Moving on

Well, it wasn't easy, but the Sox will live to see another day. And believe it or not, it's only going to get tougher from here.

Before we move on to Tampa let's look back on the series that was...

The Angels could have easily won this series. One bad pitch from Lackey to Bay in game one. One bad pitch from K-Rod to drew in game two. One missed bunt from Aybar in game four. Really, when you look at it, it was those three plays that changed the series. The Red Sox executed more than the Angels, and that's why they're still alive.

Top peformers: Jason Bay - Two monster home runs and a big double last night. He seemed to be a key member in all the big plays for the Sox.
Jonathan Papelbon - Three games, no runs, dominating performances. Hopefully that hangover wears off before Friday.
Jon Lester - Unbelieveable job by this not-so-young-anymore kid. Lester has now thrown 23.1 innings in the postseason and given up TWO EARNED RUNS. That's a 0.77 ERA in case you were wondering. With him and Josh Beckett in a playoff rotation for years to come, the Red Sox will be tough to beat.

Goats: Eric Aybar - All he had to do was put the bat on the ball. As soon as the squeeze play failed, the momentum went over to the Red Sox for good.
Vlad Guerrero - Sure he batted .467, but no RBI and on extra base hit. Not the type of pop you hope for from a cleanup hitter. Extra deductions for a baserunning blunder that sealed the loss in game one.
Francisco Rodriguez - This is a little harsh to call him a goat because he really only made one bad pitch (and made several great pitches in game three), but any time you give up a game-winning home run in the ninth inning of a short series, you're going to be one of the goats.

Needs improvement: Dustin Pedroia - Showed life with a double in game four (his only hit). The Sox need that to carry over into the ALCS.
Dice-K - Needs to throw strikes and go more than five innings in the next round. He crippled the bullpen in game two, and that cost the team in game three.
Josh Beckett - Obviously he was disappointed with his game three performance, but the Sox will rely on him to come through in the next round.