Sue... Check It Out. It Is So On With The Rays Right Now.

We all know how awesome the phrase "jumped the shark" is, but is there an equivalent phrase we can use when we realize that very first moment that something great may be taking shape?

You know what I'm talking about. It's then moment when you realize, "Wow... This is awesome."

Take for example Michael Clayton. You are already rolling along, really into the movie and then they drop in that scene describing Michael's background and you realize what it is Michael Clayton does for the company and how ridiuclously awesome he (and in turn, the film) are. Or in Se7en, when Mills and Sommerset are stumped and they realize that a library card might work. They go meet some shady guy, they get some information and you say, "man this movie is good."

Or it can happen in music. You throw in Feist because you liked her first album and you liked what she did with Broken Social Scene and then you hear "I Feel It All" and say, "what the hell was that?!?" Same thing with a live band. You're sitting at a booth in Bills when some random band comes on, and by the second song, you've turned around. As the fourth, fifth, and sixth tunes are belted out, you find that you have vacated your seat and moved to the front of the stage. Next thing you know, you're spending the next 104 Thursdays in the back room of The Burren sining along to "Weapon" and "Baby Blue".

So in much the same way we use "jump the shark" as a catch all phrase ("my friendship with Larry has jumped the shark"), I think we need a similar catch all phrase to describe that moment we realize that something is awesome.

I think they phrase should be, "Wow. This movie just Red Sox/Rayed it."

Because over the past three nights, I think we just witnessed the birth of awesomeness.

Despite the fact that the Sox just got manhandled- and that it appears Jason Varitek is following the Jim Rice/Drew Bledsoe path of losing all athletic ability in the span of 7.6 seconds- by the Rays and are now 3 1/2 games out of first, I love this feldgling rivalry. And really, what's not to love because this Rays/Sox thing is so awesome on so many levels?

For starters, we finally have games against someone other than the Yankees to get impassioned about (and I've been waiting for this since the very first moment I spied a Jeter sucks ARod shirt on some chuckah with a barb wire tattoo). Maybe The Pink Hats and the yahoos will realize that there are MANY big games that go on during a baseball season, not just the ones against our neighbors from the Bronx. That's number one, but there are a litany of other reasons this is Rays/Sawx thing is money...

1. There's plenty of bad blood. And frankly, this goes all the way back to the early days of the Devil Rays when Pedro was plunking Gerald "The Ice" Williams and then calling him a baby after the game. Not to mention Coco and his Neo moves earlier this year.

2. The Rays are damn good. In fact, they are so damn good that they are better than the beloved Red Sox and the hated Yankees- for now. They have been flirting with offensive talent for so many years, but it appears they finally have put together a pitching staff as well. The Delmon Young for Matt Garza deal looks awesome, James Shields can pitch, and Scott Kazmir is a legitimate 1A ace.

3. They have a fat old guy who once had to go on the DL for an illness that was caused by a combination of too much dip, coffe, red meat, and booze. That guy is a Troy Percival and the aforementioned is a true story. And it wasn't even gout he had, it was some other illness. Couple that with the fact that he's a fat old guy now and what's not to like?

4. They have a great/hateable manager. Part of the reason I was always such a Yankee Apologizer was Joe Torre. Not only is he one of the most likeable men in baseball, but you get the sense that he was one of the most likeable men on Earth. Not so with Joe Maddon. He irritates the shit out of me. Those goofy Lisa Loeb glasses and that smarmy grin. I don't like him. I also don't like that he basically said they were going to throw at Coco prior to the game in which they did throw at Coco and nothing happened to him. Unfortunately though, he appears to be a great in game manager. And you know that David Ortiz shift you hate so much because it takes away twenty-thirty hits a year from Papi? That was first introduced to the league by none other than Joe Maddon.

5. They have some dilikable cats. Again, the Yanks were always professionals and while you could hate ARod, there weren't a lot of hateable guys on that team. The Rays? They have guys to hate aplenty and if you watched any of this series, you know what I mean. Now, because I love baseball first and the Red Sox second, much of what went on didn't personally bother me, but it should bother the masses. What was up with all the yelling and fist pumping the Rays did? Why was B.J. Upton celebrating a lead off homer like it was a game 7 walk off homer? And why were those bullpen losers were screaming and fist pumping after seventh inning third outs with nobody on base on June 30th? Now, I obviously understand that they are happy to be where they are, given their history, but c'mon boys. Channel a little bit of Barry Sanders and act like you've been there before. Or at the very least, realize it's still NOT EVEN THE ALL-STAR BREAK!!! Oh yeah, and then there's James Shields. He has a blow out and a pencil beard and looks like he belongs on the Jersey shore or at the very least, Waterworks.

It has been difficult getting back into the Red Sox after what the Celtics did and how they did it. It also has been difficult getting into them because it is still only July and we have been used to them automatically making the playoffs. But if you missed this series, well then that is too bad. And if you didn't, well then circle September 8th on your calendar because that is the start of six Red Sox/Rays games in the span of ten days. Maybe one team won't be in it, maybe neither team will be. But if this weeks series was any indication, then they will both be there and it will be fun.

Until then, bide your time by watching the boring, third place Yankees this weekend.