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Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
2008-10-14 11:38
by Cliff Corcoran

The Rays beating Jon Lester last night has changed the look of the ALCS. I had figured Lester to give the Sox a 2-1 lead in the series with the Rays tying things up tonight in a favorable matchup between Tim Wakefield and Andy Sonnanstine. Now, if the Rays win tonight, they're a game away from the World Series and the Sox will have to win two straight just to force a Game 7 and get Lester back to the hill. How quickly things can turn. My preview of tonight's game is up on SI.com.

Comments (122)
Show/Hide Comments 1-50
2008-10-14 17:13:17
1.   ms october
oh i'm loving this - pena and longoria back to back

and chip caray seems to have turned on the red sox.

2008-10-14 17:14:39
2.   3rd gen yankee fan
WOO HOO!!! Great game so far! Swing at the high knucleball, yeah!!!!
2008-10-14 17:15:20
3.   3rd gen yankee fan
Masterson up already? uh oh Tito.
2008-10-14 17:16:03
4.   Just fair
Holy crap. I flip on tbs 10 minutes late and it's 3 zip. Real niice.
2008-10-14 17:21:43
5.   williamnyy23
1 Actually, I think TBS has tried to position itself as the anti-FOX/ESPN by trumpeting every team but the Yankees and Red Sox.

3 Starting Masterson would have been a bold move...and perhaps the correct one.

2008-10-14 17:23:10
6.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
just in, i can't get Gameday OR Gamecast working yet! Rays on the board with some taters?? Hope Upton hits one to Maine tonight, the shot yesterday was impressive for sure...
2008-10-14 17:23:37
7.   williamnyy23
Does anyone else get the feeling that Maddon is taking to his new found guru-level celebrity a little too much?
2008-10-14 17:24:57
8.   Just fair
Longoria's been out of his mind.
I wonder if we'll ever see our 3rd baseman crack at least 5 homers vs. the Sox in a playoff series. Just sayin'.
2008-10-14 17:25:27
9.   OldYanksFan
Hot Damn! Just signed on! Wonderful.
'pena and longoria back to back'.
Amazing!
Longoria is gonna be a good one.
2008-10-14 17:29:59
10.   ms october
7 a little - almost everyone loves the celebrity - but i noticed and liked that when he was asked a question about scouting reoprts yesterday he said everyone does the same thing - several other times during his press conference he basically downplayed that he was doing anything so different - so for now i still like him.
2008-10-14 17:30:54
11.   Shaun P
Anyone else think the Twins wish they could undue the Garza and Bartlett for Delmon Young deal right now?
2008-10-14 17:36:54
12.   3rd gen yankee fan
You know that's really rude. Give him an error while the bat is flying towards him? Cmon.
2008-10-14 17:37:37
13.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
7 how so? Wish our manager would be praised for his guru-like wisdom rather than his marine-like rules..
2008-10-14 17:38:30
14.   Just fair
Slick play by the 2nd baseman. Made that glove flip look nice n' easy. Way to hold them at zero.
2008-10-14 17:38:43
15.   3rd gen yankee fan
Awesome. Rays are on fire.
2008-10-14 17:44:42
16.   Just fair
This is one of my favorite games of this post-season. : )
2008-10-14 17:46:02
17.   3rd gen yankee fan
OHHHHHHHH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2008-10-14 17:46:13
18.   OldYanksFan
Holy Suicides Batman! 5-0 Rays! Sour beans in Boston tonight!
2008-10-14 17:47:33
19.   3rd gen yankee fan
Bye Timmy!
2008-10-14 17:47:44
20.   Alex Belth
Holy Cow, what a BOMB!

I don't believe in Sonnanstine tonight. More offense please!

2008-10-14 17:47:56
21.   tommyl
And yet I still feel bad for Wakefield. He's one of the few players on Boston I like. Very classy and I love the knuckleball.
2008-10-14 17:49:48
22.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
21 agreeed..but F#CK him! GO GO RAYS! who knew they were the 27 Yankees in disguise??
2008-10-14 17:50:23
23.   3rd gen yankee fan
21 You're living proof that Yankee fans really do have hearts. Some of us anyway.
2008-10-14 17:54:45
24.   ms october
21 really - i like wakefield and agree he is one of the only normal people on that team - but i hate the knuckeball.

look at the rays bench - they are mixing and matching guys very well (reminisecent of some team i used to know) - baldelli last night, perez for his speed tonight, floyd on occasion.
the yanks can have a bench like this with a little bit more of a comittment and creativity. at this point there is nothing wrong with someone like matsui not being an everyday player.

