HER RAYS!

I can handle the Rays losing.  As long as they are playing good, but last night they blew.  Seriously, they blew chunks.

First of all it’s not always Sonny in Philadelphia.  I think Rays fans everywhere knew trouble was brewing when Sonny came out and couldn’t throw strikes.  Sonny always throws strikes, ugh.

Then there’s the Rays who can’t hit.  You guys are super cute and I love you, but c’mon now quit thinking so much.  If Hinske can step in and hit a homerun, and Willy can step in and rope a single, and Sonny your pitcher can get a hit, it can’t really be that hard can it???

Plus the bullpen has chosen now to be bad at pitching.  Really?  Now?

So here’s the deal.  In order to not make me hibernate and gorge myself with Halloween candy the Rays need to play better tonight.  Like really play their asses off, none of this fading into the night.  Time to pick up a win.  Nobody wants Philly to win it this easy and at home.  Well maybe some Philly fans do…

I’m sure Mr. Maddon reads this site and takes my advice to heart therefore I’m going to lay down the plan for him.  Kazmir starts and pitches well into the sixth.  At the first sign of trouble, the only option is to bring in the kid, King David.  At no point are you to even think of any other relievers.  He will get it done.  Fernando Perez is to start in right field.  Use his speed in the field and on the basepaths.  He can bat right handed which is the side he’s much better from.  If he’s not performing, Rocco can bail him out.  Also, and this is a tough call, if Longo or Pena are still sucking by the third inning, do you bring in Willy to play third or Hinske to play first???  I’ll leave that one up to you. 

It’s crunch time.  Time for the real Rays to stand up.  Go Rays!!!

Holy Shitske!

People the Rays won again.  I know right?  Hinske made that web gem.  Edwin pitched seven innings and only gave up one run.  The bullpen gave up a couple of runs, but they still saved the game.  Floyd and Aybar took care of the offense.  This team can play some baseball.  There were 14,000 people there to witness it first hand.

The attendance for this series has been a hot topic.  That’s why I must make a confession.  Besides all of the normal excuses of money, work, etc., there is one other reason Rays fans don’t get out to the games during the week.  Thirsty Thursdays.

Depending how far you want to stretch the Tampa Bay area, there are three to five minor league teams that play here.  So some people, yes I’m guilty, abandon their major league team.  Why?  Because sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.  It could also have something to do with the dollar beers, and the gulf breeze as you watch outdoor baseball.

This does not mean that I love the Rays any less.  I mean, have you met me?  I just prefer to go to the Trop on the weekends.  Sorry Rays.  Keep up with the whole being awesome thing and I’ll see you this weekend.  Go Rays!!

(photo ESPN)

I’m sure you’ve heard by now.  Longo is joining Carl on the DL.  This sucks hard.  It’s a big fat bummer folks.  However if you’re feeling low, you’ve come to the right place, because this girl is an optimist. 

This is not to say that we won’t miss these boys.  My love for them is well documented, but this team hasn’t gotten this far riding on one man’s shoulders.  It has been a team effort, with lots of heroes.  So three weeks should be no problem, and then they will be all set for the final push in September.  Rally caps Rays fans!

Here’s the plan…
The pitching staff decides to be even more awesome than before.  Starting with Kazmir blowing the white shoes off of the A’s tonight.
Navi stays his consistent self and ups his RBI’s by default.
Pena plays stellar defense and keeps roping the ball on offense.  Oh and occasionally he takes his shirt off in the dugout to make up for the loss of Longo.
Aki continues to get on base, and dances with Zobrist whenever the mood strikes them.
Barty returns, but still hits like a DH, and tries to surpass Carl in triples.
Aybar takes over third admirably and keeps his bat hot.  Someone buy him bat covers that look like boots with fur!
Hinske plays an okay left, but nobody notices because he hits an insane amount of homeruns making the Rays look brilliant.
BJ exudes the attitude “Who needs them when you’ve got me” and becomes the premier centerfielder in the game.
Gross and Ruggiano both field and hit so well that Maddon honestly can’t decide who to put out there after…
Rocco plays magnificent the first six innings!  Everyone’s afraid to leave him out there too long.
Cliff Floyd decides he really hates to run so he just hits the cover off the ball instead.

See, no problemo.  If John Kruk thinks the Rays can do it… c’mon he’s an expert right?

Go Rays!!

