Ok Rays fans, time is running out for you to enter the State Farm Call Your Shot promotion. It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up, and one you see the prize list, you will definately want to sign up!

What could be better then taking a free trip for four people to New York City for the All Star game? Staying in a great hotel, getting spending money, free tickets to the game and even a broadway show is exactly what you will get if you are selected as the grand prize winner of the Call Your Shot Promo. Take two minutes right now and enter the promo!

The grand prize winner will also get the chance to pick a spot to which two of the Home Run Derby players must compete to try to hit a ball. If the first player hits the ball to the called spot, the promotion ends. If either player succeeds, the fan receives a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid vehicle and a 2009 season-ticket package for any team.

Additionally, 10 fans will win first place prizes consisting of a $300 MLB.com gift card and 25 second place prize winners will receive $100 MLB.com gift cards.

Remember, time is running out and you have nothing to lose! Also, remember to vote for your favorite Rays players to be in the All Star game!

Tampa Bay rays signed #1 pick Tim Beckham Thursday.   Beckham, 18, received a $6.15 million signing bonus and will report to the Rays’ Appalachian League affiliate in Princeton, W.Va., to begin his professional career.   Beckham was present for all the festivites of Thursday nights series sweep against the Chicago Cubs …. bet he’s chomping at the bit to get out on the field!

Jason Bartlett was a late scratch from the lineup Thursday after fouling a ball off his foot in batting practice.  He is listed as day to day.  In the interim Evan Longoria filled in at SS.  Longoria has had some experience playing SS at Long Beach State and has been working during practice at the position.  With the impending birth of Jason Bartlett’s child, Longoria is likely to be seen lurking at SS for a few game sthe next week or so.   

Oh what a GREAT time to be a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays!  Carl Crawford’s 7^th inning grand slam was a large part of a 7 run, 7^th inning for the Rays!  The Trop was electric!  Every Ray fan in the place was caught up in the emotion of this inning and this sweep.  My hands hurt driving home after all the high fives that were passed from person to person, old and young alike.  It was amazing! 

Starting pitchers James Shields and Sean Gallagher did not figure in the decisions.  Sweet Lou (who’s probably a bitter Lou after his return to The Trop) brought their bullpen ace, Carlos Marmol, in to try to preserve their lead in the 7^th.  It didn’t work – Marmol imploded.  He walked Willy Aybar and Cliff Floyd then proceeded to hit Gabe Gross loading the bases.  Akinori Iwamura stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and no outs.  On a 2-2 pitch Marmol HIT HIM sending home a run.  Still with no outs and bases loaded Carl Crawford stepped to the plate.  We were all praying for a drive to the outfield to at least tie the game.  No one could have predicted what was to come. LHP pitcher Scott Eyre was brought in to face CC – and BAM!  It was all over from there!  CC planted a fastball in the right field seats.  The fans almost blew the lid off The Trop!  BJ Upton followed that with a triple and Eric Hinske doubled him in.  Hinske then swiped 3^rd and was knocked in by Evan Longoria to complete the scoring.

This win, actually this series sweep, was about a complete team effort.  The bullpen was flawless, the starting pitching was amazing and the offense came through in a big way.  The Rays showed this week what a complete team they are.  They will go through their individual slumps, bad pitching moments and defensive blunders but in the end there is a new hero every night for this team.  This team plays hard together all the time.  I have to say that the feeling in The Trop last night was not a feeling of despair even when down 3-1 in the 7^th inning….it was a positive feeling; we knew the Rays could come back.  In years past that game would have been over. 

With this victory the Rays move to with 1 1/5 games of the idle Red Sox.  This weekend we face a weak and battered Houston team who was just swept by Baltimore.  Get to The Trop and support your Rays!  They are playing hard for you every day!   

If you are not a Rays fan yet, you may want to jump on the bandwagon fast – it’s filling up quickly!

The Tampa Bay Rays have done what most baseball aficionados didn’t think they were capable of – they have taken the first 2 games of a 3 game series from the Cubs.  They have not only taken the series but they beat the ace of Sweet Lou’s staff — Carlos Zambrano.  Andy Sonnanstine pitched with great control. He hit the corners with efficiency and the umpires actually called them!  His line wasn’t that impressive, 5 innings, 7 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB and 3 K, but he made the pitches and got the key outs when he needed to.  He had a bases loaded, no out jam in the 5^th and allowed only 1 Cub to cross the plate. 

