Rays Blow 7-0 Lead, Red Sox Stay Alive 8-7
by Nico on Oct 16, 2008 9:29 PM PDT
113 comments
No matter how much you may dislike or hate the Red Sox, you have to hand it to them when it comes to "back against the wall" ALCS magic. It is hard to imagine a scenario more unlikely than down 3 games to 0, down a run in the 9th, with Mariano Rivera on the mound. Yet four years later, perhaps an equally improbable Houdini act had the Red Sox, on the brink of elimination, erasing a 7-0 7th inning deficit with four in the 7th, three more in the 8th, and one in the 9th to send the series back to Tampa.
In the post-mortems, Rays' manager Joe Maddon will have some difficult questions to answer. Why, with the Rays up 7-1 in the 7th, two on and two out, and David Ortiz at the plate, did he not opt for one of his left-handed relievers? This question came into focus even more sharply when J.P. Howell faced Ortiz in the 9th and struck him out - and that only after Ortiz, even representing the winning run, still tried to drop a bunt down the third base line. That's the matchup you want; instead Grant Balfour served up a three-run HR and the Sox were back in the game.
Then after the horse had just left the barn, Maddon went to his closer, Dan Wheeler, asking for a seven-out save - instead of asking middle relievers Howell or Chad Bradford to handle the innings they have handled well all series and all season.
It just seemed as if every time you looked, Maddon had made a move and the matchup favored Boston. Very odd, especially coming from a manager I have generally observed to be an especially astute tactician.
So a reluctant "hats off" to the Red Sox and a "go get 'em Saturday" to the Rays. At this moment, it's hard to say which team has the edge and which team should feel the pressure. The Rays let a big opportunity slip away tonight, and you don't always get two.
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Sux magic my eye
Maddon blew his management of the bullpen.
by OaklandSi on Oct 16, 2008 9:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
pretty much. When's the next game? how much time do I have to rearrange my schedule?
We're in a team-wide funk. ~Mark Ellis
by #14fan on Oct 16, 2008 9:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
sat.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is not going to go well. AT ALL.
We're in a team-wide funk. ~Mark Ellis
by #14fan on Oct 16, 2008 9:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Weird how things change.
86 years of finding ways to lose, to this.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Turned out like so many of my dates.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Awww!
You just need to find the right girl.
by lynnzgal on Oct 16, 2008 9:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Or whatever
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I pay up front and everything.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
There's your mistake. You shouldn't pay till you're satisfied.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
She showed up.
That satisfied me.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Then what're you complaining about?
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The game.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Of course you have to pay up front for the game
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I've already told everyone that
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
dating...
one of the few things worse than this game. ugh. not that I’m really, really bitter or anything. except I totally am. I hate men and now tonight I hate baseball. I’m doomed.
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." -Bob Feller
by Christine on Oct 16, 2008 9:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
We're all doomed. Hence the beer industry.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hate beer, too :(
there really is no hope for me, eh?
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." -Bob Feller
by Christine on Oct 16, 2008 9:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Join a cult?
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You might change your mind.
At an A’s game, in the summer, with a really nice guy.
by lynnzgal on Oct 16, 2008 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
the only thing less likely...
than finding a really nice guy for me would be finding a really nice guy that likes baseball haha. but thank you for your optimism…
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." -Bob Feller
by Christine on Oct 16, 2008 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Someone make it stop.
I thought the game was bad.
{Reaches for tissue}
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
x1000
If I don't comment on your comment how will you know you are completely wrong? -Rocktopus
by pam5981 on Oct 16, 2008 9:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
This calls for a little Grey's Anatomy...
Just to add insult to injury.
And a little disappointed in the purse fight.
39 remarkable innings.
by ZigFan31 on Oct 16, 2008 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
tempting.
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." -Bob Feller
by Christine on Oct 16, 2008 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You two should get season tix together
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dood!
Uh, I think the point is, we’d like doods.
by lynnzgal on Oct 16, 2008 9:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You can hunt together, and when you capture one, you can invite
him to the other’s seat.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hope springs eternal.
At least thats what someone told me.
by lynnzgal on Oct 16, 2008 9:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Damn. I have been distributing hugs like crazy today.
But I might actually have to find you. (In the least creepy way possible)
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Gotta hand it to the Sox.
That was a helluva comeback. Oh well. Go Rays!
A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular.
by IowaA'sFan on Oct 16, 2008 9:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Joe Maddon forgot about the cardinal rule of all sports:
It ain’t over till it’s over.
