October 16, 2008

ALCS 5: Red Sox 8, Rays 7

Rays    - 203 000 200 - 7  8  1
Red Sox - 000 000 431 - 8 11 0
ALIVE!


Tampa Bay was seven outs away from the American League pennant -- and the Red Sox were down by seven runs.

The Rays recorded only six of those outs -- and the Red Sox scored eight times to complete the greatest comeback by any team facing elimination and the second biggest comeback in post-season/World Series history and send this ALCS back to Florida.

David Ortiz's three-run dong to right in the seventh was a big blow -- cutting the lead from 7-1 to 7-4 -- but it was J.D. Drew who was the hero. After Jason Bay walked on four pitches to start the eighth inning, Drew clubbed a two-run shot to right off J.P. Howell to bring Boston to within 7-6. With two outs, Mark Kotsay doubled off B.J. Upton's glove in deep left-center and Coco Crisp capped off a 10-pitch at-bat with a line drive single to right. Gabe Gross's throw did not make the infield on the fly and Kotsay scored the tying run.


With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Kevin Youkilis reached second base on a throwing error by Evan Longoria. Jason Bay was walked intentionally. Drew then lined a 3-1 pitch over Gross's head in right field and Yook scored the game-winning run.



***

Lineups:
Crisp, CF        Iwamura, 2B
Pedroia, 2B Upton, CF
Ortiz, DH Pena, 1B
Youkilis, 3B Longoria, 3B
Bay, LF Crawford, LF
Drew, RF Floyd, DH
Lowrie, SS Navarro, C
Varitek, C Gross, RF
Kotsay, 1B Bartlett, SS
***

BR Preview: Scott Kazmir / Daisuke Matsuzaka

Fact: Tampa Bay is three games away from elimination. The Rays have been conducting a Totally Kicking Ass 101 seminar since last Saturday, but the real ALCS begins tonight. Fenway Park will be rocking. We will make our own destination.

Joe Maddon has altered his pitching rotation, not to go for the kill in Game 5, but to set his team up for a better Game 6 matchup. Big mistake, Joe. Big. Tito the Assassin knows that when you have your target lined up in your sights, you fucking fire. You don't stop and check if your shoelaces are tied.


Choosing Kazmir over Shields has left the ALCS door a bit more open than it was 24 hours ago - and the Large Father & Co. are gonna barge in and make themselves at home. Backs to the wall -- win or go home -- "got to make it interesting" -- this is what we do -- and this is when we do it -- because "If you wear a Red Sox uniform jersey, you're a bad motherfucker."

Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now
Bob Dylan - "Mississippi"


***

It worked in 2004. It worked in 2007. It'll work in 2008.
One. One game. One win. That's all.

Not three, not two.

One.

Tonight.
***

Matsuzaka, October 21, 2007:
I don't know if the term "switched on" is the right term or the right way to describe, but I am all on for [tonight].

907 comments:

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laura k said...

The light switch makes an appearance! Always a good sign.

See you all tonight in our winning game thread!

allan said...

SoSH is also fired up.

BosoxBob:
"The Rays really don't know what they've gotten themselves into. ... And when they come out to take the field in game 6, with the Rays fans cheering like crazy and ringing their cowbells, they'll feel pretty good. That is, until they get a good look at the Red Sox players. When they see that to a man, the Sox are unfazed by the noise or the pressure of the situation, that voice in the back of their heads will be screaming louder than all those fans. That's when they'll find out what playoff baseball is really about. And that's when they'll find out what the Sox are made of.

allan said...

October 16 has been quite unkind to the Red Sox in recent years, but not today. Tonight we romp like it's 1999.

Rob said...

Fucking right!

(Happy birthday too!) ALCS Game 1 begins tonight!

tim said...

Tonight's the night.

A Conformer said...

Tonight's the night.

Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.Tonight's the night.

(I wonder if anyone will get the reference)

Joe Grav said...

Do you believe in not-really-miracles?

Matt said...

I was listening to that Dylan song this morning.

allan said...

I listened to Love & Theft while cleaning the house yesterday!

...

Winning Team's Lineup:

Coco Crisp, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Jason Bay, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Jason Varitek, C
Mark Kotsay, 1B

allan said...

SoSock Car Fund Update:

$101 left to go!!!!!

:>)

9casey said...

Happy Birthday Old Man....

laura k said...

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!

We passed $3301! Donations still being accepted until the deadline. :)

Patrick said...

Where's Nixion? As he said so smartly:

Let's fuck these motherfuckers.


I'm ready.

allan said...

