BOSTON — Before putting in a formal request for the public flogging of Mike Timlin and/or Josh "You haven't done anything for us lately" Beckett, there might be another, bigger force at work here. Bigger than any managerial decision or blown lead.
Destiny.
The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays appear to be in the early stages of something special that will take place over the next week, which, if you've been paying attention since late May, isn't a new development.
When these two teams have played in 2008, tension has been in the air. In 20 games, the Rays have won 11 and the Sox nine. After Saturday night, 11 of them have been decided by two runs or less.
Sound familiar? Like the rivalry with a club that resides about 240 miles south?
The Rays really are an amazing story that we have not fully comprehended yet. They were awful for a decade, and now, all of sudden, they might be the best team in baseball. That happens in professional football, not in baseball.
But nothing has changed. The Rays aren't going to wilt. You're going to have to beat them, whether it's four-game sweep or a seven-game nail-biter.
In breaking down the Sox-Angels American League Division Series, Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley noted last week that the Red Sox's most impressive trait wasn't their pitching or their clutch hitting, it was their confidence. "They carry themselves like they've been there before," said Trembley. "It can be very intimidating. They never seem to worry."
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim couldn't handle that trait. Again.
But these Rays are different. Maybe it's because of the 150-plus meetings over the last decade, but they aren't that enamored with the Sox. Better yet, they're not scared.
The funny thing about the Red Sox-Yankees matchup this season is that it was a dud. Really, is there a single game that sticks out from their 2008 contests?
Not only were the games dull and long (3 hours and 30 minutes on average), but their meaning was diminished because the Yankees were pretenders almost from Opening Day with their ancient pitching staff and injury report.
That's OK, though, because the Rays filled in admirably.
The Coco Crisp-James Shields fist-swinging (and missing) episode back on June 5 was a sign of the times, only we didn't know it back then. Crisp vehemently objected to Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura putting his knee in front of the bag on a steal attempt the night before, and the next day his leg was the bull's-eye for a Shields fastball.
Other than a few cheap shots in the pitching mound pile-up (see Carl Crawford and Jonny Gomes in YouTube video), the message was that the Rays weren't going to back down.
They didn't back down on Saturday night in their most important game of the 2008 season, either. With the Sox ahead, 1-0 in the series and 2-0 in the first inning, everything was in place for the, you know, wilt.
Instead, Beckett was beaten every bit as badly as Scott Kazmir was.
Folks, this is going to be fun. The we-have-to-win-this-game-or-else shoe is on the other foot today. The Red Sox really need to win Game 3. They are relying on their new ace, Jon Lester, probably more than the Rays lean on anybody on their roster.
I am going to enjoy the next week (Game 7 would be in Tampa on Sunday). I really believe the Rays, with Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and our hometown boy Carlos Pena, are going to take this to the limit.
And we might want to get used to this, because the Rays are going to be around for a while, and I'm not talking weeks. They are built to last for years. In fact, who do you think are the Red Sox's opponents for the home opener at Fenway next April? Hint, it's not the Yankees.
Every starter not named Pena is under 30, with Longoria (23) and Upton (24), future MVP candidates, just beginning their careers. And their pitching staff is made up of four starters 25 or younger. The one old fogie (Shields) is 26.
So enjoy the next five games, because you may be witnessing an interesting footnote in Red Sox history against their newest archrivals, the Tampa Bay Rays.
E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.
