez due up in the ninth.

And how fitting is it that the Price, Tampa Bay’s number one pick in 2007, gets the ball with the chance to send this young, historically awful franchise to the Fall Classic.

The count is full, and Price throws a ball. Bay is on quickly in the ninth. The Red Sox have a man on with no out, and the tying run steps to the plate. Price has to be a little nervous. He’s never had a save in his life, never-mind the chance to win a game seven.

Mark Kotsay steps to the plate, and he bunts? Kind of odd decision there. 2-2 count, and Price strikes him out! Outside corner what a pitch by the rookie. Two outs away from the World Series are the Tampa Bay Rays. A double play could end Boston’s title defense here.

Here comes Varitek, who has really struggled this post-season. Starts off 1-1. Fouls it off, 1-2 count. Price needs one more. Throws it high, 2-2. Red Sox really need baserunners here. Price delivers and he struck him out! Are you kidding me? This kid has ice in his veins. Price has struck out two since walking Bay.

Rays are one out away from the Fall Classic.

Aybar is going crazy in the dugout.

Up comes Jed Lowrie. Strike one. The Trop is going nuts right now. Cowbells banging like crazy, this atmosphere is awesome. Ground ball to second, Iwamura’s got it. Rays win, Rays win!

They’re going to the World Series.

9=AL Champs! The World Series is set. The slipper fits. The Rays are going to the World Series! What a performance from Price. Simply unbelievable inning and a third from this kid. Clutch as clutch can be.

Scott Kazmir was the winning pitcher in the All Star Game, that wild and whacky 15 inning thriller, and because of it, Tampa Bay will host the World Series. Not surprisingly Matt Garza is the ALCS MVP. 2-0 with a 1.38 E.R.A, what a series he had.

And inexplicably Garza curses “s*** I’ll take it.”

Eh, it’s TBS. We’ll let it slide.

But holy s*** the Rays are going to the Fall Classic.

There’s a new kingpin in the American League. And it’s no longer the Boston Red Sox.

What a game. What a series. What a night for baseball.

SCOTT JACOBS

Contact Disney, start sending them the scripts. This is officially a Hollywood story.

The Tampa Bay Rays knocked out the champs, and now they’re four wins away from being the champs.

Ten years of futility? Forgotten.

Ten years of misery? Gone.

The Tampa Bay Rays erased ten years of epically bad baseball in one season, and guess what folks: they’re still chugging.

Game one of the World Series opens Wednesday in Tampa Bay.

Phillies-Rays, and isn’t it fitting that Tampa Bay has to knock out another Philadelphia team en route to a championship? In 2002 they took out the Eagles in the NFC Championship game. In 2004 the Lightning knocked out the Flyers to win the NHL’s Eastern Conference. And now in 2008, Tampa Bay has a chance to triple the city of Brotherly Love’s misery.

But that’s another story for another day.

Tonight the story was the same story that has shocked baseball throughout 2008: The Rays rise to prominence.

And ya know what? We shouldn’t be shocked by anything this team does any more.

SCOTT JACOBS

The thrill of victory. The agony of blowing a seven run lead. Tampa Bay was so close.

Up 7-0 in the top of the seventh, just nine outs away from the most improbable turnaround in recent sports history, the Rays instead watched their inevitable World Series berth become history.

In what felt like a blink of the eye.

7-0. In football, that lead is nothing, but in baseball it’s a brutal blow to a team too young and stupid to know what they’ve got themselves into. But now, its real. “Like it or not that baby’s coming,” said Paul Rudd in Knocked Up. Well, Tampa Bay, like it or not the Red Sox have awoken, and it’s going to take one heck of an effort to once and for all slay the comeback machine that has become the Red Sox.

