Edwin Jackson pitched a strong 7 innings giving up 6 hits and 1 ER to earn his 11^th victory for the Rays this season.  The Rays did what they have done all season long and took another series!   Dan Wheeler notched his 10^th save of the season as well.

The story of this game was the long ball and awesome defense.  The Rays collected 10 hits in total, half of which were for extra bases.  Akinori Iwamura smacked 2 doubles, Gabe Gross chipped in with a stand up triple, while Cliff Floyd and Willy Aybar blasted solo bombs!    

Eric Hinske laid out for an extra base saving catch in the top of the first inning!  Hinske still has some giddy up in those legs.  And for the second night in a row a Ray defender made Sportscenter’s 10 Top Plays.  Great job!

Today I purchased my postseason tickets!  I’m so excited!  This is going to be awesome!  The Rays are hosting the Baltimore Orioles this Labor Day weekend while the Red Sox will be hosting the Chicago White Sox.  We may look to pick up and additional game or 2 in the standings!   

Get to The Trop and enjoy a GREAT family experience together!  If you haven’t been top The Trop lately the new Rays front office has improved the family friendly atmosphere tremendously since they have taken over. 

Cheer on your Rays! 

It is ridiculous that at least 20,000 fans cannot come out for each and every home game!  For years people cried that they wanted an MLB team.  Guess what – YOU HAVE ONE!  For years people complained because they wanted a winning MLB team.  Guess what – YOU HAVE ONE!  Nowadays people complain that gas is too expensive.  Guess what – you have alternatives!  Share a ride – go to the Rays message board (raysbaseball.com > fans > message boards) find a few people in your general area and car pool!  People complain about how expensive it is to go to a game.  You can purchase an upper deck ticket (great view of the entire field) for $9-$11!  You can take your own food and drinks (non alcoholic) to the field! 

The Rays players are now admitting on national broadcasts that they are embarrassed by the lack of fan support!  The Tampa Bay Rays, or the old Devil rays, used to be the laughing stock of MLB.  Now, the Rays are in first place and the “fans” are the laughing stock of MLB!   

You are missing an exciting young team, a young team that will be in the race for the AL East crown for several years to come.  This is the worst team you will see for at least the next 5 years!   The Rays are the new “Beast of the East.”   The Rays Republic as we have been dubbed is calling YOU out!  Get your lazy arse off your sofa and get to The Trop!

If you don’t please do not call yourself a sports fan and certainly DON’T call yourself a Rays fan!  If you cannot be excited about what is happening under that dome you are NOT a true sports fan!

Wow! What a game it was! Matt Garza pitched another GREAT game holding the, as of late, potent Blue Jay lineup to 0 run in 7 2/3 innings pitched. He surrendered 6 hits and 3 free passes but earned 5 K’s en route to his 11th victory. Blue Jay SP Purcey was equally impressive. He gave up only 5 hits in a CG but one of those hits was a towering blast by Carlos Pena (27) to put the only score of the night on the board. It was an impressive game by both SP.

Dan Wheeler earned his 9th save of the season with the help of LF Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano tracked a blast to the LF wall in the top of the 9th. He leapt high and snatched the ball off the top of the wall preserving the save. It was awesome! With 2 out Barajas stepped to the plate and the Ray fans stood to cheer on the final out. When he hit that ball The Trop went silent. You could hear a pin drop! It seemed like the ball was in slow motion to the wall as we all gasped. It took Ruggiano rolling off the wall and holding up his glove indicating the catch for The Trop to explode! It was an awesome play.

This was the type of win that championship teams have! The only disappointment this entire night was the crowd — a measly 12,600. Are you kidding me! To see the first place Rays only 12,600 people could find their way to The Trop??!! The players are now calling our fans an embarrassment (Kaz on Rome is Burning). He is absolutely right! For years everyone yelled about having a winning team. Guess what – YOU HAVE ONE! So what is the excuse now……..gas is too expensive (it just went down), too expensive to go (you can get an $11 ticket – eat before you go), don’t want to drive over the bridge (there are cabs now offering FREE rides back and forth to the game from Tampa), go to the Rays message board (raysbaseball.com > fans message boards) and hook up with other fans in your area to share rides, on and on. There is no good excuse! This “fan base” is a disgrace to this team! Get over yourselves and get to The Trop – this is what you have been waiting for!

