And to make matters worse, management is ripping the fans:

“No, the mood lighting was not very good tonight,” Rays manager Joe Maddon cracked. “It was kind of awkward because you’d like to think you get beyond that point where the crowd tips to the other side. But it definitely did tonight.

“We still have our loyalists that do come out and support us and they’re very good, but it’s kind of awkward when you get to this position and all of a sudden the majority of the crowd is for the other side.”

I heard that the team president say he was disappointed and saw this series as a highlight of the year, thinking there would be sell-out crowds for the 3 games. But just like the World Series, plenty of Phillies fans made the trip to Florida, or live there, since the Phils train in Clearwater. I don’t know how he expected big crowds for a regular season game when there were Series tickets available a day prior to the game.

Either way, that dome has got to go. Playing games where balls hit speakers and turn into outs is ridiculous.

Well then, the owner has no one to blame but himself. Making an inter-league game a “prime game” is strange. I wonder if it would have been a regularly-priced game if the Phils and Rays had each finished fourth?

The Orioles have “prime games” too, but they’re mostly Yankees, Red Sox and other big-time AL opponents. The Phillies charge more between Memorial Day and Labor Day than during spring and fall – figuring that they’ll put the screws to mom and dad taking the kids for a summer night of baseball. They sell-out just about every home game, so “prime games” are every day!

Is Garza still spitting? I think he’s pitching against the Phils.