2008-10-14 17:57:47
25.   Just fair
I like Wakefield and the fluttter-by, but I agree with
OK Jazz. Tonight, eff 'em.
2008-10-14 18:02:18
26.   tommyl
24 Why do you hate the knuckleball? Its awesome. Physics at work!
2008-10-14 18:09:32
27.   Just fair
Who's this Pena guy? We should have him playing 1st base for us. Oh, that right.........d'oh.
2008-10-14 18:11:07
28.   Chyll Will
26 I love physics, but it can get a little bohring...
2008-10-14 18:12:45
29.   Chyll Will
27 That darned logjam at first base...
2008-10-14 18:16:05
30.   ms october
26 i'll definitely give you that it's physics at work - maybe i'm being harsh, but to me the pitcher isn't beating the hitter because of superior stuff or even out-smarting the hitter, but is getting the hitter with almost a gimmick
2008-10-14 18:17:08
31.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
30 so no love for the eephus pitch then?
2008-10-14 18:19:09
32.   Chyll Will
28 (cricket, cricket... btw OK Jazz, 88.3 WBGO, the regional Jazz station in NYC, informed us this morning that today was National Chocolate-Covered Insects Day in some crunchy Imean country...)
2008-10-14 18:20:44
33.   Chyll Will
31 Or the screwball?
2008-10-14 18:22:29
34.   ms october
31 only if el duque throws it :}

33 definitely not a fan of screwballs

2008-10-14 18:26:37
35.   Chyll Will
32 Ha! I live for coincidences like this:

http://tinyurl.com/3gpqfw

2008-10-14 18:28:05
36.   Just fair
When all's said and done, there are countless gimmicks in baseball. If more people could do it well, they would. Are guys with triple digit fastballs or Blyleveny curveballs gimmicky? I know what you mean, though.
I can still remember losing a Varsity game to a long time grammar school peer who threw a knuckeball. grrr..
2008-10-14 18:28:42
37.   Chyll Will
34 Well, I guess I'll take my keyboard and go home then :'(
2008-10-14 18:30:26
38.   Shaun P
29 Hey, the Yanks weren't the only team to miss out on Pena. After he left the Yanks, he went to the Red Sox . . . and they cut him loose too.

In fairness, I don't think anyone saw what Carlos Pena has done the last two years coming. IIRC, he looked pretty bad for the Yanks. Tampa took a chance and it paid off, good for them.

30 You could argue that being able to throw the knuckleball well means having even better "stuff" than being able to throw a fastball 98 MPH. With the big heat, you either have the ability to do it, or you don't. Anyone can throw the knuckler, but it takes a true craftsman years of work to master it like Wakefield has.

Its too bad it takes so long to master. Moose at 40 would be a perfect knuckleball pitcher.

2008-10-14 18:30:44
39.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
32 didn't know that, am still over-exicted about this years "Best Jeanist" awards over here http://tinyurl.com/3qx72f
2008-10-14 18:34:26
40.   RIYank
Jeez, these guys can really field. That's two smacks in a row that could have been safeties (and would have if the fielders wore pinstripes).

Could someone kidnap B J Upton for us this winter? And I love watching Longoria, too. (Well, yeah, her too.)

2008-10-14 18:35:08
41.   Just fair
So, either the Rays are setting themselves up for several amazing years or they go the way of the mid-80's Mets. Lots of talent but only one Serious. What's it gonna be? hmmm.
2008-10-14 18:36:28
42.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
40 am i getting old or does Eva Longoria actually look cuter with that "hausfrau" look on the new season of D.Housewives? (oh..er...my lady watches it, i just happend to see it in the background...yeah, that's the ticket..)
2008-10-14 18:36:36
43.   Chyll Will
36 "I can still remember losing a Varsity game to a long time grammar school peer who threw a knuckeball..."

No wonder. Blyleveny? Dude... if your teacher read that, I'll bet s/he would've thrown a dictionary >;)

2008-10-14 18:36:48
44.   tommyl
30 Its incredibly difficult to throw and control. You have to get it to rotate almost exactly once (or is it a half) on the way to the plate. There's a reason Wake is the only established pitcher who throws it. That's not a gimmick to me, at least not any more than a cutter or split-fingered fastball is.
2008-10-14 18:37:52
45.   RIYank
21 It's hard to swallow, but at the moment I don't dislike anybody in the Sox' starting rotation. Wakefield, as you say, is just classy. Lester: cancer survivor, amazing story. Dice-K, nothing to dislike, really. Paul Byrd? Zzzzz.

