HER RAYS!

Well Jason Bartlett set the table beautifully with a lead off home run. 

The meat and potatoes was provided by Wade Davis.  Rays fans are very spoiled to have a fifth starter that can hold the Yankees to two runs.  You gotta love the guy.

Defense was a key side dish to break things up.

The offense was gravy.  Lots of gravy.  Everyone contributed.  To the tune of 10 runs.  Rays fans haven’t been treated to that in a while.  Matter of fact their stomachs must not have been ready for it…

However it’s good thing they fattened up on gravy, because one of the Rays pitchers was too tired to serve.  Sonny, grrrrr. 

Benoit is a relief pitcher, he provided the Tums. 

Now it is definitely time for a nap so that we have a chance at handling the next course.  Go Rays!

Jose Molina has a go-go gadget arm.  He will throw your ass out.  If he can throw Carl Crawford out TWICE, he can throw anybody out.  Why keep trying? Does it become like a Tin Cup moment?

They have a Molina, so what the Rays have a Price.  You see you don’t need to throw out runners if your pitcher doesn’t let them reach base.  David Price sent the Jays home today without even so much as a parting gift.  He was filthy and efficient, a wonderful combination. 

It’s so much fun having a catcher that can hit!  Jaso was 2 for 3.  Think Navi gives him the stink eye the whole game?

I love Barty, but it was awesome to see Brignac at short today.  Like Natalie Imbruglia, I’m torn.  At least Jason came in and drove in some runs.

BJ, Longo and Pena have been pretty solid lately, just quietly going about their business.  This team is so groovy.

Speaking of groovy, Mr. Garza and Aybar were groovin in the dugout.  I think we need an encore. 

There was a Matt Joyce spotting.  Somebody twirl that boy in bubble wrap, until he gets better.

In conclusion, the Rays are awesome right now.  Baseball is fun.  Let the good times roll.  Go Rays!

I got my free t-shirt.

I’m surprised there weren’t more men going for these shirts.  I know guys who have way bigger crushes on Longo than I do, and that’s say something.

The place seemed pretty empty, but then the people just kept rolling in.  22,000 is not bad for Friday night, and I would think there will be more over the weekend.  Plus wasn’t there some sort of draft going on?

So I’m not going to lie.  When Matt Garza’s other personality showed up I was squirming in my seat.  You see my mind is warped and I was starting to wonder if this was all my fault.  Did I break the streak by not being in my comfy chair at home, where I was for the first three of his awesome starts.  Then I decided to get over myself, and hope he’d snap out of it.  It turned out to be the first inning from hell.  Matt did better after that, but I don’t think he was ever feeling good out there.  Remind me to never piss him off in person.

I wish I knew if he was getting squeezed on pitches.  The Navi ejection made me think so, but it’s hard to tell without foxtrack.  Cecil seemed pretty comfortable.  Plus he looked badass in those glasses.

The Rays had quite a hole to dig out of and they just came up short.  Willy Aybar got things started with a home run, but Grant Balfour came out and gave it right back.  Mood killer.

The boys kept picking away though.  Benny doubled in Kapler to add one.  Kapler homered to add two.  He and Willy had great nights.  BJ singled to add one more.  Plus he’s awesome to watch roam centerfield.  So they are down by one, with two on and Jaso hits one hard and far but…it’s caught.  Tease.

Oh the bullpen did a good job of keeping the game within reach.  On to the bottom of the ninth, which puzzled me.  Why didn’t they pinch hit for Kapler?  Barty struck out looking.  Where was that pitch?  Looked too good to take.  Carl singled.  Which brings up Benny.  Once again, I don’t know where the pitches are but man it looked like they were close to take.  I’m surprised he wasn’t more aggressive there?  I’m not going to doubt him though since he’s pretty good at baseball. 

It was a bummer, but exciting to the end.  It’s not easy to win games when your starting pitcher is human and gives up five runs early.  Let’s hope Niemann gets back on track tomorrow.  The game is not on TV, so someone will have to let me know how he looks.  Go Rays!

Listen up Rays fans.  The time is now.  Your favorite team just came off the best road trip ever.  It’s time to get out to a game and show them your support.