The Tampa Bay Rays were trying to be the first team in Roy Halladay’s career to beat him 4 times in a single season.  Well, Halladay had a different idea.  He pitched with a vengeance Tuesday night at The Trop.  It was clear form pitch #1 that he had his best stuff working and James Shields did not.  Shieldsy struggled through 6 2/3 innings allowing 4 ER on 9 hits and 2 free passes.  Shields showed his grit and competitive nature by keeping the Rays within striking distance but it wasn’t meant to be.

The Rays offense showed the occasional spark but Halladay and his compadres in the bullpen silenced them quickly.  The only mark against Doc was a 2-run single by Eric Hinske.  Hinske was the only Ray with multiple hits in the game.  The Rays were also kind enough to give Doc some easy outs by striking out 11 times.  BJ Upton was kind enough to chip in with 3 of those.   

I have to admit I was a bit surprised with the lack of energy the team showed during this game.  They looked lethargic and tired.  Having had a day off Monday I would have expected them to have recovered form the difficult trip to Chicago.  Maybe it’s the ridiculous lack of fan support.  To see 2 of the premier pitchers in the AL only 13,400 fans showed up at The Trop.  Unbelievable! 

People!  Get off your couch and get to The Trop!  See you there

The Tampa Bay Rays convincingly took game one of the 3 game set with the Chicago White Sox using outstanding pitching and offense.  Edwin Jackson gave a very strong 6 inning performance giving up only 2 runs to the powerful White Sox lineup.  E-Jax scattered 7 hits and 5 free passes within his 6 innings.  Clearly he ran into trouble more than once during his time on the bump, the impressive thing was he did not break.  He managed to get the outs when he needed them including 5 Ks.  E-Jax had some help from the bench and his catcher, Dioner Navarro. The bench called for 2 pitch outs that led to outs at 2^nd base. It was as if Joe Maddon knew something the rest of us did not.   Nice job!

The offense came alive in this game in bug fashion!  The Rays banged out a total of 14 hits – 9 of them for extra bases!  The home run parade included Carlos Pena (26), Ben Zobrist (6) and Rocco Baldelli (1).  That’s right folks!  Rocco’s first dinger since May 3, 2007!  Congrats Rocco!  The hit parade did not stop here.  Akinori Iwamura banged out a run scoring 3B to put the Rays ahead.  And the 2B were many – Willy Aybar had 2 doubles.   Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett and Pena also added to the 2B total.   

The only negative in this game was the top of 2^nd inning.  There were 2 major base running mistakes that ended in 2 outs at home plate – never a good idea.  Rocco decided to run on a dribbler in front of the plate – there were runners on 1^st and 3^rd with no outs at this point.  It was clear it was his own decision and was not sent by Foley, but – bad idea.  The SP Danks grabbed the ball and barely tagged Rocco out but he did.  The next flub came with 1 out and runners on 2^nd and 3^rd.  On a short line drive to LF Willy opted to tag and attempt to score.  Once again, not a good idea.  Willy was thrown out by a mile. 

Aside from our mistakes in the 2^nd inning this was a well played game on all sides of the ball.  The pitching showed great poise and determination on the mound.  The offense was patient and picked good pitches to hit and did so!  The defense was exceptional as always!  Nice way to begin this tough series.   

Today the Rays get some much deserved national attention as the FOX game of the week!  Scott Kazmir rides the bump and should show continued improvement on previous starts.  Go Rays!    

The Tampa Bay Rays and the LA Angels battled 9 hard innings.  The Rays were going for their second sweep of the Angels in The Trop.  The Rays fell a bit short but still won this series and the season series form the Angels in a potential match up of playoff teams.