Scott Kazmir was brilliant, hurling six innings of two hit ball, but it was the Rays bullpen that blew it. Grant Balfour gave up four runs on four hits in just two thirds of an inning. Then Dan Wheeler, who did not have his stuff tonight, gave up three hits and three runs in an inning and a third, the dagger coming with Coco Crisp’s base hit with two out in the seventh and a man on second. And just like that, Tampa Bay’s lead was gone.

The Rays, who I expected to fold up like a lawn chair, and fall apart, put men on first and second in the ninth, but with one out the Rays grounded into a devastating double play, and you could feel the swing to the Red Sox like a 120 mph wind.

So now, it’s onto game six.

How in the world does Tampa Bay bounce back from this one? Do they brush it off, and move on in “30 minutes” as manager Joe Maddon said? Or does this become an epic back breaker, the type of loss that creates a snowball effect, which could lead to another improbable comeback? Only time will tell of course, but this is what great teams are made of.

The Red Sox are now two wins closer to pulling off another stunner. The Rays are one win away from putting this scare on the backburner, and moving on to host the Phillies in the World Series. They’re also potentially 18 innings from becoming victim number three in Boston’s onslaughts of coming back from 3-1 or worse deficits in this decade.

I liken it to the classic Sonic games. You get to the second to last level, you have three lives left, and today you lost one of those lives. But you still have two shots left. The big bad Phillies await if you can make it. There are no continues. You’ve made it this far, now you’ve got two more chances to seal the deal, otherwise it’s back to the start.

The Rays have gone too far to blow it now.

This fairytale adventure just had to end at home didn’t it? Well, now it will. One way or the other, the fate of the Tampa Bay Rays will be determined in St. Pete.  It’s only fitting that it come down to this.

Super Bowl

SCOTT JACOBS 

It’s the second largest comeback in baseball playoff history, and it comes from the team that just refuses to die! The Boston Red Sox, king of the comeback, have done it again.  Down three games to one, everyone writing them off, the Red Sox not only pushed their way towards another improbable comeback, they came back from the jaws of elimination to prolong a series that back in the top of the seventh inning looked over.

You just can’t make this stuff up.  Down 7-0 in the seventh inning, the Red Sox clawed back to score 4 runs in the 7th, 3 in the 8th, and 1 in the ninth to absolutley shock the Rays.  Now the series stunningly shifts to Tampa Bay, where all the pressure in the world will be on the Rays.  Josh Beckett gets the start against James Shields on Saturday night, and the Red Sox will have a chance to pull another rabbit out of their playoff hats.

Unbelievable.

That Phillies-Rays World Series all of a sudden isn’t a given.  Instead, it will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay responds coming back to the Trop, with a second chance to close things out.  This is the type of loss that could shatter a team’s confidence.  The Rays had two outs in the bottom of the ninth, tied 7-7, when Evan Longoria made a beautiful play only to throw the ball away, and the Sox never locked back.

How can you count out Boston now?  The answer: not sure you can.

Boston’s alive and kicking.  The Rays, are kicking and screaming!

SCOTT JACOBS

You can’t help but wonder what is in the water in Florida. Or what they’re feeding these guys in Florida. Or something, anything at all, to explain the state that just refuses to lose. We’re talking about Florida. The same state that decided the 2000 election, is also the same state that just refuses to lose when October comes around. What am I talking about? Well, after Tampa Bay won today, the Sunshine State improved to 27-13 in the playoffs, and a perfect (make that sterling) seven for seven in playoff series.

The Marlins won the World Series in both 1997 and 2003, and have made the playoffs twice since their inception in 1993. They’ve had just five winning seasons, and every time they break 90 wins, they win the Wild Card and take home the World Series. Tampa Bay’s story is just as amazing. Sure, they haven’t won anything — yet– besides a huge fanbase cheering on the underdogs, but after nine years in the basement and one year in fourth, this year’s first place Rays are two wins away from the Fall Classic, and six away from another Sunshine State post-season romp.