"We were s--, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Oct 16, 2008 9:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
man, i hope they don't think they are going to win every game being down 7-0
by likeiwouldtellyou on Oct 16, 2008 9:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
They might not, but I wouldn't put it past them to do that
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I blame Balfour and Wheeler
They were simply awful tonight.
Oh well, we still have Saturday night.
"However, at Elias, I think they keep track of the amount of sunflower seeds spit in a dugout each night." - Brad Ziegler, 8/7/08
by doctorK on Oct 16, 2008 9:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I blame Maddon. He put them in situations where others would have been better suited.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
we can only hope that the Big MO
(as in momentum) doesn’t bite the Rays now
by OaklandSi on Oct 16, 2008 9:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
If they don't collapse it would show massive fortitude at this point.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm not holding my breath
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
OaklandSi, here's what your comment should have said...
We can only hope that Big Mr. Mentum ….
…..as in MOMentum..doesn’t bite the Rays now.
I think that would have more effectively illicited the response you were searching for from your reader.
Is that Embry warming up?....... NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
by iljackb on Oct 17, 2008 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
this sucks
my sox fan friends had given up on the game and then they get a damn win. But I guess McCain’s presidential campaign is proving that those who think they deserve victory don’t necessarily get it.
by MaineAthletic on Oct 16, 2008 9:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
The Notebook is on. Anybody see that movie?
by likeiwouldtellyou on Oct 16, 2008 9:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
raises hand
looks around.
lowers hand.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
yep. it was okay.
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." -Bob Feller
by Christine on Oct 16, 2008 9:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wow, you are upset.
No woman calls it “ok”.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
They've said that to me before.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I need to go to bed with a lot of tylenol.
Thank whoever that their were no QOTM’s tonight, so I don’t have to add any. Night people!!
We're in a team-wide funk. ~Mark Ellis
by #14fan on Oct 16, 2008 9:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
If the Rays win this next game and advance,
who do you think has the advantage in the WS?
by likeiwouldtellyou on Oct 16, 2008 9:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I have more confidence in Philly's bullpen than the Rays' after tonight EPIC NONPERFORMANCE
"However, at Elias, I think they keep track of the amount of sunflower seeds spit in a dugout each night." - Brad Ziegler, 8/7/08
by doctorK on Oct 16, 2008 9:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Lidge can match Wheeler choke for choke
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Rays offense
I think the Rays offense could roll right through Phils starting pitching and it wouldn’t come down to the bullpen as the difference maker.
by A'sian on Oct 17, 2008 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I've learned my lesson
Rays need to win the ALCs before I go there
by OaklandSi on Oct 16, 2008 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Okay, I'm going to have some ice cream.
And not watch anything about baseball. Yep.
by whiteshoes40 on Oct 16, 2008 9:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Pistacchio?
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is that where the nut gets bigger when it lies?
And then gets eaten by a whale?
"God doesn't pay attention to your cute little hypotheticals." -- Jeff from LL
by oblique on Oct 16, 2008 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
And then turns into a real nose at the end.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm glad I am not a Rays fan, just a Sux hater
If this happened to the A’s, I would not be able to get any sleep tonight.
"However, at Elias, I think they keep track of the amount of sunflower seeds spit in a dugout each night." - Brad Ziegler, 8/7/08
by doctorK on Oct 16, 2008 9:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I would have burned down the house.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
So you burned houses each year from 2000-03?
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hate moving.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
But never had much to move after the fires.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Was that because you burned other people's houses?
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 9:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
doesn't bother me because I love the Rays
but because I hate the Sux
by OaklandSi on Oct 16, 2008 9:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm an A's fan first and foremost.
but I am a Rays fan, too. only for 4-ish seasons but this still sucks as a Rays fan AND a Sox hater. boo :(
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." -Bob Feller
by Christine on Oct 16, 2008 9:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm scared.
"God doesn't pay attention to your cute little hypotheticals." -- Jeff from LL
by oblique on Oct 16, 2008 9:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Where is my staturday crowd
Can a stomach-punch be measured? Will the Rays start to feel that tingling sensation that the Red Sox once cornered the market on? There’s no history hanging over them like the Cubs (unless you count the overall losingness of the team since its inception), so you can’t tell if this will spook them a little. But can’t imagine any Rays sleeping much tonight.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 9:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
They probably aren't thrilled about having a day off
It will seem like more than 48 hours between games.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
by Nico on Oct 16, 2008 10:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm hoping they have that confidence that comes with youth.
