It's not even like playing on the moon.

No this is not a picture of Rays Manager Joe Maddon, but you thought it was didn't you?

Manny: "What do we do now Tony?'

Tony: "We go to war."

This is the point the Red Sox need to get to tonight, because Tampa is already there. This series right now is a playoff series to them (of course we could have told them the playoffs started last week and they wouldn't have known any different.)

The point is the Rays are taking this series very seriously and are getting good pitching and a few timely hits. The Red Sox on the other hand can't close out innings, can't get the timely hit. Last night for crying out loud, the Rays acted like it was T-ball and refused to get Jacoby Ellsbury out because he might cry or something if he's tagged out and he only scored the one run and only stole one base. (Yes he was on third at the end of one these botched plays, I still think he could have stole home on Garza.)

The thing that bugged me last night (more than Garza's side burn/beard/monstrosity) was when he went out to warm up for the 8th inning and Joe Maddon took him out as the inning was about to start so he could get an ovation. Now I am all in favor of a kid getting his moment when he's pitched a good ballgame. But do it in the middle of an inning, do send him out there to throw a couple warm up tosses and then pull him out, that just delays the game more, and isn't needed. People talk about the pace of the game needed to be picked up because ratings aren't what they were last season and they are penalizing pitchers for taking too long to throw the next pitch, put a stop to stuff like this and you'll save 5 minutes and a lot of aggravation on my part. (That turned into a bit of a rant.)

Tonight isn't a must win, and anybody who makes it out to be doesn't know Jim Rice's home run total. (382) Though it would be good to win tonight and take a little bit of solice in the fact that they can win a game in Tampa. Imagine if they dropped every game in Tampa this season and some how had to play the Rays in the ALCS, the media would go nuts about how the Red Sox can't win in the giant concrete blob. I'll leave you with a couple random thoughts from the series so far:

~How many times have the Red Sox popped up in foul territory? I'm not going to look it up, I'm just going to say I think they popped into foul territory to Carlos Pena 19 times last night.

~I hate watching games played at Tropicana Field. It's a dome, it's dark and damp. Doesn't it always look like it's damp inside there? I'm surprised Joe Maddon's glasses haven't got condensation dripping from the insides of them. The Trop is terrible, because it's a dome and you don't even get the bright lights and weird hops off it. It doesn't even have the feeling like you're playing on the moon or something. (I always felt that the Skydome or Rogers Centre was like playing on some sort of moon base, especially when it was called Skydome. It all started with Wrestle Mania being held there for Wrestle Mania VI. Watch the tape, it's like it's happening in outer space or something. You're gonna have to trust me on this one otherwise.)

~ Jerry Remy was mystified by the iPod last night. Tonight they're going to show him Facebook.

~Joe Maddon is a dead ringer for Currado "Junior" Soprano?

~Where the hell is Aaron Jackson? He's like Roger Clemens in a big game over here, completely disappeared.

Sterling Pingree