If the cover of Tropicana Field were ever to come off its hinges, it would have happened last night when the Tampa Bay Rays finally knocked off the defending champion Red Sox in the seventh game of the American League Championship Series. Have you ever heard that place that loud? Unreal. What a series. From the epic back-and-forth, five-hours-plus Game 2 to the sick comeback by the Sox in Game 5 to the nail-biter of a Game 7 pitchers’ duel with Matt Garza outpitching Jon Lester and rookie David Price closing it out, there was something for everyone.

And now the Rays go from worst to first to the World Series, with the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies heading to St. Pete for a Wednesday night Game 1 date.

Before we get those blog posts started, here’s a quick rundown of Game 7:

* I wonder how many Boston fans thought it was going to be a rout when they saw my AL MVP this year, Dustin Pedroia, do this to Garza in the first inning:

http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/10/19/mlbtv_bostba_1431289_800K.flv&autoStart=false

* I wonder how many Rays fans, including Dick Vitale, breathed a huge sigh of relief when they saw Evan Longoria tie it up:

http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/10/19/mlbtv_bostba_1430835_800K.flv&autoStart=false

* And what about Willy Aybar? Seriously … the dude has been raking all October, bringing to mind countless unsung heroes that spring to life at the right time of year.

http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/10/19/mlbtv_bostba_1431049_800K.flv&autoStart=false

* Two words. David. Price.

http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/10/19/mlbtv_bostba_1431272_800K.flv&autoStart=false

So … let’s get the World Series started already!

Give me your picks and let’s get some discussions going. Only two more days until showtime!

O.G.