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!

Disclaimer – You know I love this team but sometimes tough love is better medicine, especially when they are playing like dog doo.

John Jaso JingleHeimer Schmidt – I like you lots.  I suggested that you should run for president.  Tonight you drove in the lone run, and you’ve been doing pretty well overall.  However tomorrow you will be practicing your Lord of the Dance moves for many hours.  That way you will be able to avoid line drives at your feet.  Oh and for the record I don’t like you in the lead-off spot.

Evan Longoria - You are awesome.  You are an all-star.  Please for the love of Pete do not start slumping now when nobody on this freaking team can hit.  If you keep this up I will have to make comments about your not so stellar hair.

Mr. Pena - Your defense is superb.  However first basemen are also supposed to hit the ball. 

Sean Rodriguez – It’s time I told you that you annoy me on many levels.  First I hate how you roam so far into the outfield on fly balls that are clearly the outfielder’s ball.  Second, many people commend you on being so aggressive on the base paths.  I find you aggressive to a fault though, and tonight was a good example of this.  You almost got doubled off, and then you were thrown out by a MILE in the bottom of the ninth when your team was only down by one run.  Ugh.  I do realize that there are worse things than being too aggressive, but remember I’m extra cranky tonight.

Beej – see Carlos Pena.  Your amazing defense is keeping you in the line-up.  However against logic I think you should be batting first.  I think you do better there, and if you do get on base then the fun starts.  I love the thought of you and CC on base together.  Make it happen would ya.

Navi – You are the third player mentioned that is in the line-up for their defense.  How long do you think that is going to last? 

All in all the Rays need to do better, much better.  I really like Wade Davis but five walks and 103 pitches in 4.1 innings is not going to cut it.  Hellickson was selected for the Futures game, but the future is now.  He should get a shot.

Although it’s not going to matter how well the Rays pitch if their offense can’t score more than one run!  Yes they have faced some tough pitching, but they look down right awful at the plate.  Like everyone says it’s time for a roster move.  Joyce to the rescue.

Since I’m cranky I’ll make my only comment on the stadium issue.  If you’ve been to the Trop, you know that it’s not a bad place to watch a game.  However if you’ve been to any of the new parks, you know there are much better places to watch a game.  How great would it be for the players of our beloved team to have a new park to play in.  I really don’t care where they build it as long as it’s in Tampa Bay.  If the high speed train from Orlando to Tampa becomes a reality it seems that downtown Tampa would be a great spot.  People travelling to Orlando for vacation could include a trip to watch their team play ball.  I’m not sure my opinion matters on this subject though, since if they keep the team somewhere in Tampa Bay I will still go to my handful of games in a season.

They say it’s not good to go to bed angry so I will finish with a positive note.  Congratulations to Dewayne Staats on his 5000th broadcast.  I’d like to thank him for his dedication.  Just think I grew up listening to Ernie Harwell and my kids will grow up listening to Mr. Staats.  He is the voice of the Rays, and he’s a great one.

Let’s hope the Rays give us something to feel better about tomorrow.  Go Rays!

A popular trend among female baseball bloggers is to chose a player who performed well as their boyfriend of the game.

Well let me just tell you that tonight I would be a ho.  How could I chose just one boy on a night like this?

Jeff Niemann was brilliant.  He pitched a two hit shutout.  In other words, he did it all by himself.

Carlos Pena hit TWO home runs, to the tune of FIVE RBIs.  Plus he really needed that.  He even got a curtain call!

BJ was back in the lead-off spot and he owned it.  He was on base four times. 

Oh and don’t forget Longo who quietly went three for five and drove in two.  He has 46 RBIs on the 8th of June.  Dude.

So how is a girl supposed to be faithful to one?  Yeah it’s not happening.  I love them all.  Especially when they beat the Jays like that.

I do have one question about tonight though.  Why is the clean-up hitter bunting with two men on???

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!

Tight, beast, ninja, these are the popular words among kids these days.  For example if you were telling them about tonight’s game you might get these responses.

The Rays scored three runs in the top of the first.  That’s tight.

Benny Z hit his first home run.  Yeah he’s beast.

James Shields worked through some troubles, including home runs and multiple bunts.  That’s tight.

BJ hit a home run to retake the lead.  Bossman is beast too.

Did you see him lose that fly ball?  Yep, fail.

Carlos Pena hit two home runs and made some really great defensive plays.  That dude is ninja.

The Rays are five games up and have swept the Red Sox and the Yankees on the road.  They are so tight.  The defense is beast and the pitching is ninja.

Here is the key.
tight = cool, sweet
beast = really good, super
ninja = freaking awesome
oh and fail is self explanatory

Anyway you say it, these guys are really fun to watch.  Plus it’s going to be even more fun this weekend in Houston.  Pitchers get to hit, now that is ninja.  Go Rays!

The Rays keep on winning even when this blogger procrastinates. 

I missed the game on Sunday because I was watching kids play baseball.  Cliff Lee pitched a complete game and the Rays still won.  I didn’t really have too much to say about that except “Good on ya mates.”

Then yesterday the Rays squeezed out another win, but it was pretty late when they finished and I was falling asleep at the computer.  I figured since there was a day game in a few hours…

On to today.  Rays win.  Again.  They are totally ridiculous right now.  Half of the team is not even hitting well and they keep finding ways to win.

The pitching has been pretty great.  Even if they aren’t perfect they find a way to keep their team in the game.  Can’t ask for anything more than that.  The bullpen is pulling their weight too.  Ben Wha?  Been awesome.  Sonny has even been getting some big outs.

Pena had some big hits today, and BJ is smacking the ball it just happens to be right at someone.  Longo is on fire.  I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I agree with Kevin Kennedy that Longo should be the number three hitter. 

It feels weird not having anything to complain about.  Rays fans could get used to this.  Oh, I can think of one thing that annoys me.  Watching a third strike, with runners in scoring position.  Yeah I’m lookin at you Benny and Willy.  Those pitches were way too close to take.  Matter of fact the nickname Zorilla came about because Ben was an animal who was aggressive at the plate.  Time to let the Zorilla loose again!

Oh and from bummer central comes the news that JP Howell is probably done for a year.  There needs to be a full blown investigation here.  I need to know if I should be hating on Peggy Fleming for wrecking the boy’s shoulder.

Tomorrow the boys will face the big bad Yankees.  Let’s hope they just keep keepin on.  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!

The Rays lost tonight.  I know right?  I’m not really sure how to feel about it.  I am aware that they are not going to win every game this season, but it still kind of sucks.  Mostly because the game seemed to be right there within their reach. 

Both teams played solid.  Bannister shut down the Rays and Niemann was doing the same to the Royals.  The defense was superb tonight.  Pena was lobbying for his gold glove award.

Since the Rays haven’t lost in a while, let’s nitpick.
Jeff Niemann was visibly fatigued in the seventh inning.  He walked the first batter.  Tough call, but I might have went to the bullpen there.  He did end up giving up the tying run, but also got a ground ball double play which Longo handled with ease.  I was shocked to see him come back out in the eighth.  Of course he walked the first batter.  He and Choate were able to get out of the inning, so I guess that shows you why I’m not the manager.

Sean Rodriguez grounded into a double play in the 8th.  Where was Briggy?  He’s hot.  Where is the respect for the hot streak.  That’s probably why Jaso was off too, his buddy Reid didn’t have his back.  

Soriano did not have it today.  He kept hitting the bats.  Let’s not make a habit of THAT.

The offense tried to pull it out but came up just short.  Like one foot short.  Dagnabit.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some.  Let’s have some more wins.  Go Rays!