- Gary Shelton is worried about the Rays. He gives credit to Boston for a great comeback, but notes that Tampa will still close out the series. (St. Petersburg Times)

- Joe Posnanski had another post ready to go for when the Rays closed out the Sox in Game 5, but had to scrap it to write about how unbelievable Boston’s comeback was. (Joe Posnanski.com)

- Martin Fennelly writes that Tampa was just seven outs away from heading to the World Series and then the 2007 Rays showed up to blow the opportunity. (Tampa Tribune)

- Thomas Boswell searches for blame in Tampa’s collapse and notes that Joe Maddon managed the Rays out of a win. (Washington Post)

- Dick Scanlon writes that the series just got much harder for the Rays. (The Ledger)

Lets put the Red Sox historic comeback on ice for a moment and talk about the complete collapse by the Rays, who took a 7-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning but managed to squander it in the final three frames.

The game was over…the series was finished…Fenway vendors were hanging up their beer carriers for the final time…fans started pulling out their New England Patriots 2008 Team Handbook to learn more about Matt Cassel…Dice-K looked like crap…Scott Kazmir looked like Cy Young…see-ya Boston – thanks for coming out.

As is usually the case with most defeats, this wasn’t a complete team loss by Tampa. No, the Rays’ bullpen just flat out blew it. When you build a 7-0 lead and your starter goes six strong while only allowing two hits and no runs, you win the game. Period. But hey, give Boston credit. This is what veteran teams do – they don’t give up. They got their ass kicked for three straight games but found a way to win when everything was on the line. This is a huge momentum swing and one that maybe a young Rays team won’t be ready to bounce back from.

The good news for Tampa is that they get to head home and they get two cracks at trying to win one game. If someone told them that they would take 2 of 3 in Boston before the series started, I’m sure they would have gladly accepted. But to lose this way is crushing and if they don’t win Game 6, it’s going to be awfully hard to top a veteran club like the Red Sox in the most pressure-packed situation. (Especially considering Boston was in a similar scenario last year when they beat Cleveland after falling behind 3-1 in the series.)