Sports Redux: It's (Finally Not) A Shame About The Rays

With most of September left to go, it's too early to say anything definitively. But it sure seems this morning like the Red Sox dealt Tampa Bay a devastating blow in the AL Wild Card race last night.

The Sox hadn't handled the Rays well at all, since Tampa Bay decided last season they were ready to compete for real. A dismal 2-13 at the dismal Tropicana Field since the start of last year, the Sox needed some magic, and they got it. Eventually. A 7-2 lead turned into a bona fide nailbiter, as Hideki Okajima served up two runs and left the bases loaded with nobody out in the eighth. Terry Francona asked Jonathan Papelbon to work overtime and get a six-out save.

Papelbon flame-broiled B.J. Upton for the first out, then got some magical help from Jacoby Ellsbury, who dove into the artificial grasslike substance to rob Jason Bartlett of what could have been a killer hit. "I said, ‘Jake, if you miss that and it rolls, just go right up that tunnel and go right out with it.’ I was obviously teasing him. But that’s a game-saver," said Francona. "I knew I could get to it," countered Ellsbury. It also didn't hurt that Pat Burrell failed to score from third on the out, which earned him a lengthy scolding from Jim Rice on the NESN postgame. Papelbon did the rest, getting the third out in the eighth and retiring the Rays 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the 8-4 win.

The Rangers swept a doubleheader from Toronto, so they edged up half a game and now trail the Sox by 3 1/2 in the wild card race. Tampa Bay is now six back, so the Sox can basically put them away by taking the next two at the Trop. Hopefully, the good Josh Beckett will be back tonight, against Matt Garza.

Admitted Orioles fan Tom Scocca tells us today in the Globe that the rest of baseball now hates the Red Sox almost as much as they hate the Yankees, which isn't news to anybody who reads trash-talking message boards. Oderint dum metuant.

Tom Brady had a healthy practice yesterday, and it looks like he's recovered from having 350 pounds of Albert Haynesworth come to rest on his throwing shoulder. So, the Pats say, if he doesn't play in tomorrow night's preseason finale, it's not because he can't, but because it's the preseason finale. With backup Kevin O'Connell cut and now signed with Detroit, tomorrow will be a showcase for Andrew Walter and Brian Hoyer to make their bid for new #2 guy.