OK, we have one link to help RAYSHEADS put everything back into perspective...

Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox were dead and came back to life and compares last night's Red Sox win to game 6 of the 1975 World Series by summoning the ghost of Carlton Fisk.

Yet the fact remains: The Red Sox were dead, and dead teams are not supposed to wake up. It is scientifically impossible. You’re dead, you’re dead. Then again, if dead teams did not awaken, we would not have Bobby Thomson and Carlton Fisk and all that.

Somebody needs to remind Buckley that the Red Sox lost game 7 of the 1975 World Series.

Teams can come back to life. It is a thing we like to call "life-support". But eventually the plug must be pulled.

Somehow, Red Sox get magical [Boston Herald]

In game 3 one member of The RAYSHEAD Army received national attention when he caught Evan Longoria's home run ball while sitting above the Green Monster at Fenway Park.

We caught up with Michael Aguis and asked him a few questions about the home run that pissed off the Red Sox Nation.

RI: Monster seats are among the most coveted seats for a Red Sox game. How does a diehard Rays fan end up with Monster seats for an ALCS game?

MA: The guy sitting to the right of me (who dropped it) is a good friend of mine (and a Red Sox fan), and he had a connection to get them. We had gone up to Fenway about 4 years ago to see a D-Rays/Sox game, so he knows I am a real fan.

RI: Did you attend the game with the Red Sox fans sitting next to you? What was their reaction to you ending up with the home run ball?

MA: Yes. They thought it was pretty funny. They are not typical chowds. I stayed with the couple to the left of me.

RI: What was the reaction of the Red Sox fans near you? Any memorable one-liners?

MA:All of Fenway that day was very low-key, but the Green Monster Seats had a very corporate crowd. MUCH nicer fans than the bandwaggoners who come down to the Trop, I think either they didn't really care about the game, or were too pissed to be down 5-0 to worry about me. I have felt more intimidated at a UF-Vandy game in Nashville! BTW: Speaking of the bandwagoning Pink Hat Nation, look at the third picture down on this old Sports Guy column from 2002 blasting the D-Rays. The seats are empty. BUT NO RED SOX NATION, either!!

RI: One Red Sox website was upset with how much fun the lady next to you seemed to be having during the game and questioned her loyalty...Any chance we can get her to wear a Rays cap and a blue scarf next time?

MA: I saw that site. Her and her husband share season tickets with friends down the 3rd base line. I can call her and ask her to...She is a good sport.

RI: When did you first realize that you were a story that lots of people were talking about?

MA: Within 30 seconds, I got about 10 texts. I knew the cameras would be up there if one was hit.

RI: Were there any stories about you and the home run that you thought were particularly funny/weird/memorable?

MA: The funny story is that I told everyone for a week that if a Red Sox player hit a HR up there, and I caught it, I, in my Rays jersey, would throw it back, and give some attention to the Rays and our fans. I was warned by my friend on the train ride up not to do it. I think this was better.

RI: Is this the most embarrassing photo that has ever been taken of you?

MA: It would have been if we lost.

RI: Since the national attention, do you now regret not having a mohawk?

MA: I regret not staying in Boston last night for the real beating.. I'm not sure a Rayhawk would fly at work, but I am growing a lucky beard - stopped shaving the day we clinched. I grew one for the Gators when they won the BCS, the Final Four, and for the Giants when they won the Super Bowl. I call it the Billy Barool, like Judge Smalls' lucky putter in Caddyshack.

The Red Sox Nation rallying cry is "we have been here before." You would think Red Sox fans wanted to lose 3 of the first 4 games. Anybody with a pink hat on today will be quick to point to the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees and the 2007 ALCS against the Indians.

Funny how these fans also forget facing elimination in the 2005 ALDS against the White Sox. Down 2 games to none with game 3 at home. The Red Sox lost. And then there was the 2003 ALCS with the Red Sox losing an elimination game against the Yankees. And the 1999 ALCS against the Yankees. In a scenario similar to this year's ALCS, the Red Sox trailed 3 games to 1 with game 5 in Fenway. The Red Sox lost.

Oh yeah. The Red Sox have been here before.

And this just in...The '07 Indians aren't even in the same league as the Rays. Well, you know what we mean.

