Red Sox & Rays: Keep Your Friends Close, Your Enemies Closer

While Beckett may not be in top form, he also won't be the shell of himself that we saw in the ALDS. Not pitching for nearly two weeks certainly had an effect on him, and it showed. Don't expect Beckett to throw a gem, but he'll go deeper into the game than Kazmir and should pitch well enough to win.

Not too long ago, Kazmir was not only the best pitcher on the Tampa staff, he was the Tampa Bay staff. He still has the best stuff on the Rays, but like Beckett, he's not the same electric Kazmir we've seen before. He struggled in September and he does not go deep into games.

This not only taxes Tampa Bay's deep bullpen, but it could actually affect the outcome the night before he starts. Manager Joe Maddon might be reluctant to overuse his bullpen in Game One knowing that he'll probably need at least three relief innings in Game Two.

Although Tampa Bay's bullpen has been excellent, the absence of Troy Percival leaves a void that quite possibly can be exploited. In the last 25 years, only the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series without their clearly-defined closer. (Jason Isringhausen missed the 2006 playoffs with a hip injury.) Even bullpens by committee evolve to determine a de facto closer, or devolve into chaos.

Being a closer isn't just about stuff or statistics, it's about confidence and peace of mind. Winning closers have the confidence to know that every time they take the mound, the game is theirs. A strong closer gives his team the confidence to know that if they get a lead, he'll keep it. And a good closer's presence shortens the game for his opponents.

The Tampa Bay bullpen was lights-out against a Chicago White Sox team that had obviously run out of gas by the ALDS. Maddon has been masterful working through Percival's injury problems; it remains to be seen if Maddon's mastery will continue.

The final thought…

In the middle of the summer, two division rivals that didn't like each other came to blows. One was the successful Goliath to the perennial loser's David. The fight emboldened the underdog, which surged into the playoffs, where it met the very same division rival in the ALCS.

If you think I'm talking about the Red Sox and Rays, you're only half right. Think four years ago, not four months, and it was Boston and the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez kicked off a brawl that brought the Red Sox "idiots" together as a team, providing the confidence and attitude that propelled the Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. The fight could easily be pinpointed as the moment the Sox turned the corner and became winners.

Earlier this summer, sitting in first place with two championships in four years, Boston was now the king of the mountain and the Rays were the loveable losers. When Coco Crisp charged the mound to take on James Shields, he may have ultimately done more harm than good.

The Rays came together as a team as a result of that incident, with a resolve and an attitude that they could now stand toe-to-toe with the league's best. Losers no more, Maddon convinced the young Rays that they didn't have to get pushed around by the likes of the Sox.

You can be sure that Maddon, the unconventional motivator that he is, will find a way to remind his pupils during the series. And if the Rays manage to win, the Red Sox may have to shoulder the blame for helping Tampa turn the corner, way back in June.

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