I know this last call is going to be unpopular, but I really have no problem with Beckett, either.

2008-10-14 18:39:42
46.   RIYank
Ooooh, triple. Wow.

The AL East is going to be freaking scary for years to come.

2008-10-14 18:40:18
47.   3rd gen yankee fan
45 What about Laptop Thief? Doesn't he count?
2008-10-14 18:41:13
48.   3rd gen yankee fan
Rays are just pwning the Sux. It's soooo beautiful.
2008-10-14 18:41:41
49.   ms october
alright - i'm still not sure i like the knuckleball - but i am going to reconsider if i really think it is a "gimmick."

45 beckett huh? did you at least dislike red light.

2008-10-14 18:43:30
50.   williamnyy23
41 I think the Rays are definitely poised for long-term improvement, but I am not yet convinced that they have permanently leap frogged the Yankees and Red Sox. I see a lot of role player/bench performance as well as bullpen seasons that might not be repeatable. Of course, the addition of Price and others could swing the balance the other way, but still, I don't think TB is shoe-in to make the playoffs next season.
Show/Hide Comments 51-100
2008-10-14 18:44:40
51.   Chyll Will
41 I think the Mets had a volatile mix of hungry youngsters and Combustion-Man vets, which reached critical mass at the right moment, but blew the whole place to kingdom-come afterward. I don't see that with the Rays, especially since they shipped out their most unstable elements (Dukes, Young, Pinella if you want to go there...)
2008-10-14 18:45:30
52.   3rd gen yankee fan
Dig it. 7-1.
2008-10-14 18:46:00
53.   Just fair
43 I thought maybe "Zitoean curveball" but I went with the ol' timer. Plus he didn't have the best year. And if my teacher threw a dictionary at me knuckle ball style, I would have tipped my proverbial cap to her. : ) She threw more of a spitter anyway.
2008-10-14 18:46:03
54.   tommyl
50 You're right, Toronto is likely to improve ;). I kid, I kid.
2008-10-14 18:46:23
55.   3rd gen yankee fan
Sux fans starting to eat their hats.
2008-10-14 18:46:33
56.   RIYank
47 Well, current active roster only.
49 Uh...
Schilling? Yeah, and I used to hate Beckett, too, which is why I can't quite believe it myself that the current rotation contains nobody I despise.
2008-10-14 18:48:32
57.   Shaun P
20 Ask and ye shall receive, though boy oh boy Sonnanstine has been superb.

There's a guy who, at 24, had a 5.85 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This year, 4.38 ERA and 1.29 WHIP (100 ERA+).

Geez, look what happens when you hang with young pitchers.

2008-10-14 18:48:32
58.   williamnyy23
54 The relevant question might be whether Baltimore will improve? The Rays crushed the Orioles to the tune of 15-3 this season.
2008-10-14 18:48:33
59.   RIYank
So, why didn't Francona save Paul Byrd for today? Seems like such an obvious thing to do. Sometimes Wakey just doesn't have it, and then you basically need an extra starter.
2008-10-14 18:48:42
60.   tommyl
56 What changed your mind on Beckett. He's the kind of guy I think I'd hate even if he were a Yankee.
2008-10-14 18:50:36
61.   Chyll Will
39 Man, I totally blow them out the water >;)
2008-10-14 18:51:36
62.   Shaun P
59 I'm surprised (a little) that he didn't let Masterson go longer. Maybe 39 pitches is the most Masterton has thrown in an outing in a while? That would be a fine reason.

The Sox bullpen has been a problem all year.

2008-10-14 18:53:14
63.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
61 yeah, but could you rock out the "Best Boots" award too? lots of "bests" awards here to keep trying at!
2008-10-14 18:53:42
64.   RIYank
60 I think he's somewhat misunderstood. He doesn't talk a lot because he's bought the line (which is largely true, especially in Boston) that it's very difficult to improve your reputation by talking and very easy to say one stupid thing and lose the fans. Partly because of that, and partly because he had some serious attitude when he was young, he comes off very cocky. (Also partly because of the way he looks, I think.)

But in fact he's a lot more thoughtful than you'd think. It comes out on the few occasions he does talk.

2008-10-14 18:56:13
65.   ms october
62 yeah out of boredom i looked that up earlier - since he was converted to a reliever he threw 30 pitches once and 34 once - otherwise was basically in the 20s

59 i think francona panicked when lester didn't pitch well. as i'm sure you hear too, a lot of people don't think much of francona's in game-managing moves.