Bonus pic after the links (Thanks Brian)

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Scott Kazmir will indeed start game 5. Buster Olney reported this morning that this move was made at least in part because of the tumultuous history between Kazmir and umpire Derryl Cousins, who is scheduled to be the home plate umpire in game 6. [The Heater]
• One writer at Bugs and Cranks says Joe Maddon is waiving the white flag in game 5 by starting Scott Kazmir in place of James Shields...Of course they don't take into account the history between Kazmir and umpire Derryl Cousins, or Kazmir's history in Fenway or Shields' home/road splits or the off-day after game 5. Other than those reasons, then yeah, Papa Joe wants to lose game 5. [Bugs and Cranks]
• David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks says Joe Maddon's decision is "genius" because he is infallible. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Some are starting to notice that this Rays team is not a flash in the pan. [The Big Lead]
• We think we figured out where Willy Aybar's home run ball landed. The Citgo sign behind the green monster spontaneously caught fire today. [WMUR]
  
• Gerry Fraley points out that there is no Curt Schilling to bail out the Red Sox this year. [Sporting News]
• One Pirates fan wishes he was a Rays fan...To which we say: Why aren't you? Do it. Don't be afraid. Jump on board. You can keep the Buccos on the side. We don't mind. The RAYSHEAD Army is growing, and we are welcoming new members with open arms. And we don't even mind if you think Scott Kazmir's first name is "Eric". We can work on the details later. We would have trouble with the first name of any of the Pirates starting pitchers. [Fanhouse]
  
• 8 reasons why the Red Sox are losing...One thing we haven't mentioned today: Many are looking at the triple last night as a "coming alive" moment for David Ortiz. Why is nobody mentioning that even though he hit that ball well it still came well short of leaving the park? It seems that the triple just made it even more clear that Big Papi's swing is not well right now. [RBI Magazine]
  
• Anthony Rieber thinks the Rays are only good because of a "lot of luck."...Anthony, research is a writer's best friend. Try it some time. [Newsday]
• Hidden behind ESPN's "Insider" wall, Buster Olney breaks down the 4 things the Red Sox need to do in order to come back in this series. Really it is 3 reasons as one is based on Scott Kazmir pitching game 6. [ESPN]
• Really? One writer wonders if the Rays will sell out any potential World Series games. Never mind that the Rays sold out all the ALDS and ALCS games in less than an hour. This is the World Series we are talking about...Our IQ went down having read that post. [yoonewverse]
  
• The Hardball Times tries to project BJ Upton's '09 season based on his '08 stats, including his postseason performance to date. Of course, they don't take into account the shoulder injury that Upton battled most of the season. [The Hardball Times]

Is that the sweetest image you have ever seen that doesn't involve Salma Hayek?

We have to admit, for all the knocks against Rays fans this season, we are severely disappointed in the Boston "faithful". We have been to regular season games at Fenway versus the A's that were louder than the crowd in games 3 and 4. We already learned this morning that premium seats were easier to obtain at Fenway than at the Trop. Add to that the early exodus of pink hats from Fenway, and we feel that Red Sox Nation is in turmoil.

Guess that is what happens when the fan base just assumes the Red Sox will win the series.

After seeing firsthand how loud and rockin' The Trop was in games 1 and 2, we have never been more proud of The RAYSHEAD Army.

[UPDATE] We are shutting down comments on this post. We have already deleted several comments in which somebody who came to this site from a link on another site has used the N-word to refer to either Carl Crawford or BJ Upton or both. Anymore comments on this post will be deleted immediately.

[Ed. note: This post was originally written last week and then shelved when the author gave a mea culpa in the comments section. But then the author's tone changed after some readers jumped on us after we expressed our concerns with the wording in the comments section.]

We can be pretty hard on Red Sox nation around these parts. Most of the time it is just good-natured ribbing, as we truly believe that 99.9% of Red Sox Nation is composed of good baseball fans that know the game and understand the nature of a friendly rivalry. Besides, our sister, with her idiotic Red Sox tattoo, is the biggest Red Sox fan we know. It is the other 25.1% that give Red Sox Nation a bad rap.

Unfortunately, one Red Sox blogger tried to single-handedly revive the stereotype that all Bostonians are racist when he explained why he hates the Rays.

Maybe it’s because of Jonny Gomes and his endless string of cheap shots. Or Carl Crawford’s gangster neck tattoo.

To which we wonder: Is it "gangster" because it is the symbol of Leo? Because you guys know, one stereotype of gangsters is they read their horoscope everyday. Or is it "gangster" because Crawford is black?

If that one statement wasn't so ignorant we would tear apart the rest of his idiotic post, like the hypocrisy of a fan for a team that sucked for 86 years, making fun of another team for sucking for 10 years.

For the record, Crawford has the tattoo on his neck because Leo is his horoscope sign and it is a symbol that represents him as a person.