The moral here: it’s a bad idea to bet against Florida. You don’t mess with Florida. The Marlins were underdogs in every series they played, and they won ‘em all. The Rays were given some chance to beat the Red Sox, but most people weren’t going to go against the defending champs. Well, how about now?

And it would be a shame to forget about Philadelphia’s stunning come from behind win over the Dodgers on Monday. With their 7-5 win, the Phils took a commanding 3-1 series lead in this best of seven NLCS, and took one step closer to advancing to their first World Series since 1993. But this is bigger then just the pennant. The Phillies are closing in on a chance to end a long string of Liberty Bell sports infamy, 25 years without a NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL championship.

And wouldn’t it be ironic? The Phillies have been around for 125 years, and have one World title. The Rays, in their eleventh season of play, are six wins away from tying them.

There’s a lot of baseball left to play, but it looks like that Dodgers-Red Sox series that so many of you predicted last week, is growing more unlikely by the day.

Rays win wild game two 9-8 in 11 crazy innings to tie their ALCS with Boston 1-1

SCOTT JACOBS

Fans were sleeping. Heads were slouched, yawns aplenty. On the surface, this didn’t look like the closing moments of a crucial game two. It looked more like the 2008 All Star Game, that kept going and going… and going. And what a marathon this game two was.

It took five hours and twenty seven minutes to finish this dandy. And when it was over, after pinch runner Fernando Perez slid safely into home on a shallow right field popup in the bottom of the eleventh with the bases loaded and an 0-2 count on B.J. Upton the Rays found themselves back in this thing. After the 400 plus pitches were thrown, the Rays found this roller-coaster ride of a season alive and thrillingly well. 1-1 going back to Boston. It’s a split Tampa Bay will gladly take.

So, instead of staring at a devastating 2-0 series deficit and the prospects of losing the first two at home, heading back to Boston for three, the Rays had to win this game. Nine runs later they did.

This one had it all. Seven home runs tied a post-season record. And that was with Scott Kazmir and Josh Beckett pitching. Twenty four hits. A brilliant three and a third scoreless relief appearance from the Rays Dan Wheeler. And lest we forget the rookie David Price stepping in during the 11th inning with one out and one on, and getting out of the inning unscathed.

The Red Sox weren’t as fortunate. Mike Timlin who had last pitched September 28th took the loss in his 45th post-season appearance. Maybe he just wanted some sleep! It was 1:35 a.m. when the Rays got the game winning run home.

David Ortiz has really struggled in this post-season without Manny Ramirez. Ortiz is just 4-23 in these 2008 playoffs.

It looked like the Rays had control in the 8th inning leading 8-7, but a wild pitch allowed Dustin Pedroia to score. And on and on we went into the wee hours of the night and into the morning.

Rays 9 Red Sox 8.

We’ve got a series folks.

This one’s got a long way to go.

LA-Philly should be a fun series, but the proof is in the pudding that Red Sox-Rays should be an instant classic

SCOTT JACOBS

The ALCS is set! Boston-Tampa Bay. It should be one heck of a brawl. The two AL East rivals, who finished one and 32 last year respectively, are playing for a trip to the World Series. It’s an unbelievable contrast in what should be an unforgettable series. How fitting that the Rays, playing in their first ALCS, will have to dethrone the world champion and their bitter rival Boston to make the Fall Classic. And how fitting that the Red Sox will have to get through the upstart Rays, who will be the home team in this series, to defend their world championship. O boy this one should be fun. On Friday they quick start this baby at 8pm on TBS, and it should be a dandy.

The Red Sox are back in the ALCS for the fourth time since 2003. But this one was really tough. They fought off a game Angels team to claw their way to a series win, and a berth in an ALCS that few wrote them off after the much disputed Manny Ramirez trade.

How fitting that Jason Bay, the man Boston got back to take Manny’s place, scored the winning run. How fitting that the Angels could have taken the lead in the top half of the 9th but failed on a squeeze bunt and the runner on third got thrown out. It was afterall the Angels undoing, and the ultimate reason that the best team in baseball in 2008 is no longer in contention for a championship.