Losing Team

Iwamura, 2B
Upton, CF
Pena, 1B
Longoria, 3B
Crawford, LF
Floyd, DH
Navarro, C
Gross, RF
Bartlett, SS

allan said...

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!

We passed $3301! Donations still being accepted until the deadline. :)


WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Sarah Haendler said...

I'll miss you guys on the game thread tonight, but I think having the laptop out at the bar at Thom's is a bad plan. I'll see you for game six!

Sarah Haendler said...

We passed $3301!

BRILLIANT!

laura k said...

Have fun Sarah! See you in Game 6.

Rob said...

CHB on NESN, saying it's kind of weird there was a small fire on the Citgo sign when all of this bad stuff happening, this icon of Red Sox Nation catches on fire... Could be an omen.

I smell a book deal.

Joe Grav said...

yay for the sosock fund!

fuck shaughnessy

and hooray for friends. a lot of people have helped me out in the past few days, but you guys were some of the first. :) ty

GO SOX!

Rob said...

Manny, on being a free agent.

"I want to see how's the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I."

Mmmmmmmmm cookies.

laura k said...

and hooray for friends.

Fuckin A. Ask and you receive.

Zenslinger said...

I smell a win tonight.

But I can't watch the game. I'll check in during my students' midterm and be sure there will still be baseball going on this weekend.

It's been tough getting our asses handed to us. We've been here before, of course. I can't say for sure we can do it three times in a row (down 3-1 in the ALCS), but I do know this: all the talk of how bad we look is just that. If we can look good tonight, then -- wow! -- writers will be writing about how we don't look so bad.

So we'll see. Win tonight, and go back to Tampa with our dicks hanging out and see if we can do it. Again.

Amy said...

Hi, all. I am ready to hope for the best here. After all, the car fund reached its goal, Allan turned 45---the mojo for today seems to be positive vibes.

There were two articles in the Times today about the Sox that pissed me off...one about Tek, one about Manny. I will find the links and post them, if anyone is interested.

allan said...

tbs talking about dice: "and that's why they call him the 'magic man'".

have you EVER heard him called that?

... and i see G38 is wearing his "Why Not Us?" shirt.

laura k said...

Sad to say, the Allan Bday mojo is very bad. But that's when we say we don't believe in any of that...

Amy said...

Here is the Tek article.

And here is the Manny article.

Hope these links work. You may need to subscribe to get to the articles.

allan said...

If they pissed you off, I'm not sure I want to see them.

Amy said...

Yeah, but Allan wasn't turning 45 then, only 40. This is a whole new year, new mojo.

Joe Grav said...

Rally Amalie?

I have to go to work at 8, but I'll be able to see the game. I'll be watching with y'all in spirit.

Amy said...

Well, the Tek one made me sad more than angry.

Actually, just realized the link is to the wrong Manny article. Let me see if I can find the one I meant. It also made me sad---about how we are missing him on the Sox.

allan said...

The Red Sox did quite well when I turned 36 ("WHERE IS RAHH-GER? IN THE SHOWER!!")

After that, years 40, 41 and 44 have not been fun -- though the later two did eventually turn out alright!

Patrick said...

Just like we have to put faith in Beckett for game six, we have to put faith in Ortiz in the 3 slot.

Moving either of them would be scary.

Amy said...

Here is the right Manny article.

allan said...

No room for error on this birthday, though.

Win.

laura k said...

The Allan bday mojo has been bad several times. 40 was surely the worst (ever), but there were others.

Patrick said...

I've been sticking with mlb audio all year (when I've been home), but tonight I might have to dole out the dough for the video.


This is EPIC!

Joe Grav said...

oh happy birthday. i'm a total dipstick and didn't even figure it out until the last few minutes. haha

Rob said...

FUCK IT! WE'LL DO IT LIVE!!!

allan said...

We won three games in a row 27 separate times during the regular season (counting WWWW as two separate three-game winning streaks).

Amy said...

Hey, Joe. How's it going? And Patrick, are you still out west? When do you return?

Rob said...

This is where you Chip, get the MUTE.

Rob said...

No more TBS clowns. Fuck that shit.

allan said...

MUTE is the way

Though hearing Jon Miller go on about JUG runs for the 3rd straight game will make me scream.

A Conformer said...

Let's do this!

And Allan, happy birthday

Rob said...

And hearing Dale Arnold's choppy play by play, sounding about as bad as hearing a jack hammer, will probably make me scream. But fuck it!

Rob said...

Curt Schilling is throwing the first pitch!

laura k said...

Ish, good idea. Just reading everyone seething and groaning on the game thread was tough! Radio is the way to go. Jug runs and all.

Rob said...

Haha, he bounced the throw, one hopper and got a boo from the crowd.

