Few things from tonight's Game 6 win:

1. Can we all agree that James Shields should no longer be referred to as "Big Game James" at this point? I mean he wasn't terrible tonight, but shouldn't you have a bit more of a track record than three postseason starts before you get a nickname like that? After taking the loss tonight, there are dozens of nicknames that would better describe the Rays' "ace." I'm casting my vote for James "Can't shut the door" James.

2. Beckett (5 IP, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR allowed), who clearly is not 100%, really dialed it up a notch, as he's been known to do from time to time. While his velocity was a bit better, he got batters out tonight by being smart with his pitch selection and relying on the guys behind him. He showed a ton of guts and reminded us all of why he's one of the best postseason pitchers of all time, even when he's hurting.

3. Tek's 1-for-16 showing through 6 games isn't overly encouraging, but that one hit could not have been bigger (and if any of you claim to have called Tek's 6th inning homer, you're full of shit). Tito put it best when he said "I don't think I could, from our side, think of anything more appropriate... The way it happened, as hard as he's worked, it meant a lot to everybody."

4. Other offensive performances worth mentioning: Coco 3-4, BB, run (it'll be tough to keep Ellsbury on the bench if they make it to the WS, but you couldn't fault Tito for riding the hot hand); Papi 2-4, RBI, BB (he's had a slow go of it this postseason, but with hits in each of the past three games, it looks like he's right on track); Youk 1-5, HR, 2 RBI (arguably a bigger HR than Tek's because it provided a quick answer to Upton's monster blast in the first); Drew 2-4, BB (gotten himself on base five times in the past two games... guess that's why he's banking $14 mil. per year)

5. The bullpen really locked it down tonight. Okie, Masterson and Pap combined to pitch 4 innings, gave up no hits, walked one and struck out three. It was an impressive performance by all three, but Okajima especially has looked far better than he did at any point during the regular season. Also worth noting that he hasn't given up a single earned run in 6.1 innings this series.

6. B.J. Upton is legit, even if he does tank it once every three plays. Jason Bartlett is a nobody and has no business taking Beckett deep. Just wanted to clear that up.

7. Derryl Cousins is a pussy. Seriously. Catchers take balls to the chin (giggle) worse than that every game, multiple times per game, and this guy has to delay Game 6 of the ALCS for 20 minutes just to ultimately end up deciding to pull himself out of the game? I hope he's alright, and I'm sure it hurt a good deal, but give me a break. This is playoff baseball, homie.

8. Thank you to the very generous folks over at TBS for allowing us to watch 8+ innings of the game. It's not like we weren't expecting to tune in and have to watch 10 minutes of whatever ethnically-driven show Steve Harvey's attempting to be funny in. Hopefully we don't get stuck watching the beginning of Men in Black tomorrow because their mysterious router's down again (and yes, MIB is the currently-scheduled programming for tomorrow at 8 PM).