HER 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!

OK Mr. Garza, you are the man and your chin thing can stay as long as you deem it necessary.  I don’t care for it, but I will definitely learn to accept it if you keep pitching as if you own the place.  I’d also like to thank you for shutting down those Sox today.  You see there has been a whole lot of baseball in the last two days, so it was good to know that with a little help from your offense you had it under control.  Your fans appreciate this because at some point in the weekend we must acknowledge that our families exist and hang with them.

We all know it’s a long season, but the winning is fun.  See you again tomorrow.  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!!

Even though it doesn’t seem like it around here lately, I am still addicted to the Rays.  I love these guys, but they really have me torn this year between good baseball sense and basic emotions.

For example, I love Andy Sonnanstine and he’s really handsome but I did not want him on the mound Tuesday night.  I wanted Kazmir.  When I use my good baseball sense I know the Kazmir trade was smart, but my basic emotions thought the timing stunk because I wanted him to pitch against Lester.  I wish Scott well and I hope he gets a tan or something because he definitely looks better in blue.

BJ Upton also had me torn.  He is so great on defense and there’s nothing better than watching him gun down runners.  However I hear a sucking sound every time he comes to the plate.  Now last night he looked much better and I’m hoping he’s turning it around, because I was really starting to think they should pinch hit for him in big situations.  Come back to us Beej!

JP is causing me stress too.  Now is not the time for our bullpen savior to fall apart.  Send him to the guru stat!

Pat the Bat I thought you blew, but you can hit the ball, who knew!

Welcome back Mr. Longoria.  Perfect timing, now lose the beard.  I say that with nothing but love.

Team Barty!  WooHoo!

So what’s the biggest Rays question in my pea sized brain?  Are they still in it?  Tuesday I said no, Wednesday I said maybe so???  What’s a girl to think?  Go Rays!

Oh and Mr. Perez’s mustache is a thing of beauty.  It reminds me of someone???

Rays fans are wondering this morning why their team is trying to kill them! 

First Matt Garza gave up home runs to the two guys we’d all like to thwomp, Youkilis and Pedroia.

Then the offense couldn’t seem to get anything going.

Then the bullpen bags sucked in the game winning run, and we had to listen to the announcers go on and on about it.

Then there were the men on base that never got to come home.  Over and over again.

Thankfully the Rays bullpen was brilliant, when I really thought they would blow it at anytime.

Thankfully the Rays defense held up.

Thankfully the Sox decided to pitch Longo, and he took matters into his own hands.

The game was never boring that’s for sure.  However many Rays fans are now staggering around work with coffee IV’s wondering if they can fit in a nap at lunch time.

Plus to make matter worse it’s raining where I am.  That means I can go back to bed right?

Way to go Rays!  See you in a couple of hours.

As a Rays fan I am overcome with a variety of emotions this year.  There is still a part of me that is amazed and thrilled that the Rays can and do repeatedly beat teams the likes of the Yankees and Red Sox.  Then there is the part that knows how good this team should be and gets frustrated with their lack of wins.

This weekend was a perfect example.  Saturday the Rays whooped the Red Sox 14-5, but on Sunday they beat themselves.  That game made me grouchy.

Matt Garza pitched great again.  His line said he gave up three runs, but I beg to differ.  Aybar should have made that throw home, and someone should have caught the pop up to right.  Who’s to blame there?  Should Zobrist call him off, or should Aki catch it since he seemed to be right under it!  Two free runs.
Why does Pena need a day off the day before a day off?  Sure he’s been having a tough time against Beckett, but aren’t you messing with the flow of things?  As Joe Morgan said “He plays first base, all he does is catch the ball.”  He’s the king of unintentional comedy.

Either way this is something the Rays need to avoid at all costs, since it makes me want to vomit.  Not to mention ugliest cleats ever.

Alright boys time to go on a winning extravaganza.  Go Rays!

For years the Red Sox have been looking for some way to stop Carl Crawford.  After the game several boxes were discovered in the visitors dugout.  They all had the ACME logo on them.  Anti Carl Mission Equipment.  You know the end of the story though, dude kept flying around the bases ala…

                           What a weekend.  How did Pedroia get from the Derby to the game so fast?