A Conformer said...

What's a jug run?

Rob said...

And that was his fastball! First rehab stint: Failure.

allan said...

Thanks for the b-day wishes, everybody!

Time for Dice to flick that switch.

ON

laura k said...

FUCK IT! WE'LL DO IT LIVE!!!

Right! No mojo, no history, just right here and now. Win. Tonight.

Patrick said...

Been back two days, Amy. Nice to see the foliage.

laura k said...

"jug run" = jon miller's stupid expression for tack-on or insurance run. some manager gave it to him. it's from "going for the jugular".

hilarious, eh?

efd said...

ALRIGHT YOU FUCKERS, THIS IS IT!!! TIME TO DEFEND THAT FUCKING CHAMPIONSHIP AND SEND THESE ASSCLOWNS BACK TO FUCKING FLORIDA WITH FEAR UNCERTAINTY AND DOUBT SWIMMING IN THEIR TINY LITTLE HEADS!!!!!!!

allan said...

I like the line, but right-wing TV host mojo?

Rob said...

I haven't been this pumped up about a game since the playoffs began.

Patrick said...

When people say Jug, I think of at least two other things before jugular. That is if my mind ever does associate jug with jugular.

allan said...

it's joe maddon's line. that's why miller has been jabbering on about it.

efd said...

weird, I didn't realize Nix even knew where I lived, let alone had a key to my house.

Happy Birthday, Allan! Go Sox!!!!

(and here's more motivation for me to root for the Red Sox, not that I needed any: I was able to buy tickets to Game 3 of the World Series in Philadelphia! I'd sure as hell rather see the Red Sox in their away uniforms than the Rays!)

Rob said...

I like the line, but right-wing TV host mojo?

We need as much right wing firepower as we can get, right? VICTORY!!!!!!!

Of course, that would also mean this game will go 28 innings. So... arrive at your own conclusions.

And make your own destination!

allan said...

Also time to pummel Small Game Scott -- yet again.

Rob said...

We don't fuss with jugulars. We go right for the scrotum.

Patrick said...

I don't know if I've ever been this pumped for a baseball game. I did miss the 04 season, and I never doubted the 07 red sox for a second.

allan said...

oh - also using a brand new scoring pen tonight.

no runs left in that old one.

laura k said...

Oh shit, I didn't even realize that was an OReilly line. I take it back.

Let's just do it. Now.

Rob said...

Time to show these Rays who's the fucking boss. Bossman Dice-K.

laura k said...

I hope Nix is ok. I will email him.

Rob said...

Right on, Dice! Set the tone! Ball One!

Amy said...

Welcome home, Patrick. Good to you have you back here!

Patrick said...

And woe betide the male assailant! According to folklore (and backed up by some circumstantial evidence), the Ratel goes for the scrotum when it attacks large animals (bull Buffalo, Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Kudu, Man) that offered real or imagined provocation. In the Kruger Park, adult male Buffalo, Gnu and Waterbuck have been found dead from loss of blood after ratels attacked them in the scrotum.

Amy said...

Yeah, Laura, I was just thinking that myself---it's just not like him not to be here cursing. I am worried about him and his cat.

EFD, nice Nix impersonation, but we need the real thing!

efd said...

I hope Nix is ok. I will email him.

uh-oh, did I put my foot in my mouth with that attempt at humor? I haven't been able to keep up with the game threads for the games I wasn't here for.

A Conformer said...

I hate fucking Iwamura.

laura k said...

Efd, no, it's fine, it just reminded me to check in w/ him. His cat was critically ill, and that's the last we heard.

Amy said...

Patrick is back! What the hell was that from?

Leadoff single. Eh.

Rob said...

Formula pitching, Dice. Get a DP here.

laura k said...

oh no

Rob said...

Not fucking cool, Dice.

Patrick said...

That was a paragraph on the Honey Badger. Ish reminded me of them...

Amy said...

FUCK. Not good, guys, not good. :(

Rob said...

The ol' Rally Killer!

Patrick said...

Jesus Eff

laura k said...

Speaking of "what was that", Ofer, what was your "tonight's the night" reference? Allan guessed Neil Young, but I don't think that's what you were going for.

A Conformer said...

Great fucking start

allan said...

NIX IS ON HIS WAY TO BOSTON TO INSERT A LARGE GARDEN GNOME INTO DICE.

A Conformer said...

Oh,no, the tonight's the night thing is from a movie- Rules of Attraction. Very funny dark comedy.

efd said...

well that's a hell of a start.

I hope Nix's cat is OK, I'm sorry to hear that news.

OK, two more outs and then we get those two runs back.

laura k said...

