As soon as the TBS announcers started speculating on a Phillies-Rays World Series matchup in the seventh inning last night, with the Rays up 7-0, I told GLG, “Here comes the comeback.” Sure enough, the Sox scored four in the seventh, including a three-run homer by Ortiz as the Fenway faithful chanted “Papi! Papi! Papi!” during his at-bat, then tied it in the eighth before winning it in the ninth. Ortiz and Drew were huge, but honestly, what on earth were the clowns in the TBS booth thinking? Did they really not consider the possibility, even at 7-0 and even as late as the seventh inning, that the Red Sox could come back? at Fenway, no less? That crew should be embarrassed. Yes, long odds, especially how the Rays looked the past few games. But honestly, ruling out the Red Sox, especially at Fenway, is playing with fire. I wasn’t sure about Boston winning, but I was pretty damn sure Boston wouldn’t end the game with zero and may well make it close. I also knew, as we all do, that Boston at Fenway is as dangerous as any team in sports. That team didn’t get off the field in the top of the seventh as if they were ready to lose but instead as if they were ready to score runs, and they did.
I don’t like the Red Sox, but I sure as hell respect that team. They never say die, never. The greatest comeback in LCS history, and the greatest in baseball post-season since the Philadelphia A’s scored 10 runs in the seventh after being down 8 to the Cubs in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series. Steve, Joe, Dan–congratulations on one for the ages, regardless of how the rest of the ALCS plays out. After 2004 and 2007, how could one count out Boston?
And I don’t know what will happen with the series, but I will always remember this game.
http://statisticianmagician.mlblogs.com/
yeah- who wouldn’t be proud them ?
congrats joe and steve.
I felt the exact same way about the TBS crew. They spent two-thirds of the game heaping praise on the Rays – anointing them as the AL Pennant winners – and then they started paying attention to what was actually happening on the field. If I were a Sox fan, I would have been mightily mad to be written off like that.
http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
What’s with the camera constantly cutting to a closeup of Joe Maddon like he’s Barack Obama? Not Joe’s fault, but clearly there’s a bias here from the TBS folks. The Rays are the story of the year and they deserve the spotlight, but it’s not over yet.