Projo Sox Blog

For the second time in as many weeks, the Rays seemed poised to topple off the first-place perch they've been holding most of the season. And for the second time in as many weeks, they kept their balance and stayed aloft with a thrilling late-inning victory, this one on a walkoff, bases-loaded single by Dioner Navarro (above) with one out in the bottom of the ninth that gave them a 2-1 win over the Red Sox. Sean McAdam has all the details.

Of the game, that is. Old friend Jayson Stark of ESPN.com takes a look at the bigger picture:

"They're not supposed to be doing this. They're not supposed to keep on finding ways to toss banana peels under the Red Sox every time the champs seem poised to catapult past them into first place. Everybody in America seems to know that -- except the Rays."

Too bad the people in the Tampa Bay area don't seem to care about this incredible story that's unfolding right before their eyes.

'IT DEFINITELY DISAPPOINTS US A LITTLE BIT': That's Carlos Pena's take on the dual facts that a) the Rays can't sell these games out and b) much of the crowd that does show up is rooting for the Red Sox. Still, the Tampa Tribune reports last night's crowd, while still not a sellout, was bigger (32,079) than Monday's (29,772), and seemed to be more pro-Tampa Bay. The topic of Tropicana attendance drew lots of spirited comments on a St. Petersburg Times blog posting that linked to several stories about Monday night's crowd, with most of the Rays fans blaming the economy for the fact that people aren't buying tickets.

FUNNY, YOU DON'T LOOK SCARED: The Rays' resilience has been proven umpteen times over in the last five Boston-Tampa Bay games, and J.P. Howell thinks "if we can hang in there until the very end and not be too scared, we'll be all right." (Tampa Tribune)

BREAKS OF THE GAME: Brant James of the St. Petersburg Times notes that all of them went to the Rays in an unbelievable ninth inning.

SHOWDOWN: Although neither of them was involved in the final decision, Josh Beckett (above left) and Andy Sonnanstine (above right) had quite the mano-a-mano duel. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at it from Beckett's point of view.

GO FIGURE: Who would have thought, asks the Times' John Romano, that giving the ball to Sonnanstine in the biggest game of the year "was the best thing the Rays could have done"?

TABLES ARE TURNED: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says that tonight is now the biggest game of the year for the Red Sox, at least if they want to win the A.L. East.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES: Last night's outcome swung the odds for winning the division back in the Rays' favor according to both Baseball Prospectus' Postseason Odds and coolstandings.com. As far as simply making the playoffs is concerned, both the Rays and Sox are at about 99 percent in both projections.

IT HURTS JUST TO WATCH: Mike Lowell's hip pain was never more visible than it was last night, raising real concerns about just how well -- or how much -- he'll be able to play down the stretch. McAdam reports the Red Sox are worried about it; stay tuned.

BUT THE GOOD INJURY NEWS IS . . . J.D. Drew may finally get back in the lineup this weekend. McAdam has the details.

A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN LAST TIME: His last contract negotiation was highlighted by his resignation (and his leaving Fenway Park dressed as a gorilla). McAdam reports that contract talks between Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are going a lot smoother and that an extension announcement is imminent.

HOW DIFFERENT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: WEEI.com's Alex Speier tells how close Jacoby Ellsbury came to signing with Tampa Bay when the then-Devil Rays drafted him in 2002.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS . . . show that Jonathan Papelbon's workload has increased over 2007, leading Seth Mnookin to ponder if fatigue may be a reason for his poor September showing so far.

HOW COULD WE FORGET? The 2004 Red Sox are No. 1 on The Rundown's list of the 10 most unforgettable wild-card teams.

BEST IN SHOW: Foxsports.com's Dayn Perry, in an examination of the playoff races heading into the final week-and-a-half, makes an interesting point: The A.L. East has been baseball's toughest division this year, so tough that the Yankees and Blue Jays would both be playoff teams if they were in the National League.

NUMBER ONE: No one in baseball history has more hits in Yankee Stadium than Derek Jeter. It's quite an achievement, and Jeter reached it -- passing Lou Gehrig's all-time record -- in the first inning of the Yankees' 6-2 loss to the White Sox last night (left). (New York Daily News)

APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE: The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers lauds Jeter.

DONCHA KNOW? Writing in the New York Sun, Steven Goldman says the Yankees must have patience with the exasperating Robinson Cano.

TROUBLE BREWING: The New York Times reports that the Yankees and the City of New York "may have violated federal tax regulations and state laws in using $943 million in tax-exempt bonds to build the [Yanks'] new stadium."

A.L. RACES: The White Sox' win over the Yankees (Chicago Sun-Times) increased their lead in the Central to 2 1/2 games, as the Twins -- who rallied from an 8-1 deficit to move ahead, 9-8, in the eighth -- lost in 11 innings to the Indians, 12-9. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) Eddie Guardado allowed a leadoff home run to Grady Sizemore in the bottom of the eighth, allowing Cleveland to tie the game, and closer Joe Nathan surrendered a three-run, walkoff homer to Victor Martinez in the 11th. "It's a tough one to swallow," said manager Ron Gardenhire . . . The Angels lost a game to the Rays in the battle for the A.L.'s best record, falling to the A's, 8-1. (Riverside Press-Enterprise) That now stands Los Angeles of Anaheim by 2 1/2.

