SportsDystopia

Monday’s action in the AL Division Series followed the expected script, as both the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays finished off their series with the LA Angels and Chicago White Sox, respectively, and are set to face each other in an all AL East Championship Series, which kicks off Friday.

The Red Sox and Angels again provided the only real drama of a first round that was otherwise sorely lacking in tight ballgames, with Boston winning 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th when rookie Jed Lowrie hit a grounder through the right side of the infield with 2 outs to score Jason Bay from 2nd base.  The Angels were baseball’s best team in the regular season, but were again reduced to also-rans by Boston, who also eliminated the Halos in 2007 and 2004, and have won 12 of their last 13 postseason games against them.

They will face a Tampa Bay Rays team that’s looking very relaxed right now.  In spite of the way the White Sox woke up in game 3 in Chicago, Tampa made clear right from the 1st inning tonight that they weren’t letting the Pale Hose back into this series.  BJ Upton homered in the top half of the frame, and then Gabe Gross robbed AJ Pierzynski of what would have been a tying homer in the bottom half.  Upton went deep again in the 3rd to put the Rays up 2-0, and the Sox never recovered.

With the Cubs already gone fishin’, Tampa Bay’s emergence is now the big storyline of these playoffs.  The Rays had never topped 70 wins before this season, but now are just 4 wins away from playing in the World Series.   To get there, they’ll have to get through the Red Sox, who they went 10-8 against in the regular season.  But Boston is an experienced, playoff tested team, with a versatile lineup, good starting pitching, and a deep bullpen.  The fact that Tampa also has a versatile llineup, good starting pitching, and an even deeper bullpen, seems to suggest that we could be in for yet another very competitive and entertaining ALCS.

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