HER RAYS!

Well I really didn’t expect the Rays to pull off a win against CC Sabathia, but he was a bit off and they definitely had their chances.  What did they do with these chances?  They squandered them!

The Rays picked away at CC and came up with three runs.  Shields was cruising, only giving up one.  Kapler made a great catch at the wall to save his butt.  Then it all went awry.  James gave up two home runs and the lead.  Bummer but the Rays still had their chances.

In the seventh one of my favorite things happened.  BJ got on base in front of Carl and soon after they were on second and third with no outs.  Can I have more of this please?  The Rays only got one run out of it, but that could have been a game winner. 

Balfour handled the seventh.  So the Rays have a one run lead going into the eighth.  I’m thinking no problem.  Benoit for the eighth and Soriano for the ninth.  Well Benoit was a little off.  I knew he wasn’t going to be perfect, but he picks now to be a little off!  He gave up a home run to Nick Frickin Swisher.  Plus he was super scary getting out of the inning, but he did keep the game tied.

Girardi makes the call to Mo Rivera to come in and shut down the Rays so the Yankees have a chance to win it.  BJ miraculously gets a broken bat single.  However he kills the rally himself by getting picked off first for the gazillionth time.  Not even close.

Maddon does not make the call to his closer and give the Rays a chance to win the game.  Instead he goes to Choate the lefty specialist.  The lefty specialist who let the two lefties he faced get on base.  I think specialist is the wrong term.  I have another term but we try to be nice around here.  Wheeler was then brought in with the daunting task of sitting Derek Jeter down in a clutch situation.  It took him four strikes but he did it. 

So who does Maddon bring in to face Swisher with two outs in the ninth of a tie game.  Lance Cormier.  Wait what?  I like Lance, but he has been struggling this year.  This game must not be as important as I think is?  Yankees win.  Rays fans go home totally confused.  After Mariano Rivera the Yankees bullpen is shaky.  The Rays would have had a chance if they could have gotten that far.  I know it’s not a save situation, but it’s a win situation.  Where was Soriano?

Time to turn it around tomorrow.  Go Rays!

A win is a win right?  Last night I didn’t post anything because frankly it was one of those games where I just didn’t want to talk about it.  Tonight’s game didn’t feel much better.  Niemann wasn’t great but, it was like a study of opposites as far as hitting goes.  The Jays were striking the ball hard and far, while the Rays were pretty much stinking up the joint, again.

Then in the seventh they started picking away at Toronto’s lead.  I’m not really sure why they took Tallet out, but it worked for the Rays.

The way they have been playing lately, I still didn’t have oodles of confidence that a win was in their future.  Enter Kevin Gregg.  He made quick work of BJ Upton, but then the wheels fell off.  He walked Carl, who stole second immediately.  He had Carl picked off but threw the ball into center field, so Crawford took third.  Gregg then walked Longo.  We’ll skip the Pena at bat because it was shitty all around.  He got out and so did Maddon.  So there are two outs.  I didn’t have a lot of hope, but Gregg was the gift that keeps on giving.  He walked Jaso, and then walked in a run with Benny.  Bases loaded for Sean Rodriguez.  I still didn’t have hope, but Sean came up big!  A double in the gap scored three.  The Rays took the lead.  Whoa.

Slowriano came in and saved the day.  A win is a win right? 

A couple of thoughts on the game…

It’s nice to see BJ in the lead-off spot again, let’s hope it sets him off.
Navi had a pretty good night.  Credit where credit is due.
Balfour scared the crap out of me.  Rodriguez sure saved his butt.
Briggy had a tad of a rough game.  He did have an RBI double, but he looked pretty bad in his other at bats.  He has a  bit of Vladdy in him.  He doesn’ t meet too many pitches he doesn’t like.  I still love him even if he had an error in the bottom of the ninth that caused me and many others serious stress.

A win is a win right?  Put this one in the books and let’s hope the Rays can be more convincing tomorrow.  Go Rays!