2008-10-14 18:56:19
66.   williamnyy23
This feels like game 3 of the 2004 ALCS. Hopefully this series turns out differently.
2008-10-14 18:57:18
67.   RIYank
This must be just excruciating for RSN.
2008-10-14 18:57:40
68.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
66 bite your tounge sir! our Go Go Rays are not going to blow this one..
2008-10-14 18:58:45
69.   Chyll Will
63 Nah, I knock em. Do they have an award for that? >;)
2008-10-14 18:59:19
70.   RIYank
65 Right, but in my experience his (Tito's) strategic moves are pretty good. Not great, but not foolish. And yesterday he could have stacked a couple of relievers together, no? Just because matching up Wake with your extra starter is such an obvious advantage.
2008-10-14 19:00:38
71.   Mr OK Jazz TOKYO
69 you bet, last week was "Best Leatherist". I tried to get them to go for my 1971 Richard Roundtree red mid-length jacket look but they weren't buying it..said I was too "white" to pull off a Shaft homage..
2008-10-14 19:03:44
72.   ms october
70 i agree - on both parts - francona is an okay enough game manager and he should have lined byrd up with wakefield

okay rays - you seem to be in good standing.

2008-10-14 19:04:06
73.   Chyll Will
66 Let's hope the first baseman doesn't strain himself scoring a garbage-time run >;)
2008-10-14 19:08:56
74.   Shaun P
65 Yes, the drum beat seems to be that he's poor tactically (which I don't agree with) and poor with the bullpen. My impression is that its not so much him - his bullpen strategy seems sound* - but the quality of the guys in their pen. They just haven't been as good this year as last year.

*Though Tito could have gotten more work out of his relievers in Game 2, which would have (in theory) let him avoid Timlin. I'm also confused about wasting Byrd last night in a losing effort.

2008-10-14 19:12:08
75.   Chyll Will
71 All you needed was a good soundtrack and some hot back-up singers...
2008-10-14 19:16:41
76.   Max
67 And I'm loving every little bit of it.

I agree with you re Beckett for the most part. I don't like him when he's yelling at Joba or pumping up the redass image a bit much, but he seems like a more interesting guy than he's given credit for. (Clemens, in comparison, was a more boorish, self-centered, bullying jock to my eye, even with the Yankees).

I'm sorry Pat Jordan got stiffed by Beckett's press guys, and never got to profile him.

2008-10-14 19:17:15
77.   yankster
woop, woop this is wonderful, third only to watching Torre and Manny paste the sux (2) and seeing the Yanks themselves walk away with the serious (1). But since those other two don't seem in the offing, watching the devil manta's humiliate evil empire north feels gooood.
2008-10-14 19:17:27
78.   Chyll Will
ooooh yeeeahhh...
2008-10-14 19:17:57
79.   RIYank
Well, now I've seen everything.
2008-10-14 19:19:47
80.   3rd gen yankee fan
Well, that's something you'll probably never see again -- a triple from Big Poopy.
2008-10-14 19:20:16
81.   Just fair
Wow. Local folks a tad over exctied over that triple. Now they show a bunch of drunk dudes high fiving over Lumberjack's rbi. Yeesh.
2008-10-14 19:21:09
82.   Chyll Will
79 What, you saw a flying elephant too? I thought it was just my TV...
2008-10-14 19:22:39
83.   RIYank
BJ freaking Upton. That dude would just look good patrolling cf in the new Stadium.
2008-10-14 19:22:50
84.   Just fair
G-damn, Upton. He made that look like a stroll in the park. Beautiful.
2008-10-14 19:23:21
85.   RIYank
82 Well, he was running fast, anyway. (But you really have to lay off the Ripple.)
2008-10-14 19:26:40
86.   tommyl
84 I love that his throw to first was actually on target. When he uncorked it I thought it was either way short or in the stands. That's ok, Gardner is faster and takes just as good routes to the ball. Now if he could only hit some dingers...
2008-10-14 19:29:28
87.   Chyll Will
85 Ripple makes you triple? nice...
2008-10-14 19:29:46
88.   Shaun P
83 Jeter would have been a hell of a CF the last 4 years. If only . . . !
2008-10-14 19:31:09
89.   Just fair
86 You mean if he could only learn to never hit the ball in the air ever again. : ) You may run like Mays, but you like shit.
I know Gardner hit way better his second go round but that Major League quote gets me every time.
2008-10-14 19:31:51
90.   Chyll Will
86 Give him a bat and let him go to town on middle-management... (I hope that's not too oblique >;)
2008-10-14 19:33:13
91.   Just fair
89 Not you like....but you HIT like. HA.
2008-10-14 19:33:38
92.   Chyll Will
89 He likes what?
2008-10-14 19:34:28
93.   RIYank
Lead-off man on! FINALLY!
Now maybe they can score.
2008-10-14 19:35:56
94.   RIYank
BJ > JD.
2008-10-14 19:36:32
95.   Chyll Will
93 Ask NOT what your Crawford can do for you...
2008-10-14 19:37:08
96.   Just fair
Chyll. Read 91 My brain works faster than my fingers.
2008-10-14 19:38:01
97.   Just fair
Or 89 Where the hell did I leave that Ripple?
2008-10-14 19:38:42
98.   Chyll Will
94 So far in this series, BJ > JC... >;)
2008-10-14 19:39:03
99.   Shaun P
Once upon a time - I think it was 1999 - my dad decided that "The Arsonist" was an appropriate nickname for Mike Stanton, because "he doesn't stop fires, he starts them!" I've never had the heart to look up the numbers to see if my dad was right or not, because he seemed to enjoy having come up with an amusing nickname for a player.