Goodbyes,  High Fives, and Birthday Greetings. 

Good luck to Jonny Gomes who was sent down today.  He is a one person pep rally, and if there’s another brawl the Rays are really going to miss him.

The Rays finally rocked Cleveland 4 – Tampa 8.

High fives all around tonight.  The offense was rockin.  BJ made a game saving spectacular catch.  He deserves like an elaborate hand shake high five.  Fist bump to Gabe Gross who’s had some nice hits lately.  Longo, Pena, Navi, etc. nice night with the bats.  

Scouting report must be out on Grant Balfour?  Bullpen came through again though.

Happy Birthday to Crawford and Hinske!  We’re glad you guys were born.

So they scored a bunch of runs tonight, then they’re going out to celebrate the boys’ birthdays, and tomorrow is a day game.  Any chance they’ll win the series?  Someone send Kazmir home early please.   Go Rays!!

Closers or Openers??

The Rays won a doozy this afternoon in extra innings.  Final score Detroit 5 – Tampa 6.  Some thoughts on the game…

When I turned on the TV there was some bizarro cartoon involving the Rays and an ice cream lady.  I came into it in the middle so I was a little confused.  Was it funny?  My reaction was basically “What the heck was that?”

In the second inning Joe Magrane was talking about how Polanco is a gold glove second baseman.  Then he called him a very heady player.  I almost spit out my soda.  If you’ve ever taken a good look at Polanco, he is indeed very heady!

Longo legs out a single on a ground ball to third.  He actually looked swift.  Let that be a lesson to all the slackers out there.

In the third the Rays had a pop up problem.  A ball was hit to shallow right, Aki made his way out there and Hinske was coming in, but neither caught the ball.  I have no idea whose ball it was, but that runner ended up scoring later in the inning which is frustrating.  Barty made a nice line drive catch and doubled off Guillen to stop the madness.

In the fifth Polanco doubled and Ordonez drove him in.  2-0 Tigers.

Polanco doubled again in the seventh and that was the end of Shields day.  Which was a very good day by the way.

Bottom of the 7th BJ ground rule doubled.  Total bummer since he was diggin for three.  Yes he was hustlin.  Love it.  Pena drove him in.  2-1 Tigers.

Balfour finished the 7th and then came out for the 8th.  I think he gets a little too pumped up.  Sheffield got himself into a full count, and Grant was getting more and more into it, at which point he pitched it hard but it was right over the middle of the plate.  He’s not going to be able to blow it by everybody.  Had he kept that ball down he would have struck him out, instead Sheffield crushed it out of the stratosphere.  3-1 Tigers.

Bottom 8th – Hinske gets one right back.  Home-run! 3-2 Tigers.  Barty strikes out, it happens.  Aki singles.  BJ Upton hit a two run homer to give the Rays the lead.  So awesome.  He’s heating up.  3-4 Rays.

Percy comes out in the 9th with a one run lead, so what does he do?  He gives up a first pitch home-run to Granderson.  So deflating.  Tie ball game. 

Nothing doin in the bottom of the 9th, and I mean nothin.  I think Jonny Gomes struck out with out even swinging the bat.  That’s not going to get ya the walk-off celebration.  On to the 10th.

Percy out to work again.  He lays one in there for Miguel Cabrera and Crawford watches it fly.  No shit, he gave up another home-run.  5-4 Tigers.  He then managed to get a fly out, but followed it with two walks.  Miller came in to save his behind, and actually did just that.

Bottom of the tenth, better known as wack a Ray.  Aybar walked.  Bartlett tried to pull back from a bunt attempt, but took it off his index finger.  On his right hand.  Not good people, Barty has a boo boo.  It looked pretty nasty when he removed his batting glove.  Everyone send him good vibes tonight.  Last time this team was without Barty, they went into a downward spiral, and I was sad since I love him. 

Maddon brings Riggans in to pinch hit for Bartlett.  Next thing ya know, Riggy’s layin on the ground.  He took a pitch to the chest.  It was actually really scary.   You have to love him too, he just tried to catch his breath, shook it off and went to first base.  Aki comes up and lays down the perfect sac bunt and moves the boys over.  Sweet two guys in scoring position, one out.  BJ draws a walk, a questionable walk, but a walk is a walk.  Walk much?  Bases loaded.  Crawford singles, run Rays run.  Aybar scores, but Riggy has to stop at third since he didn’t get a good jump.  Tie ball game. 