Do we honestly need to worry that every time the Rays face a left-hander, not only will they lose but that there’s a good chance they might get no-hit?!  This is troubling indeed.  Jon Lester is the only lefty they’ve seemed to figure out.  Do you know who pitches tomorrow?  Mark Buerhle.  Anybody have any Rolaids?

Thank goodness Carl Crawford was in the building or this would have been downright ugly. 

A couple of relay throws made me wonder if the Red Sox defensive woes were contagious.  However no defense was going to matter tonight since the Rays couldn’t hit the ball or even work a walk.  You have to tip your hat to Danks, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is troubling.

David Price didn’t seem comfortable all night.  Maybe it’s because he knew in order to get a win he’d have to shut down the White Sox.  He gave up three runs, two of them homeruns.  He threw 95 pitches in six innings and he still looked pissed when Mr. Maddon came to get him.  I think Maddon just realized that if the Rays wanted a chance to win this game they needed to keep it close, and Alex Rios had put good wood on one earlier in the game.  

I think Zorilla needs bananas.  He seems to be missing something, and not just the ball.

Balfour was really good for two innings.  I hope to be able to type that sentence a lot more this season.

Wheeler fell prey to Konerko but I’m pretty sure Cy Young would have been gobbled up by Konerko tonight.

So what’s the plan for tomorrow evening?  I think they need to shake up the line-up.  Bring in the kids.  See how Reid can do against a lefty and give Jaso a shot too.  Wade Davis definitely needs to be careful against those big boppers.  The plan is simple though.  HIT THE BALL.  Go Rays!

This game made me grouchy right from the get go!  Why the heck wasn’t it in HD?  Come on!

Where is Brian Anderson?  I want Brian Anderson.  Come on!

What is it about AJ Burnett?  The Rays seem to be rendered useless when he’s on the mound.  Is the snarl his source of power? Come on!

Shields had his normal rough inning early, but what was up with the back to back homers in the 6th?  Come on!

Time to order new bats, because these ones aren’t working.  I don’t have the energy to look up the stats, but the Rays seem to be down in the count a lot.  New York looked a lot more aggressive at the plate.  Granted they were getting fatter pitches, but they really came out swinging right from the beginning.  Take notice fellas.  Come on!

Joe Nelson scares the crap out of me.  He comes in a throws a wild pitch then walks the guy.  Come on!  (he was able to work out of it though)

Evan the RBI machine had a rough go of it tonight.  Unless you count the RBI GIDP.  Come on!

Balfour made me yell at the TV during the Jeter at bat.  He blew two fast balls right by the swinging shortstop, then instead of throwing some junk he decided to press his luck.  Big surprise Captain America singles to right.  Ugh.  Come on!

Albaladejo better watch his back.  Do not hit Longo.  I WILL come down there.  Come on!

Is it bad that I wished Pena was batting 6th when he came up with a chance to pull the Rays within one.  Fail.  Come on!

Shouse.  No other words are needed.  Come on!

Pat, nice home run, but you are late to the party.  Please bring more tomorrow.  Come on!

Yes this game made me Ms. Grouchy McGrouchypants.  The Yanks looked like the much better team.  I hope it made the Rays grouchy too.  Time for them to score some runs, and they have their work cut out for them tomorrow.  CC vs. Kazmir.  Oy.  Let’s hope for the best.  Go Rays.  Come on!

This weekend was filled with all kinds of drama for the Rays.  I was planning on writing about losing Kazmir and Aki and gaining Price, Brignac and Thayer.  That was before the bullpen shit the bed tonight.  They gave up 6 runs with two outs in the bottom of the 9th.  The way that felt to watch I don’t know how they don’t fire somebody.

It was 10-4 at the beginning of the 9th.  Brignac did have an unfortunate error, but the sizable lead should have been enough to cover that.  Balfour and Isringhausen should be hiding in shame somewhere.  I understand that the strike zone was pretty tight, but who flippin cares.  With a seven run lead just don’t walk anyone.  Make them hit it!  Balfour did have a couple guys on when he came in so his meatball turned into 3 runs, but even after that the Rays were still ahead by two with two outs.  How do you excuse that?  Balfour walks the next batter.  In comes Isringhausen, who promptly walks three more batters.  Three!  Why was he still pitching after that?  Did Maddon just figure he had to do better at some point.  Did he scream after this game?  I did.