N.L. RACES: It's all over but the shouting in the Central. The Cubs reduced their magic number to four with a nail-biting 5-4 win over the Brewers (Chicago Sun-Times) that had the double-barreled effect of a) handing CC Sabathia his first N.L. loss and b) knocking Milwaukee out of the wild-card lead. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) It also spoiled Dale Sveum's managerial debut. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . And your new wild-card leader is: The Mets! Unlike last year, when they waited until the final week-and-a-half to collapse, the Amazins' are right now in the middle of a plummet through the standings as they dropped their third straight, and fourth in five games, in a 1-0 loss at Washington. (New York Daily News) That moved the Phillies, 8-7 winners over the Braves (Philadelphia Inquirer), into first place by a half-game in the East . . . The Astros' post-Ike hangover continues, as they fell to the Marlins, 5-1, (Houston Chronicle) and remain three back in the wild-card chase . . . The Dodgers beat the Pirates, 6-2 (Los Angeles Times), and the Diamondbacks beat the Giants, 2-0 (Arizona Republic), leaving Los Angeles 4 1/2 up in the West.

DEATH BY MEETING: Prior to last night's loss, Mets manager Jerry Manuel held a closed-door meeting to try to inject some positive reinforcement to his troops. (Newark Star-Ledger) Early returns, as noted above, aren't promising.

MAINE LINE: Bullpen in October, but not next year. That's the Mets' plan for John Maine, who say they won't use him to replace Billy Wagner as closer in 2009 but will try to pitch him in relief if they make the postseason. (New York Daily News)

WELL, I LIKED IT: Ed Kranepool says he was proud to call Shea Stadium home and will miss it when it's gone. (mlb.com)

GET PAST IT: The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice says the Astros have to put Bud Selig/Hurricane Ike/games in Milwaukee behind them and get their heads back on straight if they hope to stay in the wild-card hunt. My feeling is that the 'Stros were so hot prior to last weekend they were bound to cool off, regardless of Bud/Ike/Milwaukee.

A YEAR TOO LATE: The Chicago Sun-Times' Chris DeLuca says the Brewers should have fired Ned Yost after the 2007 season, when an 11-18 August and an uninspired September opened the door for the Cubs to steal the division from them. (Chicago Sun-Times)

STILL MY GUYS: In spite of it all, Yost says he'll be rooting for the Brewers the rest of the way. (AP via projo.com)

STILL MY GUY: An angry Bobby Cox, one of Yost's closest friends, says he's "flabbergasted" by the Brewers' dismissal of Yost with two weeks in the season and added that, "They can say whatever they want. He turned around that whole organization." (mlb.com)

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: MLB has announced the postseason schedule. (mlb.com)

LOCAL BOYS: Chris Iannetta hit his first career grand slam in the Rockies' rout of the Padres. (Denver Post)

HERE AND THERE: Erik Bedard will have exploratory shoulder surgery next week, and a timetable for his return won't be announced until doctors take a look and see exactly what's wrong (Seattle Times) . . . The Cubs appear poised to extend Lou Piniella's contract (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Kyle Farnsworth has pitched so badly for the Tigers that it looks as if he won't qualify for any draft-pick compensation when he becomes a free agent (Detroit Tigers Thoughts) . . . The Mets' Fernando Tatis has a separated shoulder and is probably out for the rest of the year (Newsday) . . . As is the Rockies' Jeff Francis, because of left shoulder inflammation (Rocky Mountain News) . . . The Angels say Vladimir Guerrero has a little inflammation in his knee, but should return to the lineup later this week (Orange County Register) . . . Shaun Marcum had to leave his start last night because of forearm tightness that led to numbness in his fingers, and the Blue Jays aren't sure if he'll be able to make his final two starts (Canadian Press) . . . Even though they placed him on the disabled list Monday, the Orioles say Jeremy Guthrie might pitch again before season's end (mlb.com) . . . The Indians have shut down Anthony Reyes for the year (Cleveland Plain Dealer) . . . Trey Hillman made it sound like something sinister was up, but Jose Guillen says he missed the Royals' game last night because he was sick. (Kansas City Star)

OLD FRIENDS: Derek Lowe (right) won his 14th game in the Dodgers' victory over the Pirates (mlb.com) . . . Bronson Arroyo won his 15th, a career high, in the Reds' victory over the Cardinals (Dayton Daily News) . . . It looks like Josh Bard's days in San Diego are over. He'll miss the rest of the season because of a right-triceps injury and it doesn't appear the Padres are going to offer him salary arbitration, which will make him a free agent (mlb.com) . . . David Riske will undergo elbow surgery and is lost to the Brewers for the rest of the year (mlb.com) . . . Doug Mientkiewicz says he's embarrassed by the Pirates' recent feelbleness. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

AND FINALLY . . . You don't have to go very far into his blog to see how much Curt Schilling supports John McCain. But McCain may not want him around if stuff like this keeps happening. (Boston Herald)

-- ART MARTONE