A Tampa Bay Rays Blog From The Other Half

Posts tagged Zobrist

The Premier of the 2011 Tampa Bay Rays

Apr04
2011 3 Comments Written by Jessica

The Tampa Bay Rays is by far my favorite “show” on TV.  Like any other fan I can hardly wait until the new season begins.  This year the hiatus seemed especially long.  I read all the blogs, prospect reports and books covering the team.  Watched all the specials, and even took in a spring preview in person.  None of it helped.  Thank goodness the Rays finally premiered this weekend.  Here is my review.

The opening was majestic.  The banner was raised.  There were flags and singing and booing of politicians.  Our favorite cast was in their dress whites.  Fans everywhere were stoked.

It was great to see our heroes Price, Shields and Davis turn in great performances.  However, the plot was full of twists and turns.  The most shocking of which was the cast of villains.

These unsuspecting fellows were terrifying.  One was an artist, one was a marksman, and the third fellow threw darts.  Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, as our guys are pretty talented themselves but their weapons of choice seemed to be broken or compromised.

Brian Roberts was another antagonist that really got under the viewer’s skin.  In the way that you really wish he was on your side instead of the dark side.

The Rays did have their own interesting characters.  BJ the “bad boy” is always a focal point.  Fans either love him or hate him.  He was one of the bright spots but also ran into some problems.  I for one love him protecting center field, but I think he needs to bulk up if he wants to tangle with catchers at the plate. 

Sam Fuld is a nice addition as the sidekick.  My friend laughed when I called him a pocket rocket.  I just think he’s small, totally cute and he gets the job done.

Elliot Johnson made his season debut and fit right in.  He helped bring in a run the Rays way with a beautiful squeeze bunt.  Classic!

Johnny Damon did provide some comedic relief with his play in left field.  However the San Fransisco Giants outfielders were totally hilarious, so he won’t win any awards.

Lets hope the Skipper sharpens his skills as the season goes on.  There were two occasions I thought he left his starting pitchers in a bit too long.  One would think in their first start of the season any sign of fatigue would be a red flag?

There were three shocking twists.  First Jake McGee made a little boo-boo that was kind of a big deal.  Second Benny Z, one of the Rays who seems to still have his powers, drove one high and deep and far but alas another villain Nick Markakis prevented the happy ending from coming to fruition.  Third and most devastating, the shows biggest star Evan Longoria was injured and his storyline will be on the back burner for a couple of weeks.  I was left wanting a montage complete with sad music of his in game makeover.  Sorry folks but the mullet has left the building.

So in the end although the ratings were excellent, the Rays premier was a little darker and more depressing than I thought it would be.  I think this cast of characters has the potential to be extremely entertaining.  I guess we’ll have to tune in tomorrow to see what happens when the Angels come to town.  Go Rays!

 

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Game 1 aka Buzz Kill

Oct06
2010 4 Comments Written by Jessica

This started off as such a great day.  Good coffee, everything was going smoothly and it was playoff day.  Things couldn’t get much better.  That is until this guy arrived…

Mr. Buzzkill

The game started off okay.  Price was a little amped, but that’s pretty common for him.  He worked out of trouble in the first.  Things looked good for the Rays in the bottom of the inning when they were able to load the bases with one out, but they failed to bring in a run.  Major buzzkill.

I’m tired, so here are some of my thoughts from the game.

Carlos Pena got thrown off his game in his first at bat and didn’t recover at all.  I love his defense but I don’t know how Maddon can keep him in the line-up tomorrow.

My love for Rocco Baldelli is well documented.  However I was extremely surprised that he made the post season roster.  I secretly hope he recaptures the magic and proves his worth, but he looked awful today.

David Price has had huge success living off his fastball.  Today I found myself longing for him to mix it up.  He was occasionally leaving it up, and the Rangers know exactly what to do with a fastball.  I guess I just wish he would have given them  more to think about.  He’s a hummer, maybe a chucker like James will have better luck?

Take a look at the Rangers line-up.  Did you really think it would be Francoeur and Molina doing the damage.

What ever happen to the Rays way of manufacturing runs?  Zobrist had a lead-off double in the 2nd inning.  The next two batters were Shoppach and Rodriguez.  Isn’t their goal a ball hit to the right side to move Ben?  Why was there no bunt?  I mean to me Shoppach is like having a pitcher bat anyway.  Good pitchers can bunt.  Shoppach struck out and Sean lined out.
The eighth inning also had Jaso lead off with a single.  BJ was up next.  Is it too late in the game to bunt him over?  BJ struck out badly.

