HER RAYS!

A face all Rays fans love.

I’m not sure how coherent this post is going to be since you know I’m totally stoked for Matt.  He threw the first no hitter in Rays history!  What a game.

I got home a little late and picked up the action in the 4th inning.  It took me a little while to figure out what was going on since frankly it was a long day and I was just glad to be sitting at that point.  First my frazzled brain goes to the score. 0-0.  Oh, pitchers duel is my next thought.  Slowly it sinks in, they are both throwing no hitters.  Then as a Rays fan my thought was “not again.”

Both pitchers were dealing until the 6th inning when Scherzer started to show signs of weakness.  He struck out Shoppach, but walked Zobrist.  Carl gets on due to catcher’s interference, and Longo walks.  The Rays have bases loaded but still no hits.  Pena strikes out for the second out.  Who’s up?  Surely you didn’t call me Joyce!  What does he do?  He HITS a grand slam!  How does he look?  Super cute!  How loud was it in my living room?  The squirrels outside ducked and covered.  IT WAS AWESOME!

Meanwhile Mr. Garza just goes about his business.  Carl Crawford as usual made a great catch and then followed it up with a home run. 

Then things got tense.  It was on to the 9th.  Todd Kalas pointed out that all the starting pitchers in the dugout were staying in the same seats so they didn’t mess anything up.  Of course I then felt the need to stay in the same spot even though I was super antsy.  Matt did a great job of keeping himself calm.  Me, not so much.  There was nail biting, knuckle cracking, and whisper chanting.  None of which mattered because he did it.  Matt Garza pitched the first no-hitter in Rays history!  IT WAS AWESOME!

You know it’s great when you’re compelled to watch all of the post game shows.  Congrats to Matt and all the Rays on a great night.  He had his own headline on the ticker!  Go Rays!

This is one of those games that you could tell your friends about and it sounds so far fetched that they’ll think you’re making the whole bloody thing up.

You – Carl Crawford got picked off first.  Guess where the ball hit him?  In the hoo-hoo.
Friend – No way.
You – Way.  He left the game.  Nobody had the balls to call him tater-nuts though.

You – Garza gave up back to back to back home runs in the second.
Friend – Get outta here.
You – Seriously I thought his head was going to explode.

You – BJ Upton hit a home run.
Friend – Because he wanted to jog around the bases instead of running hard?
You – Hardee Har Har

You – Garza gave up another home run to Luke Scott in the 3rd.
Friend – Bringing the total to four?  This story is getting deep.
You - Seems like it.

You – Matt Joyce hit a home run.
Friend – Now that I believe.
You – Plus he’s cute.

You – The Rays scored 4 runs in the 6th inning.
Friend – It’s the Orioles, that’s possible.

You – Benny made a boo boo in right and two runs scored.
Friend – You are a liar.  Take it back.
You – It wasn’t the only weird route he took.

You – Choate was only able to retire one of the lefties he faced.
Friend – That sounds about right.
You - No, I said left.
Friend – Right.

You – Brignac homered to take the lead back to two.
Friend – He’s no Sean Rodriguez.
You – Reid my lips, I love that kid and I will throw you down.

You – The Rays had a two run lead going into the ninth.  Bring in Soriano.
Friend – Game over.
You – Not so much.  Soriano’s a tad rusty since he’s been on the shelf FOREVER.  Tie ball game.
Friend – That blows.
You – Chunks.

You – They go to extra innings.  The Rays take the lead in the top of the 12th.
Friend – But?
You – But they give it right back in the bottom half of the inning. 
Friend – This story is getting tired.
You – You’re telling me.

You – Guess who blew the game?
Friend – Lance Cormier?
You – Oh you’ve heard this story before.
Friend – Tragically.
You – Know what else is tragic?
Friend – What’s that?
You – The Yankees finally freakin lost a game.
Friend – Well you always have the day game after a night game to look forward to.
You – Yippee.  Go 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!

I’m finally home and slowly reconnecting with the world and the Rays.  I left when our boys were limping into July.  However a new month is all they seemed to need.  Either that or the promise of a week off just around the corner improved their spirits.  Whatever it was the Rays went 10-2 during my vacation.  I’m trying not to take it personally.  Plus I will totally be blaming it on the all-star break if they slump when it’s over.

You know what blows?  The home run derby.  Every year I kind of get excited, then I realize that I’m watching 3 HOURS of batting practice.  This tradition needs a major overhaul.  I can’t remember who it was but they suggested getting rid of the rounds and having it more like 9 innings.  Who ever scores the most home runs at the end wins the game.  Who can make this happen?

Congrats to our Futures.  Hellickson and Jennings were impressive I hear.  It’s good to be a Rays fan.

I’ll see you back here tonight with my thoughts on the All-Star game.  Good luck to our guys Crawford, Longo, Soriano and Price.  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!

Splits are good right?  They don’t feel so good.  Matter of fact these games against the White Sox were a bit draining to watch.  One minute they’re up, the next minute they’re down.

Yesterday was great.  Davis was dealing.  Pena and Upton were producing!  Then today was a game of bizarro.  Shields finally got some run support but was totally out of character and gave up a grand slam.  I guess I can’t call him Hans Solo anymore.  I’m sure it was a freak accident and we won’t have to call him Hans Quatro.

Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’d like to make a few wishes.  I’ll list them in my favorite batting order.

I wish for…
Zobrist to embrace his new role as lead-off and continuously set the table.
Carl Crawford to keep being his awesome self even if it turns him into a hot commodity.
Longo to stay healthy all season so we can witness greatness.
Pena to find his stroke and keep it.  I want to see that smile back on his face.
Jaso to stay hot, and keep working hard on his defense.  He shouldn’t make me appreciate Navi.
Willy to keep hitting a heavy ball, and good things will happen.
BJ’s offense to be half as good as his defense which is phenomenal.
Briggy to stay fresh and into it.  I love this kid.
Sean Rodriguez or Gabe Kapler to be successful in their roles, even if it is king of the bunt.

Garza to relax and go to work keeping those Blue Jays at bay.
Barty to take it easy and get healthy.
The Rays to keep their amazing road record going.

Well that’s a lot of wishes, but I have one more.  Please take a moment to remember the soldiers, past and present, for all that they’ve done for us.  Go 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!

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!

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!