Nothing of immense shock here, but it’s officially official: Cubs catcher Geovany Soto is your National League Rookie of the Year, after throwing down an impressive 23 homers and 86 RBIs for the Cubbies. Upstart White Sox second baseman (and likely soon-to-be shortstop) Alexei Ramirez finished second in the AL voting, as Tampa Bay third baseman — and all around beast — Evan Longoria topped the AL ballot.

For their victories, each player gets a bathtub made of gold and a box of Cheerios*.

*Not true, but a blogger can dream.

It’s rare I’ve feigned any emotion at these baseball playoffs; once my White Sox got dropped by the Rays, none of the matchups have had much punch or drama. (I suppose, though, I could just watch the games and not hope every single inning is like an episode of “The Hills.”)

That was until I watched the Red Sox-Rays game last evening. The short synopsis: the Rays built a 7-0 lead, only to see it crumble apart in the seventh, eight and ninth inning as the Red Sox put on a hit clinic and got a little luck in the ninth with an errant Evan Longoria throw to first. The Red Sox scored eight unanswered, and won 8-7.

For a visual breakdown of the aforementioned runs, I turn to the one and only Awful Announcing:

The Rays still lead this guy 3-2, and after an off-day today, they’ll resume the series down at the Trop on Saturday. But can the mighty Red Sox come back and win the ALCS in route to yet another World Series title? The excitement! The intrigue! The drama!

Also: Congratulations to Red Sox fans, who managed to stay the entire game this time.