Where, Oh Where, Are the Devil Dogs?
By Bob Ekstrom It’s already July. We’re looking at the All-Star Break in a week. Interleague play is history, as are the first 81 games of the season. Nine separate intra-divisional rivals have faced each other a dozen times, including the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees. Yet, the Red Sox won’t play their first games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays until this coming week. If you’re a Boston fan, you’re not complaining. The Devil Rays are the least compelling gate on The Hub sports scene. That’s pretty bad considering competition like the Milwaukee Bucks, who tried to outmaneuver the Celtics for the NBA’s second-worst record on their last trip to T.D. Banknorth Garden in April. At least the Bucks come to town only twice a year, and the few extra ping-pong balls always at stake are better theatre than watching Boston batters hypnotized by Casey Fossum’s fastballs. Not to mention, the ping-pong balls move a lot faster. As puzzling as Boston’s wait for this reunion of old AL East frie