Oh we saw that. But of course your reference went - whoosh...

Patrick said...

Rays radio announcers jizzing over Dice's strikeout pitch just then "That was like vintage Greg Maddux"

laura k said...

Miller/Morgan said Maddux-like too.

A Conformer said...

Oh we saw that. But of course your reference went - whoosh...

It's the last mystery letter she sent him- tonight's the night repeated tens of times.

allan said...

miller also mentioned maddux. ????

shit tons of pitchers do that.

laura k said...

OK, no problem, here we go, get those runs right back.

RUNS PLEASE!!

Patrick said...

LET THE FUCKER FUCKING BEGIN!

allan said...

dice will settle and red dot will not be able to make 2 runs stand up.

start it up, funix

Amy said...

Let's not waste time getting back those two runs. No time to fool around now.

A Conformer said...

Daisuke just needed those two runs to REALLY feel like his back's against the wall. After that, he started trying.

A Conformer said...

I am constantly amazed at how Mastercard has been using the exact same gimick in their commercials for more than 15 years.

Patrick said...

Please use this guy for BP. Please knock him around.

allan said...

fastball missing -- BB

Patrick said...

David Price warming up already. They expect he'll be needed.

laura k said...

CRISPY WALK! Here we go!

Amy said...

OK, leadoff man ON!

laura k said...

Ofer, we say that all the time re Mastercard. I can't believe they are still milking that! Even worse, fans still using it in home-made signs.

Amy said...

FY has smile on his face.

Patrick said...

Red dot? LASER BEAM!!!

A Conformer said...

David Price warming up already. They expect he'll be needed.

Seriously?

allan said...

with his #15, fy has the spirit of cabin with him

Amy said...

My heart skipped a beat there.

laura k said...

Morgan just called Kazmir "cashmere".

Amy said...

At least no DP for DP.

WE NEED A HOT PAPI.

Rob said...

A lot of people seem to be calling him cashmere.

Patrick said...

Price warming up, as in doing stretches. Not throwing.

A Conformer said...

Did Buck just say that "Coco Crisp was jacking off at second base"?

Amy said...

Harumphh.

allan said...

maddon knows he needs his pen asap - it's a do or die game for him

Rob said...

Papi was hacking. Take a pitch, dood.

Patrick said...

sigh...

Rob said...

Youk-BB!

laura k said...

yeah! two on for doung boy!

allan said...

be like manny, bay.

Rob said...

That makes 3/4 of the lineup so far making Red Dot work...

laura k said...

do.

not.

waste.

this.

efd said...

come on, Jason, Allan needs a birthday present.

Amy said...

Shit.

laura k said...

squander

Benjamin said...

Squander.

Rob said...

21 pitches... 9 strikes.

Amy said...

Kazmir not looking sharp--the good news.

Bad news--a wasted opportunity.

efd said...

they're softening him up for the next inning.

laura k said...

The good news is better than the bad news is bad. If he's not sharp, we'll create other opportunities.

thatdietcokegirl said...

*sings* we're gonna scor-ore-ore tonight! Little Grease 2 love, sorry.

And I like the light switch too. It's so on. Early 2-0 lead = false hope for the rays. Ahaha.

Amy said...

My thoughts also. At least we made him throw a lot of pitches.

Amy said...

Hey, TDCG, where have you been hiding? Still playing Wiii or whatever it is?

Patrick said...

She's been lost to World of Warcrack like so many others.

Amy said...

NICE!!

A Conformer said...

Good reflexes!

Rob said...

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

laura k said...

Lost my connection there for a while. Not good to focus too much on Joe Morgan.

Amy said...

World of Warcrack. Hmm, something else for me to Google when I have time.

Amy said...

TBS announcers actually saying good things about DiceK.

Rob said...

95 mph!

laura k said...

hey diet coke :)

Amy said...

On line role playing games. Always wondered what the attraction was, having never played one. I had a student who wrote a paper on the copyright implications, and he sort of explained it to me a bit.

Rob said...

The count remains full on Gross.

Say that out loud. Get a chuckle.

Patrick said...

DICE-K! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?! STOP THAT!

efd said...

Say that out loud. Get a chuckle.

hey, it worked!

laura k said...

all games are addictive

all online things are addictive

that's why i will never ever try one of those games. i would never write another word again.

Rob said...

Thank goodness for the off-day tomorrow.

A Conformer said...

OK, let's conquer fucking Kashmir.

Rob said...

ON FIRE, Jedi, and Mr. Heidi due up.

laura k said...

Two quick dongs to tie would be nice.

A Conformer said...

