Rays = Twins

Or, alternately titled: "Thank God the Sox are coming home..."

I'll be at the game Sunday, and hopefully we'll be able to turn it around and win two at home, then ride the momentum back out to Tampa and steal this series. I'm excited, I really am, if only because they're not gonna be playing in that dome for another two games, which gives them an instant shot and storming back. So we'll see...

More "suck its," just for Laz:

--Suck it, lack of clutch hitting. Our problem all year. Really, I said this before, and I'll say it again here. I don't care what the Sox end up doing this postseason, whether they lose in three or win it all, this roster needs to be blown up completely. Alexei, Quentin, Danks, Floyd and Jenks are the only untouchables, in my opinion.

--Suck it, Kenny Williams, for now. Somehow, we totally got away from the way we won in 2005, and it only took a few short years. Kudos for everybody you tried to get in the offseason, but we need to revert the strategy. They need to get more speed, more youth and fewer guys on the downside of their careers, instead of hoping they catch twilight lightning in a bottle. B.A. should have been played from Day One this year in centerfield, or at least Jerry Owens (I know he was hurt for a bit at the start). Their big argument was that they couldn't deal with the lack of offensive production from either. But how many veterans in everyday roles produced just as poorly? Dewayne Wise isn't that great, I'm sorry. There's a reason he's been a career minor-leaguer. I'm beginning to realize that, as long as we have Ozzie as our manager, we will be completely unable to develop any type of young players. Or at least not nearly enough to keep up without wheeling and dealing. It's a shame. Owens, Anderson, Josh Fields? Trade bait.

--Suck it, still, Harold Reynolds. No better today. He missed a lot of crucial stuff and really was off the mark on a lot. The ONLY thing he said of any real value, in my opinion, (but then beat to death) was that the Sox were a station-to-station baseball team. He also relies on that Pitch Trax graphic they have, which, by the way, is way off where the ball actually is in the slow-motion replay. Just brutal. Then he made a comment about Swisher hitting a home run to make everyone forget about the poor regular season, but I don't think that many folks are down on Swisher, so I thought that was kind of a cheap throwaway line that, again, showed a lack of homework being done on the team.

--Suck it, analysts who think that the Rays' starting pitching is better than their bullpen. Going into this series and still in it now, I fear their bullpen much more than the starters, honestly. They're good and great and all, but the bullpen is much more threatening in my opinion.

--Suck it, Red Sox, especially if the Rays beat the White Sox. I will not watch if I have to deal with a Red Sox-Rays ALCS. I might watch an Angels-Rays ALCS. And of course, if the White Sox are in it, I'm watching. Duh.

Anyway, hope is not lost...the Sox are much different at home, on grass, with the crowd behind them. I can't wait, honestly...