Yes, Ray fans, the light that had shone so brightly this season for the magical 2008 Tampa Bay Rays was snuffed out by the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday evening. The Phillies won the 3 inning sprint completing Game 5 two days after it first began and crowning them the 2008 World Series Champions.

I could tell you about the game and break down what we did right and what we did wrong. I could give you the stats of the game, who won, who lost. But, it really doesn’t matter at this point. Fact is we lost. I’d rather talk about what we did right this entire season.

The Tampa Bay Rays have NOTHING to hang their heads about! They have done more this season than anyone ever thought possible! From worst to first, from the AL East cellar to AL East Kings, from being the American League “whooping boy” to being the American League’s best. Most of us were looking forward to seeing improvement and hopefully hitting a .500 record.

The Rays have given each of us so much more. They have given us a season full of excitement, a reason to watch and hope. They have given us a reason to start counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report (that would be 120 in case you’re interested). They have given us championship baseball right here in our backyards!

The future now looks bright for our Rays. The youth will grow hungrier now that they’ve had a sample of October. The veteran leadership will continue to pass along their wisdom. All of this energy will be led into 2009 by a leader that is not afraid to be innovative and go against the grain. This team will return in 2009 on a mission!

I’ll be there every step of the way, cheering as loud as I can and yes, ringing that annoying cowbell! Will you?!

Thank you 2008 AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays for giving us all you could! And congratulations on an impressive 2008 season!

Th

The Tampa Bay Rays fall a dismal 3 games to 1 in the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.  Andy Sonnanstine could not hold the Phillies silent and lasted only 4 innings.  In his 4 innings he allowed 5 runs (3 ER) and gave up 3 walks.  One of his walks was with the bases loaded, the first time in his professional career he has walked in a run.  It was obvious from the start that Sonny did not have his best stuff.  His location was not even close.  Sonny throwing at such a low velocity relies on his location to quiet bats.    Sonny wasn’t the only pitcher who had problems Sunday night.  All the Ray pitchers had problems Sunday night.  All in all they gave up 4 HR including the first ever HR to opposing pitcher Joe Blanton.

The offense clearly did not fair much better.  In this game alone the top 4 hitters were 0-15 with 1 BB.  Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are without batting averages so far in the World Series.  Having your 3 & 4 hitters with a BA of .000 by game #4 is not a good sign.  The runs we scored were off HR by Carl Crawford and PH Eric Hinske (welcome back ‘E’).

The Rays look like a group of tired old men sitting on the bench as they bat.  The smiles and laughter have faded from their faces.  That used to be the hallmark of this team.  No matter the situation they had a good time together as a group.  That attitude made for many comebacks during the course of the season and the playoffs.  Unless the Rays can put the past few games behind them and come out aggressive at the dish this World Series will end Monday night.  This is not an easy task no matter their attitude as the Rays will face the best the Phillies have to offer in Cole Hamels.   

So, Ray fans keep the faith, work the cowbell and give the Rays everything you have in good mojo Monday night.  The Rays have certainly given us more than we could have ever expected this season.

Go Rays!!   

The Rays bull pen failed to hold the Phillies at bay in the bottom of the 9^th inning during Game 3 of the World Series.  The Rays fought back to tie the Phils in the top of the 8^th thanks to BJ Upton tying a World Series record.  BJ led off the inning with an infield single, stole 2^nd, stole 3^rd and scored on a throwing error by Phillie catcher Ruiz.  The only other player in World Series history to do this was Honus Wagner in 1909 – nice company to keep!  Overall BJ swiped 3 bags in this game and Carl Crawford added a steal of his own.  The Rays are having a great deal of success on the base path.  Great to see they have gone back to the “small ball” game since their bats have been held relatively silent so far in this World Series.

The Rays are losing the match up of bull pens however.  The bottom of the 9^th began in an ominous manner.  JP Howell hit PH Bruntlett sending the winning run to 1^st base with no effort on his part.  Next in, Grant Balfour.  Balfour was facing Shane Victarino with a runner on 1^st and 0 out when he threw the ball to the back stop.  Bruntlett easily advanced to 2^nd then took 3^rd on the throw from Dioner Navarro that sailed into CF.  Now Balfour is facing the winning run standing just 90 ft away and still having made no effort on his part.  We gave him a free pass all the way to 3^rd base.  After intentionally walking the bases loaded catcher Carlos Ruiz hit a bouncing infield ball down the 3^rd base line.  Evan Longoria charged it but was unable to make the play allowing the walk off run to score.   

So the bull pen failed to hold the Phillies down BUT the starter did not help much either.  Matt Garza did not show us the “Garzilla” form we’ve all come to know and love.  He gave up 4 ER – 3 by solo HR!  Garza lasted only 6 innings which, by his standards, is a short outing. 

The offense was ridiculous against Phils SP Moyer.  They all looked off balance at the plate.  They looked tired and like they had no idea what Moyer could possibly be throwing at them.  I mean really – Moyer is like 152 yrs old, he’s been in this league for about 100 of those years.  This team has seen pitchers that pitch with little to no speed – name Wakefield sound familiar?  No excuse for this poor performance at the plate.  Our 3 & 4 hitters have been non-existent in this series so far.  Evan looks lost at the plate and Carlos Pena looks like he is not seeing the ball again.   