This team is making it work.  Last night James “Hans Solo” Shields finally got some run support.  So of course what happens, his defense was a little scary.  James had to work extra hard and get extra outs through a few innings.  Luckily the bats picked him up.  I hope the crew made sure to pack those bats carefully and bring them back to Tampa Bay.  Because those bats are working.

Anyway after all their hard work on the road, I think we should make sure to come out and support them at home.  There is a lot to cheer about right now.

Garza is on the hill tonight, hoping to continue his dominance.
Barty was streaky on offense and defense on the road trip, so we need to perk him up.
Who knows how long we’ll be able to witness Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena’s greatness. 
Great news, Zobrist just got a shiny new deal.  He’s not going anywhere.
Longo gets plenty of cheers, but a few more and an ”I heart Longo” shirt won’t hurt.
Let’s scream extra loud for BJ.  To show him how awesome we think he is, so maybe he can get a shiny deal like Benny.
Navi definitely could use some positive reinforcement.   
Then you have the kids, who are super fun to watch.  Brignac is coming off a great game.  Rodriguez and Jaso are entertaining also.
How about cheering for Pat Burrell for once.  He’s been driving in some runs.  I think he’ll hit one out this weekend.
Don’t know if Willy’s baby has arrived, but I always like to see his bat in the line-up.
Oh and don’t forget about Kapler he’s nice on the eyes and he’ll scare you in the field but he usually makes the play.
The bullpen has been doing their job.  Let’s drink to that!

Let’s do this people.  See you at the Trop.  Go Rays!

Because the Rays are having a good time there.

They started the game with small ball.  Barty doubles, and Carl moves him to third with a sac bunt.  Zobrist puts it in play and Barty scores. 1-0 good guys.

Niemann goes to work and shuts them down.  He’s like a big oak tree.  He’s not flashy, he’s just solid.  I wanna give him a big bear hug.

Jason Bartlett likes John Lackey’s pitching.  He gets on again in the third.  Carl gets a base hit too.  Ben Zobrist walked twice, but actually struck out.  Yeah, try and figure that one out.  It’s alright Longo makes them pay with a two run double.  3-0 Rays.  Pena walks and then BJ strokes one to center.  Welcome back Benjamin Jackson!  6-0 Rays, good times.

In the 4th Reid Brignac doubles.  I think he should play everyday folks.  What’s he going to do stike out against lefties?  I’m sorry, that wasn’t nice.  Navi moves him over and then the unstoppable Bartlett hits a triple sending Lackey to the showers early.  Carl Crawford hits a sac fly off the replacement pitcher and the Rays are up 8-0.

I gotta be honest.  At this point I have faith that the Rays can pull this one out, and I have to get some work done.  I did keep the game on in the background though.  I saw Pat the Bat think he was fast, and I saw the Hermida homerun, and I saw the final outcome.  Rays win!

I hope they have this much fun in Chicago.  Do we get Brian Anderson again?  He increases my viewing pleasure exponentially.  Go Rays!

Bizarre is how I’d classify game 1 in Boston.  The boys were wearing number 42 and it was 42 degrees and dropping that night.  Wade Davis was not sharp.  He got into way too many full counts and used way too many pitches, but who flippin cares.  He’ll work on those things later.  He’s the number five starter and he went to Boston and held them to one run.  I’m a simple girl and that makes me happy.

The baseball gods seemed to be on the Rays side.  Carl Crawford hits a ball to short.  Scutaro couldn’t make the play.  Then CC steals second.  Then Zobrist hits a chopper to third which Beltre loses in the lights?  Carl scores.  I can’t believe Josh Beckett’s head didn’t explode.  This is the run that held them through.  Weird.

So I hear that Varitek can’t catch up to a good fastball anymore, and the Rays were told to in no way throw him an off-speed pitch.  However he homered on an off-speed pitch.  Who’s grounded?

Big Papi finally hits a double and Youkilis forgets that he’s not wicked fast and tries to score from first.  You’re out dude!

Choate came in for his confidence booster and received a lolly pop for being a good boy.