Green lights are bad.  At least when your pitcher grooves a fast ball right down the middle and his opponent sends that ball packin.  This happened twice by the way.

I missed Sean’s error.  Was it bad?

Ben Zobrist was the bright spot today.  He hit a  home run and a double not to mention a hard liner in the ninth.

Chad Qualls was also really good.  He reduced the big Rangers bats to measly ground balls.

Red lights are bad.  The contrast in styles was never more evident than in Dan Johnson’s at bat.  The Rangers had been green lighting their sluggers all day.  Dan Johnson got ahead 2-0 in the count and proceed to take a fastball right down the pipe.  He got another pitch to hit at 3-1.  He ended up walking.  Some think that’s great.  I would have to like to see him swinging. 

Glass half full – it’s only one game and no matter how bad the Rays looked, we all know they are capable of big things.

If you want to read something a little more positive on the Rays, I did a guest blog post over at Oh, It’s Those Girls.  I try to convey why the Rays are a lovable team.  Her blog is stellar.  Hopefully the Twins fans won’t mind me mucking it up for a bit.

Go Rays!

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Shopping for a Snuggy?

Sep21
2010 1 Comment Written by Jessica

It’s that time of year Rays fans.  I don’t know who originally said it, but Derek Jeter preaches it all the time.  Good teams make the playoffs, hot teams win in the post season.  The Rays are a good team and barring a disaster of epic proportions they will make the playoffs.  However they definitely don’t look like a hot team right now.

I’m not the only one who is fretting over this matter.  B. Woodrum over at DRaysbay wrote an excellent piece on this very subject.  He? looked at the last five World Series winners and their level of hotness* going into the playoffs.  He did his best to make me feel a little better.  There have been teams that were hot all the way through, and others that were not hot in September but then turned it on in October.

I guess what I really want is for the Rays to give me a warm fuzzy feeling, and soon.  I want them to build up my confidence in them.  I want their pitchers to return to getting people out.  I don’t want broken Jeff  Niemann and Matt Garza.  I want to see Benoit and Soriano, not Wheeler.  I want Zorilla to let loose.  I want Brignac ungrounded.  I want the manager on his game, not all like “oops my bad, I brought Garza back out after he clearly was done.”

Hopefully tonight they can play a clean game.  Shields can use more of his off-speed stuff and they can pull out a win.  Hopefully they can work on restoring the warm fuzzy or I might have to start shopping for a Snuggy.  Go Rays!

*note – hotness here is defined as good at baseball.  Being a girls blog hotness is usually defined differently around these parts, but if that were the case the Rays would normally win hands down.  However right now they are being brought down by Longo’s mulletness.

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Folding Sox?

Aug30
2010 2 Comments Written by Jessica

I’m not one to fold socks actually.  I just throw them in the drawer.  It could be because I live in Florida and I hardly ever wear socks.  Anyway, I think the Rays might have thrown the Sox in the drawer this weekend.  Let’s hope that drawer is slammed shut soon.

Game – The Red Sox took the first game since the Rays are sucked into some alternate universe on Friday nights.  It’s bizarre.  Lester wasn’t sharp, but the Rays offense was anemic again.  The only run they scored was on a wild pitch.  Not a single run batted in.  Ugh.  Price pitched pretty well except to Victor Martinez.  Conclusion – If the Rays make it to the playoffs there might have to be some sort of Crash Davis rain delay like scenario planned if a game is scheduled for Friday night.  Oh and Martinez must be beaned.

Set – Saturday night fever!  Garza and Bucholz were dealing.  Martinez was once again a pain in the bum.  However BJ sat on a curve ball and tied the game up all by himself.  In extra innings Dan Johnson hit a walk off home run.  I must now apologize to him because I said some not nice things to him during the course of the game.  Then he had his post game interview and he seemed so excited and nice.  I will be dealing with my guilt issues this week.  Conclusion – Victor Martinez is a drama queen, with a little AJ Pierzynski sneakiness thrown in.  He did not foul that ball off his foot, but after a brilliant performance sold it to the umpire.  He must be punished.