All weekend I was feeling pretty good about the Rays.  The offense has been rockin, and Price was here to pitch, but with a bullpen like we saw tonight times are gonna be tough my friends.

This is a sucky way to go to bed at night for sure.  I hope the Rays can shake it off and Garza can give them yet another boost.  Okay I’ll give them a weak… Go Rays.

I was trying to get the Rays pitchers to support my walk for charity, but some of them must have gotten confused.  I guess when I said the more you walk to the more money the charity gets, they thought the more batters you walk…? Ugh, not even funny.

The Rays walked ten batters.  Ten.  Your not going to win many of those games, especially when six of those walks scored.  Six.  The White Sox only scored eight runs in total.  Eight.

Lillibridge, the second baseman who looks like a puppy, walked three times.  He scored twice.  Take a stab at his batting average?  .067!  This pains me.

Anderson walked twice and scored once.  He’s batting a whopping .176.  Not good.

Other thoughts from the game:
CC and Barty looked great.  They get ice cream.
Navi needs to find his groove.  They need him back to form.
Balfour needs to ditch the necklaces.  They are obviously bothering him.
When Pena was thrown out at third to completely kill the buzz, did he go on his own?
Pat threw his bat.  Drat.
Carlos Quentin is a beast.  No really I totally picture him in the roll of Jacob from Twilight.  He has werewolf like qualities.
Final conclusion – Needs more Zobrist!

C’mon Garza help them split the series.  Go Rays!

Guru – Good morning son.  I’ve been waiting for you.
Kazmir – Sup.  Can you fix me, like you did Matt and Grant.
Guru – Are you broken?
Kazmir – lil bit.
Guru – I accept the challenge.  What seems to be the problem?
Kazmir – I’m not sure, but I’ve been getting schlacked lately.
Guru – Are you throwing your wicked slider?
Kazmir – Not too much.
Guru – Does it hurt to throw that pitch?
Kazmir – (in creepy girl voice) I’ll never tell.
Guru – Do you feel comfortable out there?
Kazmir – Not when they start hitting everything high and far.
Guru – I want you to wear cashmere under your jersey tonight.
Kazmir – Que?
Guru – Your name reminds me of cashmere and everybody feels more comfortable wearing it.  Besides it will keep you warm and help you to bring the heat.
Kazmir – If you say so.
Guru – Also, you need to quit worrying about your mechanics.  Work fast and just throw.  If you worry about anything it should be your downward torque.  Keep the ball down and you will have much success son.
Kazmir – Wear cashmere and keep it down, pretty simple.
Guru – You can do this.  Remember if you do, it’s party time.  Woop Woop!
Kazmir – Anything else?  Like maybe you need to prescribe a certain something that’s not quite legal for medicinal purposes?
Guru – Not today.  Nice try son.

Because that was exhausting!  The post season is supposed to be all about pitching right?  Not last night.  It was like a study in opposites compared to the first game.

Kazmir had a painful start, giving up two runs in the first.  Not the tone the Rays wanted to set, but you can’t count the Rays out that early in the game.

In the bottom of the 1st.  Pena doubled and the Longo hit a two run homerun to get right back into it.  That was huge against Beckett.  Longo looked more like himself.  Could have been the pep talk he got from Maddon, or maybe my idea worked.  IBT* squad to the rescue.

Both pitchers got through the 2nd inning.  Then Kazmir gives up a homerun to Pedroia.  Ugh.  3-2 Boston.

In the bottom of the 3rd BJ homers right back to tie it.  Longo doubles and Crawford singles to score him.  This game is officially wacked at this point.  4-3 Rays.

Floyd hits a bomb to center in the 4th inning.  5-3 Rays.  Rock on!