The Rays took three from Boston!  Very cool.  I also wonder how that third game might have turned out if Maddon would have made a pitching change.  You know something is up when all the Rays bloggers agreed that Shouse shouldn’t have been pitching there.  Coulda Shoulda Woulda.

Rays fans far and wide were happy to see them come back to life.  I hope they can keep up with this intensity, because it’s becoming pretty obvious that this division is going to be a dog fight to the end.  Go Rays!!

(photo Espn.com)

Okay I don’t know if Spring is in the air or what but that was so hot.  Mister Garza was damn near perfect.  The team really needed a charge and boy did he deliver.  He even proved that Pedroia can’t hit the high inside fast ball.  If only Jacoby Ellsbury wasn’t so bloody fast…  Barty made a great play on that ball and a slower man would have been toast.  Oh well it was still fantastic to watch.  Way to rock and fire Matt.

Mr. Hernandez deserves some credit tonight too.  After watching Navi’s horrible performance last night, Michel really looked like a pro.  He helped make Garza perfect, and he hit too.  What a concept.  Hopefully that’s the little prod that Navi needs.

I don’t know what turned these guys around but I hope it’s here to stay.  Everybody was hitting, even Gabe Gross.  I hope they saved some runs for the rest of the series!

Did anyone else notice the music as Josh Beckett was leaving the field?  So ya had a bad day…That cracked me up.

A couple more observations:
The Red Sox catcher Kottaras is very cute.
It still hurts my heart to see Rocco in the wrong dugout with the wrong clothes on.
Every team needs a Van Everything.  Where can we get one?  Can Zobrist pitch?

Hey Rays, how about winning two in a row. 

Think Dice-K got tired of seeing Longo today?  Or did Garza’s face give Pedroia even more hell?  Either way that was a sweet win today.  Sweet I say!

The Rays won their first series, against the Red Sox, at Fenway, and I saw the game!  Ironically the game started with a Knology commercial that spewed about us all being connected.  To which I replied “not anymore, Brighthouse is coming tomorrow.”  Evidently in this area to get all the Rays games it’s either Brighthouse or a dish.

Did I mention that the Rays won two in Boston? 

Garza was fantabulous.  I wish I could enter the drawing to take him to school.  I was so glad to see him shut down the little guy with the neck beard, since he’s been on my nerves what with the getting a hit every time he’s up to bat.  I especially loved the time Garza just made him look silly.  Josh Beckett would have had his arrogant smirk if he would have struck someone out in that fashion.  I think Garza needs to work on something like that.  I wonder if he can raise one eyebrow, because that would rock.

Shirley you didn’t call him Joyce.  I think it is simply a case of love at first sight.  Pretty good play in center and a homerun.  I dig that about you Matt.

Oh and have I declared my love for Evan Longoria lately?  Not to mention the cherry on top of the day Shawn Riggans.  Yeah I know, I love almost everyone on the team.  Almost.

I missed the Zobrist debacle, so we won’t go there.  However Percival makes me blue.  No seriously I stop breathing when he’s in.  I guess I should give him credit.  He got the save.  Good thing.  Don’t want him getting on Garza’s bad side.

WooHoo Rays.  Hope tomorrow really is a good Friday!

(photo ESPN.com)

Dear Knology,

I’m normally a pretty mild mannered chick.  However after a long day today I came home to find out that you will not be carrying the Rays games on Sun Sports.  What the hell?  Do I need to come down there and bust some knee caps?  You’re taking away half of the Rays games?  And you expect your customers to just sit idly by?  Screw that.  What happened to the customer is always right.  This customer says put my team on my TV or I’ll find someone who will.

I missed the Rays first win of 2009, against the Red Sox, in Fenway.  Yes that was a blood curling scream you just heard.  How am I supposed to ramble all of my mindless thoughts to the tens of people who read my blog without actually seeing the game.  I need to see Pena finally hit the ball instead of spinning himself into the ground.  I need to see Bartlett lay down an awesome bunt.  Actually I just need to see Bartlett.  It does a body good.

You have 48 hours to change your mind or I’m dropping you like a slippery bar of soap.

By the way it took a herculean effort to keep this notice fairly clean.

Suck it,
Her Rays