Matt Garza looked good his first few innings but ran into a hurdle in the 3^rd.  Garza allowed 4 runs in the 4^th inning with a combination of walks and hits.  He remained poised on the mound and didn’t allow another run.  Garza pitched 6 2/3 giving up a total of 7 hits and recording 7 K’s.  Garza did not figure in the decision as Grant Balfour ended up with the loss.

The Rays offense was up and down all game long.  They posted a 3 spot on the board in the 2^nd inning and were held silent until the 8^th when Carlos Pena doubled in the tying run.  Gabe Gross had some impressive at bats during this game.  Gross was 2 for 2 with 2 BB, 1 RBI and 1 run scored.   

The Rays hit the road to open a 3 game series with the Chicago White Sox.  Everyone keeps talking about the fact the Rays are going to spend a great deal of time on the road the next month.  They are not mentioning that the Rays have the best record in MLB since the All Star break – many of those victories were on the road!  They have yet to lose a series since the All Star break as well. I don’t see the Rays letting their intensity falter – they are hungry!  They are out to prove the world wrong! 

See you in Chicago!  Go Rays! 

The Ray offense was held silent until the 6^th inning when Jason Bartlett broke up a no-no.  It was an impressive performance by Angel starter Ervin Santana.  The Rays however showed their determination by breaking through in the 8^th inning for a 3 run spot.

James Shields did not have his best pitches working effectively for him.  But, with stellar defense behind him he wriggled out of a few tight spots allowing only 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 hits in 8 innings pitched.  James also recorded 7 outs himself by way of the K!  James showed his resiliency by staying out on the mound and pitching tough through a less than Shields like performance.  He came through when the Rays needed him!  

James was back by a defense that was flashing some very impressive leather between the lines!  Gabe Gross grabbed a ball high off the RF wall to record the final out of the 1^st inning!  Very nice grab!  Bartlett napped a short line drive up the middle and doubled an Angel runner off of first!  JB means a ton to this defense!  BJ Upton threw a strike to the plate to nail Tori Hunter trying to score from 2^nd base!  It was a perfect throw and catch!  

The Ray offense got to the bull pen and loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8^th with no out.  The Rays tied the game on a bases loaded walk to Carlos Pena.  Then Willy Aybar came clutch once again.  Aybar knocked a 2 run single to put the Rays out in front for good. 

This was another GREAT team victory!  In gaining this win the Rays have not only taken this series from the Angels but have also secured the season series and the best record in the American League!   As a Ray fan since their beginning I was honestly hoping to see a record just above .500 – to see improvement this year in moving forward.  These guys impress me with something different every night!  Keep it going! 

Obviously a lot of the credit needs to go to the RFO and to Joe Maddon.  The RFO gave Joe the pieces to be successful.  Joe has proven to be a very intelligent baseball man.  But more impressive is how he handles the players.  Last night Upton was called out by 1^st base umpire Jerry Meals on an over thrown ball – Meals said Upton made an attempt to go to 2^nd base.  NOT!!  Maddon charged out there and argued emphatically for Upton – a player he has benched several times for a lack of hustle.  Maddon was promptly tossed form the game.  He showed that he believes in and has the back of all his players.  It would have been very easy to blame Upton with his recent string of negative events but Maddon did the right thing.  He showed BJ that he has faith in him.  Hopefully this said a lot to BJ and there will be no more negative incidents with BJ the rest of this season.  If Maddon does not get voted MOY there will be a riot!    

Who would have thought at the beginning of the year it would be Andy Sonnanstine leading the Rays pitching staff with 13 victories?  Well, it is true!  Sonny earned #13 by defeating the hard hitting Angels 6-4.  He pitched very well and had many of the Angels hitters swinging at air and looking bad!  Sonny pitched 5 1/3 giving up 5 hits and 3 ER.  It really was a good pitching performance from him especially against a very tough Angel lineup.

 The big bats of the Rays made a statement today against the Angels pitching.  Eric Hinske and Cliff Floyd both hit 2-run blasts!  The Rays collected 13 hits and 2 walks off the Angels with only 3 K’s.  Nice job at the dish! 