The kind where they don’t believe in defeat.
by lynnzgal on Oct 16, 2008 10:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Carl Everett doesn't believe in dinosaurs,
but that doesn’t mean there weren’t ever three in a row.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
by Nico on Oct 16, 2008 10:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I just want the Rays to win.
I like underdog stories, and the Sox already broke their curse, so there’s nothing compelling about them being in the WS. That’s why I root for them
by likeiwouldtellyou on Oct 16, 2008 10:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
F those Sox
Let the Rays drive the daggar deep into the Chowd heart in Tampa Bay!!
WE NEED MORE COWBELL!!
Play more Conan!
by oaklandSMASH on Oct 16, 2008 10:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Today I found a video of me doing dance that from 5 years ago
au contra ire
by JediLeroy on Oct 16, 2008 10:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Biggest post-season comeback since '29.
And surely the biggest one in an elimination game.
OK, I’m done.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 16, 2008 10:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I currently don't like comparisons to this year and 1929
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
by Nico on Oct 16, 2008 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Why? The A's won.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Oct 16, 2008 10:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hell it is so easy to manage the game after you have already seen it expire.
by mattman on Oct 16, 2008 10:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Lots of people were saying Maddon should bring in a lefty
to face Ortiz in the seventh…before he hit the HR. I’m sure alot of fans were wondering at that point (I know I was).
The ESPN announcers were also wondering that aloud…it’s not really that surprising, and doesn’t really take a lot of managerial knowledge, especially when we’ve seen that Ortiz doesn’t fare as well against lefties with that wrist problem.
by OaklandSi on Oct 17, 2008 7:28 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe the Rays should hire you as their manager for game 6 and 7, do it Brewers style.
by mattman on Oct 17, 2008 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just because you say something later doesn't mean
you didn’t say it at the time, or that it wasn’t pretty obvious/apparent. Maddon is a terrific manager, and he really bungled his use of the pen in Game 5, IMO.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
by Nico on Oct 17, 2008 11:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Don't remember you saying anything about it during the game thread.
by mattman on Oct 18, 2008 1:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm not that prolific on the game threads
because I’m watching the game and my computer is in a different room. I don’t say on AN everything I think, or say out loud, in my living room.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
by Nico on Oct 18, 2008 9:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can't believe this ...
I can’t. It’s gonna happen again. You know it. I know it.
I was in a conference tonight … check score on my iphone, 7-0 Rays, top of 7. 10 minutes later, I’m walking to the elevator, check score again, 7-4 Rays, and I say to my buddy “This is not good.” He replies, “What are you talking about? They’ve got a 3 run lead!” I said, “I’ve got a baaaad feeling.”
10 minutes later, I accidentally find a damn Red Sox bar in San Francisco (!? How does that happen?) and pop in just to watch the end of the game. Wheeler walks the leadoff guy in the 8th, then serves up the bomb to Drew to make it 7-6, and I say to the same “buddy”, “GAME OVER.” He didn’t think I was so crazy a few minutes later when they tie it up with two outs and then win it in the ninth.
This series is over. Just like last year, just like ‘04. Tampa Bay doesn’t have a chance down there, and neither does Philly. F***! I am so pissed right now, I can’t stand it. What a terrible, terrible outcome. Thanks for letting me rant …. Gawd, I hate Boston. With everything that is in me, I hate Boston. I’m done now.
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
by Vacafan on Oct 16, 2008 11:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Please don't be pessimistic
“This series is over. Just like last year, just like ‘04. Tampa Bay doesn’t have a chance down there, and neither does Philly”.
Not true. Rays have to win one. Sux have to win 2.
Carlos and Victor Zambrano have exactly the same number of career postseason wins. Who would have thought?
by Blicks on Oct 18, 2008 3:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
So I go to bed, and I'm surfing for something to put me to sleep . . .
when I find this! Fascinating stuff!
by lynnzgal on Oct 16, 2008 11:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
What the hell happened?
I was having fun, drinking and playing Halo, I check the score and it’s 7-6, I immediately make everyone watch the game, and we were all in complete and utter disbelief at the outcome. This kind of momentum going into Game 6 scares the shit out of me. I hope the Rays realize what the fuck needs to happen and come out swinging. I do not need a repeat of last year with the Indians. Do not disappoint me Rays!
by thesteve9x on Oct 17, 2008 12:46 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
>:-(
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05
by xbhaskarx on Oct 17, 2008 12:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
that looks sort of what I did.
We're in a team-wide funk. ~Mark Ellis
by #14fan on Oct 17, 2008 6:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
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