Like, ever?

The family that I married into – hello, Weltmans/Boxers – is a big Red Sox family and, despite (or perhaps because of) my history covering the Yankees, I’ve always had a little bit of a soft spot for the Sox. I like Terry Francona, like David Ortiz (though not when he’s called “David Orrrrrrrr-tess” like the TBS announcers kept saying) and enjoy the off-beat style of team owner John Henry (who once likened George Steinbrenner to Don Rickles).

That said, I think deep down I was rooting for the Rays in the ALCS, even as my wife was shooting me glares during Game 7 last night. It’s not even just because I like Rays owner, Stu Sternberg, who is a Westchester guy. It’s because if you’re a sports fan of any level, the Rays are what you believe in.

Worst to first. It’s usually just a pipe dream for bad teams to talk about, but when it happens it’s magic. The Sox have a ton of good stories – including last night’s starter, Jon Lester, who beat cancer and is one of the best pitchers in the game now – but the Sox (and Lester) have already been to the top of the mountain. The Rays have spent their entire lives at the bottom.

The last team to go from last place one year to the World Series the next was the 1991 Atlanta Braves. They lost to the Twins in seven games, in a World Series that many believe was the greatest series ever played. Check back on Wednesday to see our predictions for this year’s World Series, but even before another pitch is thrown, take a moment to consider whether the Rays are the best comeback story you’ve ever seen.

If they’re not, they’ve got to be pretty darn close, no?

CARP SAYS:

The Rays are the ‘69 Mets. They are. From years of laughingstocks to the World Series. Like the Mets, the Rays’ young arms threaten to be pitching postseason games for years … unfortunately for the Mets, they got back to the World Series in ‘73 and didn’t win it, instead of building a dynasty with Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, not to mention Ryan.

I don’t know if these Rays will build a dynasty—let’s see them win this World Series first, then come out of the best division in baseball again next year—but their worst-to-first story is one of the best ever. I can’t remember another one.

The 1994 Rangers won the Stanley Cup a year after missing the playoffs in a dreadful manner. But that team was ready to win, probably should have won in ‘92, and was done in by injuries and a mutiny against Roger Neilson in ‘93. So when they went to worst (in the division) to first overall to Cup, it wasn’t that big a surprise.

You know what was a surprise? That so many people on Sunday, and even Saturday, figured the Rays had no shot if they lost Game 6 at home. Which, of course, is ridiculous. Baseball—and most playoffs, really—isn’t a game of momentum from game-to-game. There is momentum inside a single game, but it rarely carries over to the next game because the pitchers change.

Yes, it would have been a huge blow to the franchise to lose three in a row after pummelling Boston to go up 3-1. It would have been tough to recover next year, to start all over to get to the same spot next fall. But I don’t think there ever is a momentum thing going in Game 7. Even in 1986, when the Red Sox lost in the most heart-breaking, gut-wrenching fashion in Game 6, they had chances to win Game 7.

I just hope that Phillies-Rays goes the distance, because the World Series has been a dud in recent years.