What they're saying

Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe

Sunday: Watching the Red Sox strand 13 runners and waste four homers, Boston fans were left asking one vital question: What's up with Josh Beckett? He was Bob Gibson in October 2007. Now he is John Wasdin in October 2008.

Sean McAdam, Boston Herald

Sunday: The Red Sox already knew they would have to defend their World Series crown without Mike Lowell. Come to find out, they’re going to have to do it without Josh Beckett, too. Or at least the Josh Beckett to which they’ve become accustomed. Because this Josh Beckett is not that Josh Beckett. Not even close.

Jack Curry, The New York Times

Sunday: The Red Sox pushed, but the Rays shoved back. The Red Sox slapped the Rays, but they smacked back. It was a game the Red Sox wanted to win but one the Rays desperately needed to win. The game dragged and dragged, past midnight, past bedtimes and past last call. This was playoff baseball, at its longest.

What they're saying

Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe

Friday: "Now they call it Tropicana Field and it is truly hideous. Catwalks above. FieldTurf below. All-dirt base paths. Foul poles hanging from the ceiling like sleeping vampire bats. It's baseball's Big Top."

Saturday: "Somebody's got to stand up to the Red Sox and right now it doesn't feel like the Rays can do it. They had everything going for them last night and they came up short time and again."

Sean McAdam, Boston Herald

Saturday: "In blanking the Rays, 2-0, the Red Sox did more than take a lead in the ALCS; they effectively won back home-field advantage. Thanks to their shutout victory, the Sox could conceivably win the pennant without worrying about another win at Tropicana Field."

Jack Curry, The New York Times

Saturday: "With the suddenly captivated fans of the Rays ringing cowbells and trying to implore their worst-to-first team, [Daisuke] Matsuzaka’s precise pitching acted as the ultimate silencer."