Bases loaded again, only 1 out.  Longo strikes out.  Two outs.  Oh and I really want the game to be over since I hate sitting there for so long during the day.  It’s all up to Pena, and he delivers.  The walk off walk!  Rays sweep.  Detroit 5 – Tampa 6.

Once again Percy blows the save but the Rays still win?  He’s a lucky SOB. 

Tomorrow night it’s time to rock Cleveland.  Let’s hope Garza can out-duel Lee, he seems to like a challenge.  Go Rays!!

photo from yahoo sports

Double the fun. 

2 new shoes for Scott Kazmir.  Could that explain him being uncomfortable?
2 doubles
2 triples
2 home-runs
2 times caught stealing
2 ER for Kazmir
2 strike outs for Percy
2 strike outs for Longo
2 strike outs for Pena
2 walks for Hinske
2 starters without hits
2 runs scored on wild pitches/passed balls
2 legit stolen bases
2 times Rays pitching loaded the bases

 = Detroit 2 – Tampa 5.  Rays win!!  That’s new math.

Let’s hope they keep adding it up tomorrow.  Go Rays!!

If you are what you say you are, a superstar, have no fear, the crowd is here…

Matt Garza is a bonafide superstar.  He pitched his first shut out tonight against the Blue Jays.  Tampa 3 – Toronto 0.  He out pitched Roy Halladay, for the second time.  I know I’ve said it before but, he’s bad-ass.  He really picked up Rays fans tonight.  Seriously, how many of you thought the Rays would beat Halladay for the third time this year??  This was a huge win, and we have Mr. Garza to thank for that.   I wonder if this guy would like to rethink this post?

One thing though, do you think Matt ever accidentally spits on his living room floor at home?  Dude spits a ton.

Erik Hinske showed some of his superstar moves tonight too.  He hit one out in the 3rd inning, but he wasn’t really sure if it was out, so he booked it around the bases, doing his best Ichiro impression.  It was later ruled over the fence, but it provided some comic relief for the dugout.

There was one other guy proving he is a superstar.  Longo hit a much needed triple in the 8th, driving in two runs.  He just never seems like a rookie out there.  He has amazing presence.  He defense is as awesome as his ability at the plate.  I love to watch him play, and not in a crazy stalker kind of way either.  You just have to appreciate him, he’s the man!  Rays Index has a great new shirt for all you chicks who dig the Longo ball.  I’m hoping they offer it in blue someday too.  I’m just not the pink hat/shirt kind of girl!

Thanks for letting me gush tonight.  This game seemed like another turning point for the Rays.  Let’s hope they can win the series tomorrow.  Go Rays!!

Wow, a road win!

I think there are times that a position player should get credit for the save.  Last night when I heard Percival was warming up, my reaction was…Uh Oh they better try to get some insurance runs, because one run isn’t going to cut it for Percy.  Not exactly the feeling you should have when your closer comes in.  Thankfully Carlos Pena did add some insurance runs and saved the day.  Rays win 5-2!

Since it was Friday and the game was later, I’m sure I’m not the only one that was tired.  So I was easily distracted.  For instance, the white dot on top of the Royals hats is weird.  I started to wonder if other teams have this and I just haven’t noticed.  It looks a little like a bird came along and you know left a dot of poo on their hats.  Just sayin.

I also found this chick behind home plate distracting, and I’m not even a dude.  She was wearing a tube top.  Well someone should inform women that when they wear strapless shirts to a baseball game that the seat in front of them blocks the view of their actual shirt and they end up looking like they’re sitting there naked.  Nekkid!  This phenomena is increased if the woman has eye catching tan lines.

Oh yeah, I did actually watch the game. 