The bullpen was fantastic once again.  JP Howell was outstanding once again. He made some unbelievable pitches in his 2 innings of relief work allowing only 1 hit.  Dan Wheeler pitched another 1-2-3 8^th.  Then there’s the enigma that is Troy Percival.  He came to close the door in the 9^th with a 5-3 lead.  Immediately he gives up a solo blast to Geovanny Soto.  Fasten your seatbelts kids!  He then allows a BB to Mark DeRosa…..  No outs recorded yet.  I reach for my antacid…..  Finally an out but DeRosa advances to 2^nd.  And another out…  Now up steps the hitter I fear most at this point…..Fukudome.  The tying run is on 2^nd base, there are 2 outs and Perci hasn’t hit the spot where Navi’s setting up his glove very often so far.  I reach for another antacid.  STRIKE 3 LOOKING – GAME OVER, RAYS WIN, RAYS WIN.  I know, not the World Series but it sure felt like it.  The pitching in this series has been fantastic!

The offense was less than exciting but it was very effective.   The Rays put together a big 3^rd inning scoring 4 runs on 5 hits.  Nice to see them string a few hits together and not rely on the “big bat”.  Eric Hinske has been impressive at the dish thus far this season.  His average may be a less than desirable at about .251.  At this average this would mean he gets 2 hit in every 4 at bats – typical game consists of about 4 at-bats.  The impressive thing is he almost always gets that 1 hit in a crucial time for the team, this hit garnered an RBI.  He also added a BB and a stolen base to his night.

Tonight the Rays sent James Shields (4-5) vs Gallagher (3-3) looking for the sweep.  It’s a great time to be a Tampa Bay Rays fan!

Scott Kazmir was amped the first inning on the mound!  He had some issues finding the strike zone and only lasted 4 2/3 innings leaving with a 1-1 tie.  His line wasn’t Kazmir-ish allowing 3 walks and scattering 3 hits with 1 ER and striking out 7.  The bullpen did an excellent job until the 9^th.  Troy Percival went into the 9^th with a 3-1 lead gave up a run, allowed 2 hits, walked 1 and finished the game with the tying run standing 90 feet away. 

The offense did hit well against Ryan Dempster knocking him out in the 5^th inning.  Cliff Floyd and Evan Longoria hit solo bombs with Eric Hinske driving in the final run.  The problem the Rays suffered was a lack of timely hitting once again.  We had multiple opportunities to score once again and failed to get the hit leaving 12 on base.

A win is a win and this was a quality win against a quality opponent.  Tonight has Andy Sonnanstine (7-3) going against Carlos Zambrano (8-2). 

See you at The Trop!

Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know about a great promotion that Major League Baseball as well as State Farm Insurance are putting on. State Farm is giving away some great prizes and all you have to do is go to the Offical State Farm Call Your Shot website and register through June 24th. If you are the lucky winner we have listed out what the winner will all receive below. Now tell me if that isn’t one of the best prizes for a baseball family! Make sure you take a few minutes to register, you could be the winner!

• All-expense paid trip for four to the All-Star Game and State Farm Home Run Derby
• First class hotel accommodations in New York
• Tickets to a Broadway show
• $1,000 MasterCard gift card

The grand prize winner will also get the chance to pick a spot to which two of the Home Run Derby players must compete to try to hit a ball. If the first player hits the ball to the called spot, the promotion ends. If either player succeeds, the fan receives a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid vehicle and a 2009 season-ticket package for any team.

Additionally, 10 fans will win first place prizes consisting of a $300 MLB.com gift card and 25 second place prize winners will receive $100 MLB.com gift cards.

As you can tell, this would be an amazing trip and prize package to win. So what are you waiting for? Go register for a trip of a lifetime!

Edwin Jackson had a hard time finding the strike zone Sunday after noon in the Citrus Series finally.  Jackson gave up 2 3-run home runs, 3 BB, 5 hits and 6 earned runs in 5 innings pitched to take the loss. 

Jackson was not the only problem with the Rays in this loss.  The defense was subpart.  Jason Bartlett was charged with 1 error but, in my opinion, 2 others could have been charged with errors as well.

The offense was a nightmare on this particular occasion.  We gave away 12 strikeouts to the Fish and only 1 BB.  BJ Upton gave away 3 of those strike outs, 2 without even swinging.  Eric Hinske did manage to connect for a solo blast to right center. 

