HER 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!!

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!

Life has been pretty crazy around here, but last night I made an effort to watch the game as I was tooling around the house getting stuff done.  Kazmir was looking great.  He and Zaun seemed to have things figured out.  The offense was struggling until Kapler decided it was time to take the lead.  Everything was looking ripe for the sweep.

Finally I settled in to watch the rest of the game.  When the second umpire dropped like a fly.  There was quite a delay, long enough to put this girl to sleep.  Zzzzzz.

I woke up in a daze sometime in the eighth inning and thought to myself “I should just go to bed,”  but at this point I was kind of refreshed from my power nap.

In the top of the ninth a couple guys got on, and I was pulling for the Rays to score an insurance run.  No dice.

So JP comes in to do his thing, but instead of shutting them down he gives up a home run to tie the game.  Evidently he doesn’t like to sweep.  No really JP Howell has been awesome for the Rays, but his three blown saves lately cause me stress.  They also cause him stress.  He was visibly shaken after that fateful pitch.  He got squeezed by the umpire, but I might have brought someone else in to try to keep the game alive.  Mr. Maddon stuck with his guy, as he has a tendency to do.

After the final wild pitch a blogger’s exasperated cry was heard “Ugh, I should have gone to bed!”

That’ll do.

Can you feel it?

Longo hit one out to straight away center.  Welcome back O great one.

Pena is finding his way.  Driving in four is hot!

Navi made some solid contact.  Promising.

Brignac even got in on the action.

The bullpen didn’t allow a run.  Did you hear that?  The bullpen didn’t allow a run.  Wahoo.

Pat the Bat is on his way back.

Barty is close.  Did you see the video of him running the bases.  Warmed my heart.

Time for BJ to join in the comeback!

There is some sad news though.  Matt Joyce, my future boyfriend, got sent back to Durham.  I guess I understand the reasoning, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.  All I have to say is Gabe freakin Kapler better perform or he will rue the day.  He will rue it!

This weekend seems like a great time to make up sound ground.  Go Rays!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I’ve felt pretty yucky for the last couple of weeks.  When the fever set in, I gave in and headed to the doctor.  Acute Sinusitis huh?  I guess that explains it.

I have been watching the Rays though.  I saw them win the Twins series, and pick up a win last night.  The line-ups are quite terrifying to look at before the games.  There are so many key players missing, and last night Longo pulled up lame.  That’s the entire infield!  Please let him be okay.  I do not want to watch games where he and Barty are in the dugout. 

So the Rays are dropping like flies.  Maybe they should take the advice of my doctor too?  Vitamins couldn’t hurt.

One more thing, I think I’ve found new love.  Matt Joyce is everything I’ve ever dreamed of in a corner outfielder.  He’s here to stay right?  I already lost one outfielder this off season, I don’t know if I can take losing another.  They can’t actually send him away and keep Kapler can they?  Ow, my heart is hurting just thinking about it. 

Alright B-team how about another win tonight for all the peeps on the DL, myself included.  Go Rays!

Is it my fault? 

I wanted the Rays to find a way to get Aybar’s bat in the line-up, and Pat the Bat got a kink in the neck.
I wanted Price to be brought up, and Kazmir got hurt.
I wanted Percy gone, and now he is.
I wanted Zobrist to get more playing time, and Aki got the Tom Brady treatment.
I’ve always wanted to see Brignac in action, and now Barty is gone.  Barty.  Excuse me while I wipe the tears off my face.

Yes I’m aware that the world doesn’t revolve around me, but just in case here are some other things I want.

The Rays starting pitching to find their groove.  Price is so good that when Kazmir comes back all fixed the Rays will have a tough decision between Niemann and Sonny for the 5th spot.
Navi becomes a doubles machine again.
Brignac fills in so nicely that when Barty returns and keeps putting up insane numbers, Reid slides over and becomes the starting second baseman.
Longo goes on a tear again.
Pat comes back with a hot bat.
CC keeps stealing bags and scoring runs.
BJ gets it going on offense.  Making the Rays 1 thru 4 pretty unstoppable.
Zobrist and Gross keep the magic alive, sending Kapler packing.
The bullpen isn’t orthodox, but they hold and save games.

Wow that would be like winning the lottery.  Kind of like last year.  C’mon Rays!

Oh and I also want them to get the hell out of Cleveland, where they are obviously cursed.

This game was frustrating because the Rays really seemed to outplay the A’s.  It just felt like they would put that run up there first.  Let’s play the blame game.

James Shields pitched a helluva game, but his offense couldn’t help him out.  They deserve the lions share of the blame.  They had a runner on third in three separate innings with only one out, but there was not one single measly ground ball or sac fly in sight.  The 3 and 4 hitters put up zeros.

Jason Bartlett had a very untimely error in the 11th.  I blame this on Staats and Kennedy for going on and on about how great he is.  Yes he has been supremely awesome this year, but let him quietly go about his business.  Just because I write poems about him…

I guess Nelson deserves a little bit of the blame since he threw the meatball that Holliday put in the seats.

I would also like to give a big fat slice of blame to Joe Maddon.  What possessed him to bring in Navi?  That was the turning point in the game.  Gross struck out, and then all of a sudden Shields couldn’t find the strike-zone.  I understand that those things could have happened with Herny in the game but…I think he messed up the flow you know.

Oh JP and Willy don’t deserve any blame.  JP shut them down, and Willy is really looking good.  The Rays need to find him a starting job.  Oh, and I’ll take Zobrist over Kapler any day of the week. 

Tough loss but they aren’t going to win every game and there are quite a few more.  Go Rays!

As most of you know I have the inability to stay awake for the west coast games.  I’m sorry but sleeping is something that I’m really good at, and I’m not so nice if I don’t get my fair share.

I did however watch the first part of the game.  There I saw some good pitching, defense and offense from the Rays.  The were in the lead and they looked good.   The only bummers were when Navi left two runners on, and when Sonny biffed the throw when Griffey Jr. bunted.  So what happened after that.  The Rays didn’t score anymore and the Mariners did.  Gabe Kapler you are no BJ Upton.  BJ might be able to get away with playing that shallow, but you sir are no BJ.  Stop it.

So here’s my theory.  First it involves getting all the starters on the field together.  Let’s hope BJ is back tonight.  Then it involves playing all facets of the game well at the same time.  It seems like one minute the Rays defense is awesome and then the next night there is some great pitching but no offense.  Then when the offense does score some runs the bullpen blows it.  They need to get in sync.  Not ‘N Sync the band that wouldn’t be good for anyone.  Unless some of the players wanted to make a video dancing to Bye Bye.  That would be good for everyone.

Anyway boys, it’s time to start playing all together again.  It’s time to start winning series again and that means tonight you need a W.  Plus let’s be honest I probably won’t find out the results until tomorrow morning and it would really help brighten my day.  Go Rays!