BJ Upton managed to make another ridiculous out.  After hitting the ball to the base of the LF wall Upton was too busy admiring the shot to hustle into 2^nd base.  He trotted around 1^st and as he did this the Angel’s LF threw the ball to Teixeira who was following Upton and tagged him out.  Upton looked like he had seen a ghost.  He could not believe he had been tagged out.  Guess what BJ – these other teams are scouting you!  They have you listed as lazy!  Great play by the Angels!  The good news in all of this is that Floyd and some of the other Ray players have stated they are now taking the matter into their own hands.  About time!

Great game tonight!  I think this series will prove to all the naysayers out there!  Yeah, believe it or not some of these yahoos out there still think those that wear pinstripes are going to make a miraculous run.  Give it up folks! The Tampa Bay Rays are the NEW Beast of the East!

Yes, you read correct!  With bases loaded in the bottom of the 9^th and MLB RBI king Josh Hamilton stepping to the plate Joe Maddon signaled for 4, 4 pitches outside to intentionally walk in run #3.  The move paid big dividends as Dan Wheeler recorded a K on Marlon Byrd for the save right after the walk.  Nice move Joe!!

Scott Kazmir recorded his 9^th victory this season.  He pitched a solid 6 innings holding the potent Ranger offense virtually silent.  Although he again had a high pitch count, 114, he only allowed 2 ER on 4 hits while giving up 4 free passes.  Kaz also racked u p 7 strike outs.  He said he felt much better after this start so hopefully this means he’ll pull it altogether just in time for the stretch run and on into the playoffs.

The offensive burst came in the form of extra base hits.  Out of 10 total hits for the Rays 6 were for extra bases.  Carlos Pena belted a 3-run shot and BJ Upton knocked a 2-run shot.  Adding to the extra base parade were 2Bs by Upton, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross and Willy Aybar. 

The bullpen was a bit of a concern.  Juan Salas appeared for the first time and promptly gave up 2 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB.  Grant Balfour followed him and gave up 3 BB in just a third of an inning.   Balfour really needs to find a second pitch.  His fastball is lights out but when that’s all he’s throwing these professional hitters are going to catch up to it.  Last night his control was clearly not good with the fastball.  It would be nice to see him add something else to his arsenal.  

The Rays finally go home with a very successful 7-3 road trip.  Yes, these weren’t the best teams in the league they faced but isn’t that the point, beat the teams you should?  Well, they did.  They also improved their road record to 30-31, best in the Al East at this point.   The Rays are home for a possible 3 (depends upon TS Fay) game set against LAA.  Then back to the road for 3 against the CWS.  These 6 games will say a lot about the current state of this team.  Now they are playing the best the league has to offer.  This is where the affect of injuries will show themselves or not…..up to the guys playing between the lines.

A day after a masterful performance by Matt Garza in a shut out of the Texas Rangers, Rangers pitchers exchange the favor shutting out the Rays 3-0.  Ranger pitcher Matt Harrison looked equally impressive shutting down the Rays bats for 8 innings.  Their closer, Guardado, held the shut out intact while gaining the save in the 9^th.

The only offense the Rays could muster was a HR distance shot by Ben Zobrist that would have tied the game.  The ball was brought back in the park engulfed in leather worn by former Devil Ray Josh Hamilton.  Other than that the Rays were held silent collecting only 3 hits and 1 walk while giving up 8 K’s. 

Shame too because Edwin Jackson really pitched well.  He gave up a lead off HR to Ian Kinsler on the first pitch he threw but other than that he scattered 4 additional hits over 6 innings.  When E-Jax left the game the score was 1-0.  JP Howell followed E-Jax and allowed 2 additional runs on 3 hits. 

And no, I do not believe the score would have been any different had BJ Upton played the game.  His absence made no difference in this outcome.  The difference was Matt Harrison for the Rangers.  Just as Matt Garza had been the difference the previous night.  Good pitching beats good hitting and that was the difference tonight plain and simple.  The rubber game of this series has the Rays sending Scott Kazmir to toe the rubber with aim at securing another series victory.