No one was particularly surprised that the White Sox played well Sunday in beating the Rays. Joe Maddon said he expected it and swept aside any notion that Chicago's 5-3 win in Game 3 of the division series was anything to be concerned about. ...more

October 6, 2008

Everyone said playoff baseball was different. The Rays listened, sure, but how different was it going to be? After all, they mowed down the Chicago White Sox with customary flair in the first two games of the American League Division Series. ...more

October 5, 2008

The way their bullpen has performed through the first two games in the playoffs, the Rays would have felt confident taking a one-run lead into the ninth inning Friday night. ...more

October 4, 2008

The Tampa Bay Rays are heading to Chicago on a high note after Friday night's 6-2 victory against the White Sox at Tropicana Field. Akinori Iwamura's two-run homer provided the lead, Scott Kazmir got the victory, the bullpen closed it out and the Rays took a two-game lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series. Game 3, the potential Rays' clincher, is Sunday afternoon at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field. ...more

October 4, 2008

As the fourth hitter came to the plate in the first inning Friday night for the White Sox, Scott Kazmir looked around the infield at Tropicana Field and, yeah, it was pretty bad. There were runners at every base. He didn't yet have an out. ...more

October 4, 2008

Tampa Bay's 6-2 triumph over Chicago put the Rays a win away from reaching the ALCS. ...more

October 3, 2008

Does he hear the noise? Does he feel the pressure? Does he even have a pulse? ...more

October 2, 2008

A full day of meetings at Tropicana Field brought the Rays' brain trust closer to a resolution on some tricky decisions that must be made this week, but little news was forthcoming Monday. ...more

September 30, 2008

Mets collapse, the sequel. Doomed by a dreadful bullpen that failed them again Sunday, the New York Mets completed their second consecutive September slide with a 4-2 loss to Florida that knocked them out of playoff contention in the final game at Shea Stadium. ...more

September 29, 2008

By midafternoon Saturday, no hard evidence remained from what had transpired in the visitors' clubhouse at Comerica Park some 12 hours earlier. ...more

September 28, 2008