Top of the 5th.  Kazmir gives up another homerun to Pedroia.  Two homeruns to mighty mouse!  Yes, I yelled at the TV.  Then he follows that up with another long ball to Youkilis.  Aaaaagh!  Maddon’s seen enough.  Balfour is in.  He promptly serves one up to Jason Bay!  Can no pitcher hold the game tonight?!  Balfour even walked the next two, and JP had to come in to end the inning.  6-5 Boston.  Dammit.

Bottom 5th.  Upton walks and then steals 2nd.  Pena singles and BJ scores.  Unfreakingbelievable.  Tie game.  Longo doubles and scores Pena.  7-6 Rays.  Pitching smitching.  CC singles and scores Longo.  8-6 Rays.  Can they keep it that way?

Top of 6th.  Howell walks Pedroia.  Maddon comes to the mound and says “focus dude, if you only do one thing for me today, strike this mofo out!”  JP strikes out Ortiz.  Bradford comes in and gives up a single to score that pesky Pedroia.  Just like that, the lead is cut to one.

The pitchers actually hold in the seventh.  Totally amazing at this point.

Top of the 8th.  Pedroia singles off of Bradford.  The kid is everywhere, it seems like he’s up to bat every inning.  Miller comes in and walks the only guy he’s asked to get out, Ortiz.  Maybe Maddon should have given him the focus speech.  Wheeler comes in and gets Youkilis to ground into a double play!  Sweet, except now Pedroia is on third.  Then came the wild pitch that was heard around the world.  Pedroia scores.  Tie game, again.  I can’t handle much more of this.

Wheeler actually did a great job except for that wild pitch.  He pitched the Rays into the 11th inning, where he was rescued by Mr. Price.  Price came in with one out and a man on first.  He walked Drew, but then regained his composure and got out of the inning.  You know he had to be so nervous.  Great job chosen one.

Bottom of the 11th.  The Rays face Mike Timlin.  Navi walks and Perez comes in to run for him.  Zobrist walked.  Barty had a timely chopper down to third and moved the runners over.  They walked Aki, and the bases were loaded with one out.  BJ hits a short sac fly to right.  No problem for Speedy McSpeedster, Perez scores.  Rays win!  Rays win game two!

In this case 9>8!  Go Rays!

Get some rest today people.

*itty bitty titty

The Rays beat the White Sox
to go ahead two and O
they had Kazmir on the rocks
but he said screw this and started to mow

Carlos scratched his eye like a dingleberry
good thing Willy is the super sub
and Navi is no hairy fairy
more like and RBI machine for this club

Aki wanted a turn as hero
so he planted one in the seats
Balfour thinks he’s DeNiro
confident he can take out anyone he meets

JP Howell is the man
and it’s nice to have Crawford back
BJ got a triple cuz he really ran
time to cut him some slack

I personally love the Woonsocket Rocket
he could make me sin
what’s next on the docket
Garza awesomeness and another win!

Go Rays!!!

Huh?  They lost.

The Rays won the series, but lost the final game tonight.  LA 5 – Tampa 4.  A lot of blame could be thrown around, but basically the Rays didn’t play a very clean game so they got beat.

They seemed to have the momentum going their way after they tied it up in the 8th.  I would have loved to have seen Rocco in to pinch hit there for Zobrist.  Then again I’d always love to see Rocco over Benny so I’m not very objective.  The crowd would have went nuts, but who knows how Rocco is really feeling.

Balfour came out after pitching a great 8th, to start the 9th.  I’m sure this is because the game was tied, but I honestly don’t think he expected to go back out.  I might be suffering from sleep deprivation but I think I saw him in the dugout in his sweatshirt just chillin with the guys.  Doesn’t matter, but he did give up a lead-off walk.

Then Ruggiano missed a fly ball.  Staats and Kalas seem to think he lost it in the lights.  I think he made a bad decision and decided to let it drop instead of going for it.  We all make bad decisions, but that one really blew.  What would an announcer say?  It changed the whole complexion of the game.

Funny how we can’t accept the losing now isn’t it.  Let’s hope the Rays can get back to their winning ways in Chicago.  Go Rays!!