Lance Cormier deserves a medal for his performance in this game.  Especially for getting two ground balls after some mishaps loaded the bases.  Kudos to Longo for making it up to him and getting the final two outs.  How many of you thought the Rays would get out of that jam?  How many thought Pat Burrell would be the one to bring it home?  Yeah not many.

It is pretty cool when the DH hits.  Keep it up Pat.

On to game two.  Disclaimer – I was flipping between this and the Mets/Cardinals while also keeping up on the no hitter.  That’s a whole lot of baseball boys.  I feel like I should watch a chick flick today.  Any recommendations.

The Rays got to Buchholz right off the bat.  Get it, off the bat.  Hee Hee.  Barty grounded out.  Crawford singled.  Benny moves him over, and then he steals third.  Speed rocks.  Longo walks.  Then Pena hits a fly ball to center.  This is where Cameron drops the ball and it’s the gift that keeps on giving.  Carl scores.  Upton walks to load the bases.  So what happens when the DH does hit?  Pat hits a double down the line and clears the bases!  4-0 good guys.  Way to go Pat, you phat.

Shields cruises with the lead.  Literally, he’s hardly taking a breath in between pitches.  In the fifth he got the first two batters out easily.  At this point I said out loud “He needs to slow down.”  That must have been my women’s intuition because right after that Scutaro hit a home run.  A single later and Hickey came out to tell James “Slow down man.”

Marco Scutaro is an excellent defensive player, so do you think that there is an E6 curse at Fenway?  BJ gets on, and is shortly at third.  Speed rocks.  Jaso doubles and brings him in.  Can we keep that Jaso kid?

Longo homers.  Love him.

Shields struggled in the 7th.  I think he was out of gas.  Sonny didn’t help.  No excuses for him.  Choate got another ground out.  Good boy.  Wheels worked a scoreless inning, and Soriano had his first 1,2,3 inning.  In short Rays win again.  Yahoo!

One final note, Sean Rodriguez looked awful at the plate and went 0-4.  Team Brignac, just sayin.  Go Rays!!

It’s the Orioles so make sure you remember the grain of salt.

The main ingredient is the starting pitching.  Garza made one mistake early, but was able to correct himself.  More importantly though he was economical and had enough left over to stick around through the eighth.

Every thing is better with a little Cajun seasoning.  Reid scorched one and got his team right back in the game.  Team Brignac!  Even his accidental RBI bunt was hot.

Don’t forget the staple ingredients.  They are always on hand and are a big part of the final product.  Barty keeps contributing as does Zobrist.  Longo drove in a run.  BJ singled and scored, and even Pat Burrell complimented the recipe. 

Then there’s the creme de le creme.  Carl Crawford was flippin stellar tonight.  He was four for four with a homerun, and he made an incredible catch to save Mr. Garza’s behind.  Maybe we should all starting saving our pennies so we can keep him as a steady part of our diet.

The only thing that can make this recipe better is to follow it with a night cap.  Soriano works nicely.

Let’s have the same thing tomorrow night.

The chin thing lives, but it did seem trimmed?

I didn’t get home until late in the day, but I had made sure to record the game. I knew from numerous updates that the Rays lost the series to the Yankees.

First thing I did was check the box score and read the play by play. A couple of things stood out. Brignac wasn’t in the line-up, darn it. Barty was staying hot. Pat Burrell got two hits. No shiz. Plus every Rays pitcher who came into the game gave up a run. Not good.

That’s when I decided I didn’t need to go back and watch this game. It would be better if I skipped that negative energy and instead got fired up for tomorrow night’s game.

I did have to turn on the game for a minute though. I had to check out the new jerseys. Hmm, I don’t think I care for them. They are quite bright. Do you get used to them if you watch the whole game? They remind me of something.

Zorilla bunts?

Blue Moon Ice Cream

The Tampa Bay Rays 2009 season is now in the books, and it is quite a collection of stories. 

Beloved main characters were lost.  Rocco Baldelli defected to enemy territory.  Jonny Gomes found success in a different city, and Scott Kazmir headed to LA to try to become a star.

The team’s story got off to a slow start in April but it picked up the next month.  Different facets did well at different times.  At times the offense was at the forefront.  Other times the pitching was masterful.  Even the bullpen had its moments.  However, the team never seemed to put it all together for any length of time.  This underlying theme is present throughout the 2009 story.

