ALCS: Who's the Bossman? It's Upton and the Rays

Everybody in Boston expected a big star to be born at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon.

They were ready to crown Jon Lester. Instead, they got B.J. Upton.

The wiry 6-foot-3, 185-pound Tampa Bay center fielder hit a three-run, tape-measure homer over the Green Monster that was the key blow, one of four homers the Rays hit in a surprisingly easy 9-1 victory on Monday.

"He has this calm demeanor and people mistake it for laziness sometimes, but he's really just calm," said teammate Carl Crawford, on the 24-year-old Upton, to ESPN.com. "He can make any throw on the field, and at the plate he'll hit the ball 400 feet. He's one of those guys that you look at and you wish you had everything he has."

B.J. stands for "Bossman Junior" - his father was known as "Bossman" - and the Rays are certainly in charge now. They're assured of the series going back to St. Petersburg at the very least, a dome where the Rays had the best home record in the majors. And they can go for a 3-1 series lead on Tuesday against knuckleball specialist Tim Wakefield, who is 0-2 in three starts against Tampa Bay this season.

Many in Boston, especially after the Red Sox's Game 1 win, were making World Series plans. The Rays have had a big answer.

"How many times do we have to prove people wrong, that we can play?" Game 3 winning pitcher Matt Garza said to McClatchy Newspapers. "We have a chip on our shoulder."

Schedule, more in Playoff Central.