Last Minute Thoughts about Red Sox at Devil Rays, 10/19/08 (Rays Won 3-1)

(I've got to say, the Sporting News has a magazine that is as enjoyable to read as when I was a youngster trying to learn about the players and their game. Kudos to the staff of the Sporting News, your changes have made the magazine top notch in entertainment and information.)

In the September 29th, 2008, issue of the Sporting News, there's an article entitled Bang for the Buck. It compares what the Rays paid for their players and the Yankees paid for theirs.

I'm going over the figures- which mean absolutely nothing to me because they aren't: runs batted in (RBI) or home runs (HR) or runs (R) scored- and I'm thinking, yeh, the Rays got over but the Yankees have the "no gag" factor.

Then I remembered, hey, these were the first guys to blow a lead in the post-season to the Boston Red Sox. And they were up 3-0! The Rays were down 1-0, and could have easily been down 2-0, if not for the gutty win in Game 2. And yet, the Rays did go up 3-1. And there was the Indians last year.

So the numbers of bucks paid really doesn't matter if those players (in the words of Al Davis) 'Just win, baby!.'

I have no idea what to expect other than the Rays will have the test of their baseball lives.
Can they muster up enough confidence to not let what some fans might think is the end of a good run and just get down to the business of finishing what they started when they won 3-in-a-row?

This is a fantastic series and it just proves how streaky things can be. Both teams will have won 3 in a row if the Red Sox continue their remarkable surge onto the World Series.

(final: Tampa Bay-3 Boston-1.. WP-Matt Garza LP-Jon Lester)

(thanks Sporting News)

Kevin Marquez