After managing to keep the power of both of the Sox’ lineups under wraps in the AL playoffs, the Rays ability to steer clear of a one-sided slugfest finally hit the guardrail. The good news is that this shiny little sportscar of a season didn’t quite plunge off the cliff. The bad news is that they have found themselves in that silver screened cliché of hanging over the precipice, perched precariously on the frame and the driveshaft, all four tires suspended with a Cole Hamels seagull about to land on the hood.

• Patti LaBelle did a rather Backstreet Boys-esque job of butchering the National Anthem.

• Harry Kalas has got to have one of the coolest voices in sports broadcasting history. Todd Kalas well…

• The umpires continue to blow some crucial calls. How did the umpire miss the leather enema that Evan Longoria put on Jimmy Rollins in that first inning run down?

• I can’t decide if Joe Blanton reminds me more of the Dodger’s Brad Penny or the actor that plays Randy Hickey on ‘My Name Is Earl.’

• As for the grime that has accumulated on the brim of Blanton’s hat, it is just dirt. He is after all from Tennessee.

• One of the strengths all year for the Rays has been their stellar defense. One of the weaknesses of the Rays all postseason has been their horrendous defense. This team has more boots than Tim McGraw this postseason and have made an error in each of their last eight games.

• Win or lose tomorrow, the Rays and their fans should be optimistic. Unlike teams like the Red Sox, the Yankees, the White Sox and the Angels, another year will be beneficial to most of the Rays young players who are still a few years from their prime. For those other teams it means another year of wear and tear tacked onto their key veterans.