Wow who would've thought that on July 1st, the Tampa Bay Rays would be leading the A.L. East? Not me, and although I am a die-hard Red Sox fan, I have become a Rays fan too over the last few years basically because I can't root for any other teams here. Tonight will be a sell-out, and yes I will be there, it should be a crazy crowd. I've been to several Sox games up at the Trop and normally, the majority of fans are Red Sox fans, which is why many call Tropicana Field, the Fenway Park of the South. But since the Rays have emerged, the sea of Red has turned into the ocean of Navy Blue. I even find myself when the Sox aren't in town, going to Rays games with Rays gear on because I've just caught the fever. But I've still got the Sox logo inked over my heart, so no way could I even pick the Rays over the Sox, but take a look at some key positions in tonight's matchup with a sportswriters point of view.

Starting Pitching--Wakefield vs. Garza. Advantage: PUSH

Wakefield over his long career is 17-3 over 29 starts at the Trop with a 3.31 ERA. Looking at that number, you would say man there is no way that the knuckler could lose. But the way the Rays lineup has looked over the past few weeks, he might run into some trouble. Garza is 6-4 on the season with a 3.76 ERA, and is coming off a nine inning, one-hit effort against the Marlins on June 26th. Garza has looked very good over his last few starts with his velocity and command, and almost looks unhittable right now. There's no way to choose an advantage in tonight's game simply because of Garza's performance over his last few starts. Experience and youth will hit like a freight train head on.

Third Base--Lowell vs. Longoria. Advantage: Lowell

Yes Longoria is the reigning A.L. Player of the Week, but the nod goes to Lowell tonight. Lowell is hitting .531 in his last nine game (17-for-32) with nine RBIs, and seems to be one of the only Sox players clicking right now. Longoria hit .433 last week with three longballs and 10 RBIs, but went 0-for-3 from the plate Monday night, and is a career 7-for-33 with 10 strikeouts against the Sox. Longoria is the super rookie, but Lowell is the more experienced player in big games, Lowell will be a key factor.

Closer: Percival vs. Papelbon. Advantage: Papelbon

Percival went out of Monday night's game with an aggrivated hamstring injury after running to back up third base on the catwalk shot by Brandon Moss. He was none too happy about it if you could read his lips, which I definitely could because I was a foot away from my T.V. at that point in the game. He will be available tonight, but will probably not be used to save the old hammy. Dan Wheeler will likely get the nod if the Rays are in a save situation. Papelbon is always dominant, 24 saves in 28 opportunities this season, including nine saves in 10 appearances in the month of June, the last one coming on June 27th at Houston, so he is definitely fresh.

Crowd: The Rooters vs. the Wagon Jumpers. Advantage: Rays

There is just too much excitement going on in Tampa right now, as one caller said it on a local sports talk radio show a few days ago, "Thank god for the Rays, this has been the shortest football offseason we've ever had around here." Watching the telecast last night, broadcaster Todd Kalas said, "This is the most excitement I've seen around this ballpark in years, and I expect games two and three to be better than game one."

Momentum: First Place vs. Second Place. Advantage: Rays

The home team has won every game against each other this season, the Rays swept the Sox back in late April, the Sox swept the Rays at Fenway in three game sets in both May and June. I remember the sweep of the Sox at the Trop in April, I was there for two of the three games, and although I am a Sox fan through and through, those two games I was at were the best two back-to-back baseball games I have ever seen. All four starters could've thrown no-hitters. It was painful to watch, but being a baseball fan number one, it was quite exciting. The Rays have won two in a row and six of their last seven, while the Sox have stumbled out of first place, losing six of their last 10. The Rays are 15-7 since the sweep at Fenway June 3-5.

Who will win? Sad to say, the Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays just have too much going for them right now especially at home. Expect the sparks to fly tonight after last night's dramatic win. I've been to seven Rays-Sox games in the last two years, and every single time but one, I have seen fans fight. It's a crazy atmosphere when the Beaners come to town, and expect the same on the field as I predict there will be a bench-clearer at some point. Alright guys time to go, takes about an hour to get up 75 and over the sky-way, I'll blog tommorow about what happened!

--J