In any case, I believe that Mike Stanton's fire-starting essence is now in the possession of Mike Timlin. First the Patriots get housed, then Lester gets housed, now this. Boston is going to be awfully quiet tomorrow.

2008-10-14 19:42:00
100.   Chyll Will
96 I know. But it's fun to ask... my brain and fingers often conspire against me.
Show/Hide Comments 101-150
2008-10-14 19:42:22
101.   RIYank
98 Better than Joba Chamberlain??? You shut your mouth!
2008-10-14 19:47:08
102.   Chyll Will
101 Oh. I repent from my blasphemy...
2008-10-14 19:48:29
103.   Chyll Will
96 See what I mean 100 ?
2008-10-14 19:50:19
104.   Chyll Will
Are they actually booing Big Papi?
2008-10-14 19:55:39
105.   thelarmis
hey everybody! i'm just gettin' in and turning on the tv. fabulous game!!! : )

can't wait to catch up on the comments. wow, thanks for getting to 100+ without me talking to myself! ; )

or, maybe, i was driving everyone away. that's certainly a reasonable possibility! : ~

2008-10-14 19:55:53
106.   RIYank
104 No, they're saying, YOOOOOOUK.

No, wait. They're booing.

2008-10-14 19:56:39
107.   RIYank
105 We were all impersonating you, so in a very real way you have indeed been talking to yourself all evening.
2008-10-14 20:00:14
108.   Chyll Will
105 I can clear a room with one word... but I won't say it here.
2008-10-14 20:01:06
109.   thelarmis
107 awesome! you're probably right - who knows how much my students actually listen to me! ; )

i'll probably miss most of the games tomorrow and thursday, as well...

2008-10-14 20:01:55
110.   thelarmis
108 wait til 134 for that! ; )
2008-10-14 20:01:56
111.   Just fair
If we see TImlin on Thurs. the Sox are cooked. This could be his last game in Fenway as a Red Sock.
2008-10-14 20:06:12
112.   Chyll Will
If your name is not Hugh Hefner or Ron Jeremy, why in the world would you need Cialis for 36 hours??
2008-10-14 20:07:56
113.   RIYank
Brian Gorman: "Let's just go the fuck home."
2008-10-14 20:09:09
114.   Chyll Will
113 As Bama would say, "Good one!"
2008-10-14 20:11:27
115.   Chyll Will
114 ...that is, if 113 was for 112 >;)
2008-10-14 20:13:26
116.   Chyll Will
Wow, that was a rather high strike.
2008-10-14 20:15:07
117.   thelarmis
hell. fukin'. yeah!

GO RAYS!!!

2008-10-14 20:15:08
118.   Chyll Will
Very nice pitch there.
2008-10-14 20:16:48
119.   3rd gen yankee fan
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
2008-10-14 20:17:27
120.   Chyll Will
Playing "Ooh, Child" after a home loss in the playoffs that puts you on the brink of elimination?

Priceless...

2008-10-14 20:18:19
121.   Just fair
112 Craig Sager needs to take his mind off his weird jackets.
2008-10-14 20:21:24
122.   Chyll Will
121 If he's lucky, he'll have the 4 weeks or longer problem...

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