3 down, 8 to go.

The Boston Red Sox finished up a workout this afternoon and headed to St. Petersburg to prepare for their matchup in the American League Championship Series against their AL East rivals the Tampa Bay Rays. It should be a heck of a matchup at Tropicana Field starting Friday night.

During his press conference today, Red Sox head honcho in the dugout Terry Francona announced his rotation for the ALCS. Just moments later in St. Petersburg, his adversary Joe Maddon did the same. So now the 2008 ALCS pitching matchups are set up. Neither team has announced their rosters yet but both should have announcements during tomorrow’s press conference.

Here is what Terry Francona and Joe Maddon had to say during their press conferences today.

If you didn’t win the chance to purchase World Series tickets, a select number of them will be available by phone only at 3 PM on Friday.

Some members of the Red Sox are sporting postseason goatees. Even I’ve jumped on that wagon.

There might be bad blood between the Red Sox and Rays but neither team plans to act on it.

FOX baseball analyst Tim McCarver called Manny’s act in Boston “despicable”. It’s too bad he wasn’t talking about his broadcasting abilities.

Curt Schilling’s doctor, Dr. Craig Morgan, said if the Big Schill had the surgery way back when, he’d probably be back pitching right now.

Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe talks about the Red Sox rotation in the ALCS and the decision to start Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 1.

Please let us know who you want to win in the ALCS by voting in the poll on the left sidebar.

If you’re interested, Anthony of the Oriole Post and myself will be previewing the ALCS & NLCS on our radio show tonight, The Hits Keep Coming…., at 7 PM.

Friday night can’t come quick enough!!

Just after Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona announced his ALCS rotation, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon announced that he will be going with the same rotation that he used in the ALDS.

Game 1 – Friday, October 10th, 8:37 PM @ Tropicana Field

Daisuke Matsuzka vs James Shields

Game 2 – Saturday, October 11th, 8:07 PM @ Tropicana Field

Josh Beckett vs Scott Kazmir

Game 3 – Monday, October 13th, 4:37 PM @ Fenway Park

Matt Garza vs Jon Lester

Game 4 – Tuesday, October 14th, 8:07 PM @ Fenway Park

Andy Sonnanstine vs Tim Wakefield

Game 5 – Thursday, October 16th, 8:07 PM @ Fenway Park

Scott Kazmir vs Daisuke Matsuzaka

Game 6 – Saturday, October 18th, 8:07 PM @ Tropicana Field

Josh Beckett vs James Shields

*Game 7 – Sunday, October 19th, 8:07 PM @ Tropicana Field

Jon Lester vs Matt Garza

*if necessary

All ALCS games will be broadcast on TBS. Chip Caray, Buck Martinez and Ron Darling will have the call. NESN will be broadcasting 1 hour before and soon as the TBS coverage is over after the game.

If you’re smart and have a DVR, synch up the television feed to Joe Castiglione and Dave O’Brien on the Boston Red Sox Radio Network.

Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has announced his rotation for the first four games of the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Game 1 – Daisuke Matsuzaka
• Game 2 – Josh Beckett
• Game 3 – Jon Lester
• Game 4 – Tim Wakefield

By starting Matsuzaka in Game 1 he avoids him having an extra long layoff of nearly 10 days and by giving the ball to Beckett in Game 2 and Lester in Game 3 he gives each an extra day of rest between starts.  It also lines up Beckett for a potential Game 6 and Lester potentially for Game 7 should they get into an extended series with Tampa Bay.

UConn Huskies defensive lineman Rob Lunn shares his cooking exploits over at Thoughts From a Fat White Guy.

The folks at With Leather are enjoying Lunn’s blog.

Despite the loss on Saturday night, things are still looking good for the Huskies.

The UConn women’s basketball team missed out on a key recruit.

UConn women’s freshman basketball player Tiffany Hayes is adjusting to college life.

David Gillett takes a look at the UConn men’s basketball players and what position they could play on the football team.

It was a relatively quiet day for the Boston Red Sox yesterday. The only real news to come out of the Fens was the fact that the Red Sox haven’t decided upon their ALCS roster or pitching rotation. The same thing holds true for their division rival and opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Red Sox will hold a workout at 12 Noon today at Fenway Park before they head to sunny St. Petersburg. There’s a chance we could learn the identities of the 25-man ALCS roster as well as the rotation for the series. Both Steve and I think it will be Josh Beckett in Game 1, Jon Lester in Game 2, Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 3 and Tim Wakefield or Paul Byrd in Game 4. The starter in Game 4 could go either way but I suspect it could be Wakefield.

Dustin Pedroia picked a good time in the ALDS to break out of his 0-for streak.

After doing battle all season, the Red Sox are a fitting opponent for the Rays.

Despite all the injuries all season long, the Red Sox still have a chance to get back to the World Series.

The Rays are debating on whether to carry an extra position player or pitcher.

The guy the Red Sox traded on July 31st is rooting for his former teammates.

The Rays expect the games in the ALCS to be just like the regular season.

Home field advantage was a huge factor in the regular season series between the two clubs.

The Red Sox young guns played a factor in the ALDS.

The Red Sox were seen partying at Game On after clinching the ALDS on Monday night.

Please let us know who you want to win in the ALCS by voting in the poll on the left sidebar.

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant and Providence Journal websites.

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times websites.