There were many subplots involving individual characters this year, some are joyous and others heartbreaking.  First there were the stories of the five all-stars.

Jason Bartlett had an amazing season at the plate.  He increased his power and got on base routinely, all while playing a not too shabby shortstop.  Plus I shared an elevator with his wife and son, and let’s just say he is a very lucky man.

Ben Zobrist decided to show the baseball world that he’s got this game figured out and he’s not going anywhere.

Evan Longoria started out blazing hot, and eventually cooled.  It’s obvious he has the talent to be an MVP in the future though.

Carlos Pena’s story is hard to classify.  Is it fantasy, he did hit 39 homeruns and didn’t even play the last month of the season.  Or is it tragedy, because he only hit about that many singles and he snapped two fingers?

Carl Crawford’s guide to a great year in left field is a best seller.  Hopefully we’ll get to read the sequel next year.

Jeff Niemann also quietly put together a great rookie campaign.  Let’s hope he can build on it next year.

Then there were the few, the tired, and the weary.  James Shields and Matt Garza didn’t have bad seasons they just were not nearly as sharp.  Let’s hope they get some much needed rest and come back strong next spring.

Now on to the sad stories…

BJ Upton’s was perhaps the saddest of them all.  This kid has enough talent to carry this team if he can find a way to put it all together.  It was very hard to watch him struggle.  I only hope we can watch his epic comeback next season.

Navi also struggled.  That is putting it mildly.  Only he can write the next part of his story.  I hope he puts in the work.

Pat Burrell’s got some ’splaining to do.  I would prefer he does it with his bat in about six months time.  If he can’t, I hope to see his butt on the bench and Willy Aybar’s cracking bat in the line-up.

The most painful story of the Rays season by far was of course the collapse of the bullpen.  It actually caused this blogger to seek therapy in college football, while watching the Rays with my hands over my eyes.

The coaching is hard to summarize.  My personal review is that Mr. Maddon is loyal to a fault, and it hurt this team this year.  It aided to the fact that the team never put it all together.  I understand wanting to encourage guys and show them support, but if it is at the expense of the team??  BJ Upton was left in the lead off spot for way too long.  Andy Sonnanstine was given way too many chances.  Pat Burrell was put in the line-up consistently and never proved that he deserved to be there.  Several relief pitchers were marched out there time and time again even during their own personal suckfests.  This is only my opinion, but I really feel that it hurt the team this season.

The most puzzling story is the one where the hitting coach is let go and the pitching coach stays??

Remember even though this season is in the books there are many exciting stories to look forward to next season.  Young kids who could save the world.  Okay, I might be getting a little dramatic now…

As for Her Rays, this season mirrored the team’s.  After an epic rookie year that was very exciting, this blogger suffered a bit of a let down this year.  Real life seemed to get in the way a little more, and as a result the performance lacked.  I still had a great time, and I have the Rays to thank for that.

I’m not sure what the future will hold for this blog.  Either I will work really hard this off-season and make the team out of spring training or I might be designated for assignment.  Thank you to those of you who stopped by.  I appreciate it.  A special thanks to those of you who were nice.  Yes, I found out these internets can be a cruel place.  Oh, and a very special thanks to the Professor at Rays Index for all of your support.

Have a happy off-season.  If I’m not here in the spring, you can find me at a Rays game.  Go Rays!

Yesterday I realized something.  Even though I haven’t been that interested in the Rays, they only have three games left this season.  Three games before they are out of our lives for the winter.  Knowing how much I will miss those guys, I decided to appreciate them for the final weekend.

The Rays definitely didn’t live up to their potential this season, but a couple of guys have had great years and they deserve some kudos.  Yes I’m lookin at you Zobrist, Bartlett, Crawford and Niemann. 

So I went out to support the team and man was I ever rewarded.  BJ Upton hit for the cycle!  The first Rays player to ever hit for the cycle.  He had a great game and it was great to see.  Yes I was one of the many fans who wondered if BJ would have found his stroke earlier in the season if the ending would have been written differently. 

Here’s hoping they have a great weekend.  Enjoy them, two more times.  Maybe they can collect some magic for next year.  Go Rays!