ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Rays fought the Red Sox in June, then fought them off in September.
"Every other weekend it seems like we've got a big game against the Red Sox," Rays closer Dan Wheeler said Thursday.
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| These teams have battled this season, but there's no bad blood yet. (Getty Images) |
But for the Rays, that's exactly what it is.
"I can't say it's Yankees-Red Sox," said Wheeler, who grew up in Red Sox country in Rhode Island. "But in order to get to the World Series (in 2004), the Red Sox had to get through the Yankees. There's a little bit of that for us. For us to get there, why wouldn't we have to go through the Red Sox?"
Tune in for Friday night's Game 1, and you're sure to see tape of that June 5 fight, when Coco Crisp charged Rays pitcher James Shields after Crisp was hit by a pitch. The brawl led to eight suspensions, but not to as much bad blood as you'd think.
"Bad blood?" Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz asked Thursday. "This ain't the WWF. There isn't any bad blood."
No, it's not about bad blood. It's about a young team that believes it's ready to take over a title that the defending champion isn't yet ready to give up.
"It's exciting," said Shields, who will start Game 1 for the Rays. "I think these are the two teams that need to play right now."
They've played 18 times already this year, and you can trace the Rays' development into a contender through the history of those 18 games.
They swept the first three, at Tropicana Field in April, giving the Rays six straight wins in a homestand against Toronto and Boston and giving them a share of first place.
"That started getting us thinking," said manager Joe Maddon.
The Rays lost three straight at Fenway in May, and again in the June series that included the fight. But they swept the Red Sox again in Florida at the beginning of July, taking a 3½-game lead in the division and convincing a few more people to take them seriously.