So it’s Red Sox-Rays from St. Pete. C’mon, should it really have been any other way? An all AL East clash for a trip to the World Series. And because the AL won that marathon of an All Star game, the team that wins this series will host the World Series. It will either be Boston, looking to go back to back, or Tampa Bay, hosting their first World Series.

And as I wrote earlier, no Florida team has ever lost a post-season series. Hmm… are you ready? Because I can’t wait!

And TV execs have to be jumping up and down. Yes, they lost the Cubs, but the Dodgers and Phillies will both draw huge, and the Red Sox are a ratings machine. Could you imagine a Dodgers-Red Sox Fall Classic? Doesn’t seem so far fetched now does it? Then again, it no longer seems to crazy that the Rays are four wins away from the World Series.

Wow. Just wow.

SCOTT JACOBS

Goodbye laughingstock, hello final four.

If there was ever a doubt that the Tampa Bay Rays were for real, even as we entered the post-season, those doubts have been put to bed. If there was ever a wonder if these baby Rays could hang with the big dogs, those questions were put to rest. If anyone thought this team was a mirage, guess what? They’re still here. The Tampa Bay Rays once upon a time were the team that could only dream of playing post-season baseball. Now, they’re one Red Sox win away from hosting the ALCS.

After an impressive, scrappy series win over the home run happy White Sox, the Rays proved once and for all that they’re for real. And they’ve got another huge thing going for them. They’re from Florida. Once just a crazy efficient stat, there’s now something to this whole Florida teams in the playoffs thing.

Seven for seven.

Florida teams don’t lose in the post-season.

The Marlins christened both of their trips to the postseason with World Series titles, and the Rays look like they may be on their way to keeping that crazy string of Sunshine State success going.

Something in the water or something. Kind of astonishing if you think about it. No state, no pair of franchises has been more successful percentage wise in winning post-season series. Okay, so the Rays are still drinking from the sipee cup considering this is their first go around, but whatever they’re feeding those guys keep it up.

O and there’s this: maybe the Rays are just really good, and that their 97 wins were the true story. They survived a tough AL East to secure the second best record in the AL, and now their young guns are psyching themselves up for the ALCS. 9=’d 8, but today, 9=4, and maybe, just maybe, it equals 1.

Windy Worst Nightmare

And just like that Chicago is wiped right out of the playoffs. The Cubs bowed out quietly to the Dodgers on Saturday in their second consecutive sweep to the NL West winner. The White Sox at least got a win before being punched out by Tampa today. And just like that the dream is dead. South Side. North Side. How about no side? With both teams already out there will be no Chicago party this year. There is however still the possibility of an LA-LAA Fall Classic. When Juiced Sports went to press the Angels had just started game four of their series with the Red Sox.

How about a Dodgers-Phillies NLCS? Well, we’ve got it. The Dodgers hadn’t won a post-season series since 1988, and the Phillies hadn’t done anything in October since 1993, so the NLCS presents a matchup of two playoff success starved teams and it should be a good one. As you may know Philly’s sports teams haven’t won a championship (sorry Arena League doesn’t count) since 1983, a curse commonly known around the city of Brotherly Love as the Curse of William Penn. They haven’t been to the Fall Classic since Joe Carter belted them right into elimination and history in 1993. The Dodgers haven’t been to the Fall Classic in 20 years. Someone’s going to get back there in 2008.

And a Rays-Red Sox ALCS would be bon apetit. It’s about time the Yanks-Sox rivalry takes a back seat. What better matchup then the new rivalry growing between the Sox and Rays. And just sort of a funny fact: if the Red Sox advance to the ALCS, the Rays will have to beat both Sox to make it to the World Series.

Sock it to ‘em Tampa Bay! Beat Sox=Fall Classic? Could be a catchy t-shirt Joe Maddon.