HER RAYS!

Jeff Niemann, the big solid oak tree, brought the Rays back to the winners circle.  He had a couple of walks in the second that scared the bejesus out of me, but he got out of it and only really made one mistake all night.  I’m telling you the dude is solid.  Embrace him people.

Carl Crawford soothed the whole fan base with his first inning home run.  This was really good considering it wasn’t until the fifth that the Rays could get anything going again and it was Carl who drove in that run too.

Remember when everyone was choosing between Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac?  I was happy when Sean got hit by a pitch tonight, because he didn’t seem hurt and that actually put him on base.  Reid on the other hand I want in the line-up every day.  Sean did get lucky on a gutsy/dumb play taking third base, and he eventually scored.  This doesn’t really change how I feel about him vs. BJ.  As painful as it is to watch BJ at bat right now, I would much rather see him in center field.  Besides offensively they’re about the same.

I have the same problem with Pena.  He is the master at first base.  Does his defense make up for his sucking at the plate?

Longo homered in the sixth.  I cheered and then found myself wondering if he really manscapes.  Ugh. 

Hank Blalock drove in some much needed insurance runs.  I have more warm fuzzies for him than Burrell.

Choate gave up a hit, but Wheeler saved the day.

See they just needed to change their Sox.  Let’s hope David Price can find his groove again tomorrow.  Go Rays!

Friday night I got home kind of late and I sat there with a lot of hope thinking the Rays would make it happen.  If I had watched the whole game I might not have had that hope.  The middle of the order was like a big ole free pass for the Mariners.  That’s a hard way to win games.

Fast forward to this afternoon.  James Shields goes to work.  He held Seattle to two runs, but as is often the case his offense wasn’t helping him out.  Finally Longo got the first hit, and it became a ball game. 

Team Brignac had another reason to get excited today.  Good job Reid!

Pat Burrell was designated for assignment and the day he leaves Willy Aybar hits a walk off home run.  Somehow it seems fitting.  

I really wish Pat the best of luck where ever he ends up.  From the beginning this just wasn’t a good fit for him.  He never really seemed comfortable and that’s a bummer for both sides.

Let’s hope the Rays can pick up the series tomorrow.  Go Rays!

Somebody better buy Jered Weaver a drink tonight.  He had what you’d call an unlucky game, and I don’t mean unlucky like someone who didn’t win the lottery.  I mean unlucky like someone slipping in dog shit and spilling coffee all over himself.  I’ve never seen a pitcher rush a catcher, but I think it was a definite possibility tonight.  I think I even heard him mutter “You ain’t no Budde of mine.” 

The whole thing started off on a bad note for Weaver.  He gets Barty to hit a ground ball and his third baseman makes a wide throw.  Then Barty steals second.  At which point CC lays down a sweet drag bunt and there is no way Weaver is beating him to the bag.  Zobrist pounces and hits a double to right, Barty the error scores.  Weaver is a little pissed at this point, so he strikes out Longo.  However he walks Pena to load the bases.  He gets BJ looking and his catcher starts to run off the field.  Weaver quickly says “Yo Budde two outs not three.”  Weaver then breathes a sigh of relief when Pat Burrell steps up.  He thinks to himself “easy out.”  This is when his catcher Budde doesn’t catch a pitch and another run scores.  Rays fans like this Budde, Weaver not so much.

The fun doesn’t end there.  In the fifth inning Barty walks on a pitch that if it was caught might have been a strike.  You guessed it, Weaver was thrilled.  Then Carl Crawford hits a ground ball to short, except the shortstop Aybar was covering second so it gets through.  Weaver grits his teeth and keeps working.  Then his catcher Budde lets another ball get by and another run scores.  At this point Weaver is wondering if he is on candid camera.  To his credit he pitched seven innings with only one earned run.  Budde should get the loss.

As for the Rays it was great to actually see them again.  David Price did great.  I didn’t love it when he walked the eight and nine hitters but he handled it.  The bullpen was good tonight.  Anyone else find Soriano comforting.  He’s calm.

How many strikeouts are too many?  The Rays had 14 tonight.  That’s a lot of guys just sitting back down. 

I was glad to see BJ get a single, because he has looked pretty awful at the plate lately.  Good thing he is pretty awesome in center field.

Pat Burrell did not help his cause tonight.  Think anyone’s ever tried to shorten his big huge loping swing?

6 wins on this nine game road trip.  That’ll do.  Just kidding, great job boys now come on home!  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

David was mixing and matching and wheeling and dealing.  He had it all working for him last night.  It is a pretty awesome feeling to watch a game and know that your pitcher has the big bad Yankees under control.

I gotta say that I like Javier Vazquez too.  He looked good until the fourth inning when the Rays seemed to figure him out.  The bats came alive, even Navi’s! 

Maybe Pat Burrell will benefit from a little healthy competition, because Willy Aybar could be gunning for his job.

All in all this was a comfortable game.  David Price basically said “I got this.”  That’s probably a good thing, since today’s game will be anything but comfortable.  CC Sabathia will be in the house.  Go Rays!!

Whew!  James Shields has a lot on his mind.  His wife is about ready to pop.  He’s the opening starter for the third year in a row.  His team looks awesome on paper this year.  Yet tonight an old nagging worry showed up.  Is he ever going to get any run support.  How many times is he going to hold his opponents to two or three runs and not get the win.  When is he going to get some love?

We love him but James will be known as Hans Solo around these parts until he fixes that little glitch of giving up solo home runs.  At one point he had only given up four hits but three of them were dingers.  Let’s hope we can ditch this nickname after his next start.

Besides those mistakes he pitched pretty well through his troubles.  The guy is steady.  Also he can’t be sad tonight because the runs did show up, in dramatic fashion.  Rays win!  Man did I miss this.

I mean it’s a walk off win, on opening day.  Yippee.

Just a few thoughts…
Navi vs. Markakis was entertaining.
Is situational hitting a lost art?
Pat the Bat sees the stop sign, Pat the Bat flees the stop sign.
Long Longo balls are fun.
Bullpens that do their job are more fun.  However drama still arises.
Two catchers are better than one.
Carl Crawford is awesome, and I’m going to appreciate him like never before. 

One down 161 to go.  Think we can handle it?  Go Rays!