The Chicago Cubs will be rolling into town – the best team in MLB (granted they play in a weak division).  This will be a huge test for the Rays.  We will be short a starter for each game due to suspensions being served (Crawford on Tuesday and Iwamura Wed and Thurs) and due to injury (Pena).

The opening game of this 3 game set will have Scott Kazmir (6-2) going against Ryan Dempster (8-2).  Get off your couch and out to The Trop to support our Rays

Matt Garza pitched a gem scattering 3 hits and allowing only 1 run in 7 innings pitched.  Garza contained his emotions and located each pitch perfectly throughout the evening.  Wheeler and Percival finished the 8^th and 9^th respectively each allowing no hits and no walks.  The most impressive stat in the last 2 games for this pitching staff has been the lack of free passes allowed – only 1 walk issued in 18 innings pitched.  Nice job!!

Johnny Gomes started the coring for the Rays in the 2^nd inning with a first pitch home run.  Jason Bartlett added to the scoring count by knocking in 2.  The Rays were on the run once again on the base paths with BJ Upton swiping 2, Justin Ruggiano took 1 and Willy Aybar took a base as well.

This was a well rounded effort from all sides of the ball!  The Fish held our offense to only 5 hits but we made them count.  A GREAT pitching effort and some outstanding defensive plays once again led the Rays to victory.

Rays finish this Citrus Series today at 1:40 — see you at The Trop!

The Rays returned home to victory Friday night with a 7-3 win over in state rivals the Florida Marlins.  Andy Sonnanstine had a shaky first inning allowing 2 runs then settled in to scatter 6 hits over 5 1/3 innings to earn his 7^th victory of this season.  Andy completed his line by racking up 5 strike outs and 0 walks.  The bullpen did an outstanding job supporting Andy’s start by pitching a combined 3 2/3 innings giving up only 1 hit and adding 4 more Ks to the night’s pitching line.  Troy Percival was activated from the DL prior to the start of the game and pitched a 1-2-3 9^th.

Eric Hinske jump started the offense with a 2 run double in the bottom of the first and the offense never looked back from there.  The RBI producing 2B machine included Gabe Gross and Akinori Iwamura.  Jason Bartlett had a nice night at the dish also going 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored, RBI and 2 stolen bases.  Along with Bartlett’s stolen base, Cliff Floyd swiped 2^nd and ended up on 3^rd on the throwing error by catcher Matt Treaner. 

The key to this victory was multi layered.  First the pitching staff allowed 0 walks.  The Fish hit the ball well as evidenced by the 3 2B and 1 3B they bagged off Sonnanstine.  Not allowing free passes prevented scoring opportunities.  Nice job pitching staff! 

Second, the Rays were aggressive on the base paths.  Several of those stolen bases led to Rays runs on the next pitch or 2.  They have the speed, and even those that don’t have the speed can properly pick the time.  This places this team in a great situation to win!

Third, great defense once again.  A few outstanding plays and the routine plays were made to look routine.  Keep it up guys!

See you at The Trop!
 

Scott Kazmir failed to hold the lead twice during today’s series finale with the Angels.  He allowed 3 runs in 6 2/3 innings, 10 K, 3 BB and 1 HR (Matthews).  The Rays held the lead after the first until Kaz gave up the game tying home run to Gary Matthews in the 5^th with 2 out.  We scratched together a go ahead run with Evan Longoria’s lead off 2B, Willy Aybar’s out moving Longo to 3^rd and Dioner Navarro’s sac fly in the top of the 7^th.  Kaz then allowed a bases loaded, 2 out, 0-2 single to Maicer Izturis in the bottom of the 7^th to put the Angels on top for good. 

The Rays had opportunities to score early in this game and failed to produce.  This has been the story for the Rays on this road trip.  They finish this road trip 4-5 and head to the Trop to face the Marlins starting Friday.

The offense has been questionable at times this season.  Leaving runners in scoring position has become a theme.  Kazmir had an above average start today but the offense failed to capitalize.  The pitching staff will not always pitch lights out.  The offense MUST be able to come through when opportunities present themselves.  They’ll have a LONG trip home from LA to think about what they failed to do – hopefully they can work through the mental aspect of this poor road performance and come to The Trop with attitude!   

See you at The Trop Friday night!