E-Jax – Was better.  Had a no hitter going thru five?  He gave up two homeruns but they were of the solo variety, instead of the three-run ones he tends to give up. 
Balfour – Is it possible to get too pumped up?  He did fine, was a little wild.  Does it look like he’s calling the batters bad names under his breath?
Howell – Great as usual, even with bases loaded in a one run game.
Wheeler – Also held the Royals at bay.
Percy – Scary again.  He gave up a homerun.  I have no confidence in him.
Aki – Good game, two hits, his normal great play in the field.
BJ – Had a lazy bones play to start off with that really pissed me off.  Once again he didn’t run a ball out.  He thought it was a base hit, but he was very wrong.  Fail.  He doubled later in the game, but I’m still a little pissed.
CC – Has been pretty terrible.  Far cry from when he used to be known as superman.  I hope it’s just a slump, and he turns it on right when we need him to.  Like soon.
Longo – Solid play all around.  Love him.
Pena – Finally broke out a little last night.  He doubled and hit a much needed two run shot in the 9th.  Oh and he’s always a gold glover.
Clifford – Hit a couple of balls hard, but they only made it to the warning track.  One at bat he looked lost and silly.
Navi – Mr. Consistent lived up to his name once again.
Hinske – Had a hit, but still hasn’t been able to turn it on.  No embarrassing plays in right field though.
Barty – Made a couple of great plays in the field.  When he wasn’t getting hit by pitches he actually hit the ball hard, just right to someone.  Still love him though. 

Good win, since it looks like they are all going to be important from here on out.  It’s going to be a battle for the east!  Let’s hope they can get another win tonight.  Go Rays!!!

Royal Suckdom.

Tampa 2 - Kansas City 4

Royally Good

Gill Meche – He shut down the Rays.  Not that that’s really hard lately, but he never let them in the game.

Jason Bartlett – Welcome back!  Guess he doesn’t want people to miss Zobrist’s bat.  He went 3-3 with a double.  Plus he made a couple of outstanding plays in the field.  Love him, so having him back increases my baseball viewing pleasure exponentially.

Bullpen – Howell, Balfour and Wheeler all pitched scoreless innings in an effort to let the offense join the game.  To bad they didn’t.

Longo – He’s all that and a bag of chips.

Royally Bad

Mr. Garza – He just did not have it today.  He was so off that I’m hoping he’s not hurt.  Of course he got royally jinxed by Staats and Magrane.  They kept going on and on about his pitch count and how he should be able to go deep in the game.  How many innings did he pitch?  Five.  4ER.

Hinske – He had a Dan Uggla all-star kind of performance.  0-4 at the plate.  3 strikeouts.  Two horrendous plays in right field.  Royally Awful is more like it.

Pena – He did get a hit tonight, but he’s still classified as bad.  He’s had way too many chances to drive in runs lately.  Fail.  It’s a good thing he’s so cute or he’d be on my shit list.

Royally not Good

Everyone else.  Aki, CC, BJ, Floyd, Navi.

Let’s hope the Rays can find their strokes and get back on track tomorrow while the Red Sox and Yankees beat on each other.  Go Rays!!

They’re back!

Aki had a great first at bat.  He worked, saw a lot of pitches and ended up with a base hit.  I’d love to see that from him every time.

The first couple of innings the Rays were really working Burnett, even getting a couple on base but they couldn’t capitalize on it.

Navi had a nice double in the 2nd, and advanced to third when Rios caught Hinske’s fly ball.  Rios seemed to think there were only two outs.  Whips! 

Shields made a mistake in the 3rd and Lidge made him pay.  1-0 Blue Jays.

Crawford started off the 3rd with a base hit.  Then promptly got picked off first.  Even he was pissed off about it.  Strangely that made me feel better.

Navi got Rios stealing second.  Gotcha.

Bottom of the 7th.  Hinske walked, then Benny laced one to right!  Huh, Barty can’t do that.  1-2 Rays.  The shot of the bench was great.  The guys were pumped.

Both Shields and Burnett brought their A-games tonight.  Each of them made one mistake, Burnett just happened to walk a guy before his mess up.

Aki had a helluva bunt in the 7th, but got thrown out stealing second.

You know what’s magnificent?  The majority of the beards are gone.  That’s what that losing streak was good for.  Howell is rockin the line beard though.  Not a fan.

What does Benny do after hitting the go ahead home run?  Commits a throwing error.  Ugh.  Benny, Barty doesn’t do that.  Howell and Balfour baled him out with a runner on third.  The bullpen is so amazing.

Is Balfour a Red Sox fan?  What’s with the array of necklaces?  Don’t care, he ruled the ninth and the Rays won!!  Toronto 1 - Tampa 2.

It was a pitchers duel.  The Rays 3-4-5 hitters blew chunks, but the team still found a way to win. 

Let’s hope they can crack the pitching again tomorrow and Garza can hold his own.  Go Rays!!