"People always want to know what it is, what it means. Some think it's the Omega sign. Some people think it's a snake or something. I always have to explain it. It's my Zodiac sign. Leo. It's the sign for Leo. When I got it, I wanted it to be about me. I look at my sign every day, my horoscope, so I figured that would be cool. I didn't want it to be nothing crazy. I wanted it to be nice and elegant looking."

Little did Crawford know, it is also apparently "gangster" looking.

[Ed. note: Here is the response from the author. "Let me explain the “gangster” comment. Obviously being black and having a neck tattoo doesnt make you a gangster. Al Capone was white and tat-free, and he was the original gangster.’Gangster’ was a poor choice of words, I should have described his neck tattoo as ugly, or unprofessional. Having a tattoo on your neck, regardless of what it is, is stupid. If it makes you feel better, I think Allyssa Milano’s neck tat is pretty ridiculous also."...This statement only proves our original point. The author does not describe the tattoo as "ridiculous" and as far as we can tell, the author never describes Milano's neck tattoo as "gangster". In fact, we did a search for "Alyssa Milano" and "gangster neck tattoo." The results were as expected.]

Love to Hate [The Foul Line]

Surviving Grady is not very happy about the use of "Sweet Caroline" after the final out was recorded last night, as that is the same song used during the 8th inning at Fenway Park.

But instead of just taking the high road, letting your performance on the field speak for itself and figuring a sweep of the defending World Champs would be message enough to send to the rest of the world at large, you had to go and do it.

You played "Sweet Caroline" after the final out of last night's game.

That's a play right out of Smug Upstart Wannabes 101--the mark of a team that's so confused by its own success, it feels it has to take these opportunities to step on the 600 pound gorilla's nuts when he's down, because it's not sure it'll ever have another chance to do so. It was sophomoric--instantly recalling the "1918" chant that was popular 'round Tampa Bay before our 2004 heroics--and frighteningly lame. But it doesn't surprise me.

We feel we should apologize to Surviving Grady and the rest of Red Sox Nation. You see, they clearly misheard the music being played. The song was in fact not "Sweet Caroline" by the ever-lame Neil Diamond.

No. The song that was played after the final out in which the Rays swept the Red Sox and stretch the lead in the AL East to 3.5 games, was actually "Sweep Caroline".

SWEEP CAROLINE

Where it began, we can begin to know when (7th inning on July 2)
But then I know it's growing strong (RAYSHEADS UNITE!)
Oh, wasn't the spring, whooo (beat up on the Spankees)
And spring became the summer (beating up on the Pink Hat Nation)
Who'd believe you'd just run along

WINS, lots of wins..reaching out
Touching us, sweeping you
Oh, SWEEP CAROLINE
Good times never felt so good
We've been inclined to believe it never would

Ohhh, SWEEP CAROLINE, good times never felt so good...so good, so good, so good.

"Open Letter to the Tampa Bay Rays" or "The Thing About Karma" [Surviving Grady]

Entering this series with the Red Sox we wondered how important this 3-game set was to Red Sox fans and whether they still considered the Yankees more of a threat. It is easy to think that 2 championships in the last 4 years is still not enough to erase 85 years of beat-downs at the hands of the men in pinstripes. That sort of humilation can lead to some serious PTSD and excessive drinking habits.

Still, entering this series the Red Sox were looking up at the Rays and with a 1.5 game lead, the Red Sox would have to sweep the series to grab first place.

Well, at least one Sox fan is taking this series seriously. In fact Sully Baseball (yelling "Sully" in Fenway Park is like yelling "Mom" in a Toys-R-Us) thinks the Red Sox and the Rays are on the verge of developing a mini-rivalry...a "subrivalry", if you will.

I for one am one pumped up Red Sox fan saying BRING IT RAYS!

But does anyone in Tampa Bay care?...The crowds are just now starting to crack 20,000 a game.

COME ON RAYS FANS!!!

For the first time in your teams history you are going into June with a winning record...hell you are the best team in the AL. You can stick it to the big bad defending champs who have treated your team with less dignity than a pinata...You want your fan base to not be considered a joke?
Then show up... cheer... and talk a little smack.

That's cute. We can just picture Mr. Sullivan typing that out on his computer while wearing his girlfriend's pink Red Sox hat, while she is in the bathroom praying to the porcelain gods.

Like we have said a million times...The only way anybody will be sure that we are dead, is parade a Red Sox fan in front of us...If we don't extend our middle finger, it is time to start planning the wake.

SHOWDOWN! [SULLY BASEBALL]