I'm thinking: elimination game? If Daisuke pitches well but inefficient, we could see a high pitch count today. Did you know he once threw 250 pitches in a game in high school?

allan said...

morgan says manny should have been nlcs mvp -- hamels pitched great "but he always had a lead, so he was never tested"

good god, that man is dumb

allan said...

Did you know he once threw 250 pitches in a game in high school?

And it was a five-inning outing!!!

Rob said...

I've quit on the radio... Got music on now. Of course, I'm kind of nursing some body issues right now. Doesn't help to hear people talk.

My sources tell me J.D. Drew touched the Citgo sign yesterday.

laura k said...

That was all you heard about Dice for a while.

allan said...

HOW'S THE NO-HITTER DOING, SCOTT???

laura k said...

Manny had a hell of a series, tho.

thatdietcokegirl said...

Two quick dongs to tie would be nice.

Seriously.
Hey Red Sox, you can do that back to them ya know. You know that right?

ps. All games are addictive yeah. But I think if you have an addictive personality to start with, that's the only real red flag. WoW can be all crazy at first, but then you settle down into a casual rhythm. At least I did. And I find it really fun :) I don't care if I'm not a pvp queen. I don't care if I'm not all epic'ed out. I just have fun with a few friends/guildmates and that's it.

pps. Happy Birthday redsock :)

Rob said...

Manny had a hell of a series, tho.

Hell yeah he did. Showed you how much just one guy can't carry an entire team. He never batted with men on last night.

Amy said...

I play on line scrabble. Fun, but not too addictive since it moves only as fast as the person you are playing.

OTOH, I used to be addicted to Ms PacMan. Would waste too many quarters playing after work!

A Conformer said...

The speed gun seems to be exaggerating: both Matsuzaka and Kazmir touching 95-96...

laura k said...

But I think if you have an addictive personality to start with, that's the only real red flag.

Yup. That's why I can't even try it. I can't even stay away from stupid little games on my cell phone.

Amy said...

Read the Manny article I linked to above...

Rob said...

I'm addicted to baseball sometimes. Especially when it's about to wind down in the fall.

Rob said...

FIRE 'EM UP!

laura k said...

Tek HBP. Works for me! Looks like he's got plenty of padding there.

Rob said...

That's probably the best place to get hit by a pitch. Right on the left ass cheek.

Rob said...

Glancing blow, too.

A Conformer said...

Heidi will have some massaging to do tonight.

allan said...

MAKE HIM PAY
MARK KOT SAY

Rob said...

Coco with 2 on. DO IT.

allan said...

GODDAMN IT COCO, YOU BETTER FUCKING DELIVER, YOU FUCKING HEAR ME???????????

A Conformer said...

Kotsay has been hitting the ball well the last three games.

Rob said...

If Varitek can take one for the team, so can Heidi.

laura k said...

Kotsay's like our only hitter now. The man doesn't even have a nickname!

Amy said...

I do tend to get addicted to various games. I even had a Gameboy for a while---probably the only 40 something year old mother of two teenagers who did. My kids thought it was hysterical. I also used to play Tetris til my eyes blurred, etc.

Scrabble seems to be less dangerous for me.

Two on, two out. Time for Ococ.

Amy said...

Ish, we are all addicted to baseball. Obviously. But not the same as actually playing a game!

thatdietcokegirl said...

sonovabitch.

Amy said...

FUCK FUCK.

God, these men LOB just are hurting like hell.

Rob said...

Fuck sakes. Two more LOB.

Patrick said...

No biggie. Pedey to spark the fire next inning.

Rob said...

47 pitches for Dice through 2.
46 pitches for Kazmir.

efd said...

quadrophonic LOBs... not a good way to get started.

thatdietcokegirl said...

I also used to play Tetris til my eyes blurred, etc.

WoW has nothing on Tetris. There are people sickly addicted to that game.

Rob said...

Going from Boston to the Talking Heads to the Doobie Brothers, to Modest Mouse. No Dale Arnold. No Chip Caray. No Buck.

Good changeup there!

efd said...

nice, that was a sweet play.

Rob said...

Mother fuck ass wipe son of a cock!

efd said...

FUCK!!!!!

Benjamin said...

Good night.

thatdietcokegirl said...

Pena (and Upton) just made my shitlist.

Patrick said...

ooo, the dagger was shoved a little deeper into my heart...

Amy said...

Not feeling like we are going to be playing much more baseball, folks. Hate to be negative, but....

allan said...

fucking christ

Patrick said...

And a little deeper...

thatdietcokegirl said...

And Eva.

motherfuckingcuntingwhore(((

This is just...so wtf I don't know how to even feel right now.

Amy said...

So once again we are down 5-0 in the third fucking inning.

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