Up against a youthful dream team

It's a grim scenario for the Red Sox and their fans. The Rays pounded the Sox, 13-4, last night for their third straight win. This is a Sox team on which some people know what it's like to come back from a 3-0 deficit, and several more know what it's like to come back from 3-1. But asking a franchise to do the Lazarus act for the third time in five years? Is that asking a bit too much?

It's doable, right? Dice-K throws another gem tomorrow. Beckett finds himself Saturday. Lester goes back to being Lester on Sunday. The Tampa Bay bats cool off and the world returns to normal. Sounds nice and simple.

On the other hand . . . it's worse than you think. Tampa Bay probably will win, and then the fans around here will have to face facts, the primary one being this: The Tampa Bay Rays are not just good, but young good.

The catcher is 24, the first baseman is 30, the second baseman is 29, the shortstop is 28, the third baseman is 23, the left fielder is 27, and the center fielder is 24. They don't have a steady right fielder yet, but they're working on it.

The starting pitchers? Don't ask. Scott Kazmir is 24. Matt Garza is 24. Andy Sonnanstine is 25. Edwin Jackson is 25.

And then there's tomorrow's Game 5 starter, James Shields.

"They call me the old man of the staff because I'm 26 years old and the oldest guy on the staff," he says. "It's kind of an ongoing joke in the clubhouse."

The Red Sox aren't laughing, and neither are the Yankees, Blue Jays, or Orioles. These guys from Florida could be an impediment to their AL East success for many more years.

The bullpen? More trouble. Grant Balfour is 30. Dan Wheeler is 30. J.P. Howell is 25.

Remember when the youth and - ha! - the "inexperience" was supposed to be an issue? When was that, exactly? Was it when they had a 20-10 May to announce their intention of being in the race? Was it their 16-10 June? Oh, that's right. It was that seven-game losing streak heading into the All-Star break. But wait a minute. Hadn't they won 12 of 13 prior to that little dip? Didn't that count?