Match – James Shields led the Rays to the series win on Sunday.  Just as Joe Morgan was talking about the shift and how deep the 2nd baseman was playing, Carlos Pena hit a ball that no shift in the world was going to stop.  Zobrist got another base hit.  Maybe things are looking up for him?  I hope so, because I’ve found myself wishing for him to have a day off.  It  might have something to do with missing Briggy baseball though!  Carl Crawford showed how awesome he is.  The bad news is he did it on national television and basically sold himself.  Now everybody wants one.  Dan Johnson had another big hit driving in the go ahead run.  I feel like we should also mention Longo being steady and the bullpen.  They were not scary at all this weekend!  Conclusion – CC hit Martinez with his bat, and Carlos slid in spikes up, but I still feel a little gypped.

The game, set, match theme is because today is the start of the US Open.  Tennis in prime time folks.  Get excited!

Let’s hope the Rays can keep those Jays at bay.  Go Rays!

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Matt Garza Sits ‘Em All Back Down!

Jul26
2010 2 Comments Written by Jessica

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!

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Get Outta Here!

Jul20
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Jessica

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.

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So Many Boyfriends…

Jun08
2010 1 Comment Written by Jessica

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???

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Splits and Wishes

May30
2010 2 Comments Written by Jessica

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!!

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Let’s Talk Stats

May24
2010 4 Comments Written by Jessica

Baseball is a sport of numbers.  Everything, I mean everything from every game is recorded and all of that data is accessible.  Now you can do with that what you will, different strokes for different folks and all.  Many people regularly delve into the numbers.  It might be to gather information for their fantasy leagues or it might just be that the quantitative side of baseball is fascinating to them.

Others don’t want anything to do with the new fancy metrics and either ignore stats all together or rely on the basic stats that they’ve know forever.  Joe Morgan said last night “I don’t know anything about Z rating, I just know he didn’t get a good jump on that ball.”  They were discussing Jeter’s range.

Most of you that come around here know that I don’t use numbers in my posts, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate them.  There is a reason I like in depth analysis.  I like to confirm what my eye and sometimes heart are seeing.  As a silly girl fan I like to think that I have a decent eye, and it is fun to check the numbers or read an article that confirms what you have been feeling.  On the flip side it is also good to read and be informed when your wrong.  It makes you a better fan.  Besides there are usually pretty charts, and who doesn’t  love those.

This weekend Jason Hanselman  at RaysIndex took a look at the Rays batters pitch results through the first 40 games.  I found this very interesting as you can look at each player and see if your perception of what they’ve been doing at the plate is what they’ve actually been doing.  Some are surprising, some not so much.

In the comments I asked a question regarding Ben Zobrist and how he’s starting to get hot now.  I wondered if he changed his approach at all because there were times earlier in the season that I felt he wasn’t being aggressive.  Jason was nice enough to look in-depth at Benny Z.  You should check it out.  There are pretty charts…

Oh and don’t worry we will get back to our regularly scheduled dippy blogging tonight when the Red Sox come to town.  In the meantime here is a picture of my Rocco to make you feel at home.

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Post Yankee Beatdown Syndrome

May22
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Jessica

Some would say the Rays suffered from an intensity let down.  Some would say there were a few too many cocky fans that thought a win was a certainty against the Astros.  Some would say the boys were tired from the quick turnaround.  What would I say?  Eh, you can’t win them all.  Although the Rays had every chance to win this one.

Garza didn’t have his best stuff, but this girl noticed that he was workin hard.  He saved the pen and battled through eight innings giving up only two runs.  If your offense can’t score two runs then you are in trouble son.  Matt did have a little league moment though where he couldn’t pitch strikes to the pitcher because he was showing bunt.  Like a youngster he got frustrated and ended up hitting him.  Kinda funny until a run scored later in the inning.

It was rather funny watching Mr. Garza bat.  It’s one of my favorite things in baseball.  Watching pitchers who rarely hit step in the box.  Now maybe Matt can imagine what it’s like for someone to see his pitches coming.  He did get a sac bunt down though.  It almost makes up for the pitch that he bailed on that turned out to be a strike.  Yep, I love him but I laughed at him.

What can I say about the offense?  Well Benny Z and Brignac hit well on the night.  Other than that the story is about LOBs.  The Rays left a family reunion on the bases.  What happened to get the mofo in?!

Why oh why was Zobrist stealing third with no outs???  It’s a puzzler.

There were many chances to win the game, but alas it didn’t happen.  Let’s hope Niemann can get them back on track tonight.  Oh and he will be most excellent to watch step up to the plate!  Interleague is fun, and I haven’t mentioned it yet but Brian Anderson makes me laugh.  Did you catch him giving Staats crap about calling Lee slow.  Good times.  Go Rays!

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