So, this is what I see tonight.  The Rays have placed themselves in a must win situation.  The reason Game 4 has now become a must win – Cole Hamels will pitch Game 5.  The offense must gain a win and some confidence tonight against Phils starter Joe Blanton.  The offense MUST get on track – period.  I expect Andy Sonnanstine to come out of the gate with a good game plan.   We’ll watch him execute his pitches and watch the offense to come out fired up!  I expect a victory tonight!

Go Rays!!! 

The Tampa Bay Rays knotted the World Series at 1 game apiece by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 Thursday night. SP James Shields was every bit the “Big Game James” we’ve all come to expect. The intensity on the man’s face while he’s on the mound is amazing! When he doesn’t throw a pitch exactly where he wants, his head looks like it’s going to explode. Shieldsy went 5 2/3 scattering 7 hits and 2 free passes while striking out 4. The big story is he allowed 0 ER. With runners standing 90 ft away James dialed up 3 K’s 3 different innings to quiet the Phillies fans! It was awesome.

The Ray offense played a great game of “small ball”! The Rays used station to station advancement, safety squeeze and opposite field hitting to move runners into scoring position. It was great to see the team not thinking about the home run ball. It really looked as if BJ Upton was over swinging in game 1 trying to put the ball out. BJ had 2 nice hits to right field! Jason Bartlett laid down a beautiful safety squeeze bunt allowing Cliff Floyd to score easily.

This was a great game! The series now swings to Philly. There is a high possibility the Saturday night game will be rained out. This would mean pushing the games back and no off day between games 5 & 6. Could be some interesting managerial moves made if this happens. Keep your eyes posted on the weather in the Northeast!

Go Rays!!!!!!!!!

And that my friend, is the story behind Game 1 of the Tampa Bay Rays first ever World Series. You would have liked to see the Rays get off to a fast start but that was not to be. When your 2-3-4 hitters go 0 for 12 and leave 5 on base the writing is on the wall.

Scott Kazmir had a typical game for him. The problem was we needed an atypical game from him. Kaz throwing against Cole Hamels was going to need to pitch better than he had all season long. He did not pitch too badly but did give up 3 ER including a first inning bomb by Chase Utley. That was all Hamel needed. Kaz pitched the usual 6 innings with 110 pitches thrown, 4 free passes and 4 strike outs.

The story of this game was Cole Hamels and his very effective change up. He had the Rays hitters off balance all night long. He made a very good hitting team take a lot of check swings for 3rd strikes. Carl Crawford and Akinori Iwamura were really the only Rays to get good wood on the ball. CC sent a line drive shot into the RF seats and Aki nailed a shot to LCF to drive in the 2nd Ray run.

This is the type of game I expected. I was very concerned about the Ray hitters matching up against the very tough LHP for the Phils. The Rays absolutely had opportunities to score runs a few times early in the game but Hamels shut the door, twice enticing BJ Upton in to inning ending DP. But, these are the 2 best teams in MLB so expect more of the same for this series.

The fan energy was very low last night in The Trop. I was quite surprised considering the gigantic stage the Rays were now playing on. So, leave work early, go take a nap and get to The Trop all rested and ready to ring that cowbell!

See you there!

The Tampa Bay rays are the 2008 American League Champions!!!  WOW, doesn’t that sound great?!

I cannot hear it enough!  ALCS series MVP Matt Garza pitched an amazing game yesterday!  Garza pitched beyond what anyone could have imagined.  He shut down the Red Sox in a 7 inning pitching clinic.  He left one bad pitch up that Pedroia made him pay for by placing it over the LF wall.  Beyond that he gave up only 1 other hit, allowing 3 free passes while striking out 9.  Joe Maddon then employed hitter to pitcher strategy and used 5 pitchers in the 8^th inning to keep the mighty red Sox bats quiet.  David Price came in with bases loaded and 2 outs in the 8^th to dash the Red Sox hopes by striking out JD Drew.  Price earned the save in the game by pitching a solid 9^th inning as well.    

The Ray bats were able to provide just the amount of scoring necessary to catapult the Rays to the top of the American League.  The scoring began with a 2 out double by Evan Longoria to score Carlos Pena all the way from 1^st base to tie the score.  Next came a double by Willy Aybar and a nice at bat by Rocco Baldelli to single him home.  The final bit of scoring would be an Aybar blast to LF off SP Lester late in the game.  Due to the outstanding pitching turned in by the Rays staff that was more than needed to push the Rays over the top.  

This was an amazing all around performance by both teams really.  But the Rays were too much for the Red Sox to handle.  The Rays outplayed the Red Sox in all facets of the game.  Enough cannot be said about the pitching performance in this ALCS by Matt Garza.  He beat the seemingly unbeatable John Lester twice and shut down the Red Sox bats both times as well!   

Being at The Trop last night was absolutely amazing!  That place was electric!  I don’t care what any national reporters or anyone else says – the Rays have a very devoted fan base.  It was evident in the eyes of those holding big crocodile tears after the victory, the years of sitting in the cellar and hoping for something better next year finally paid off.  I’m emotionally and physically exhausted and need to go lie down now!  LOL – would not have missed it for anything!

Next, bring on the Phils!  See you at The Trop Wednesday evening for Game 1 of the WORLD SERIES!     

WOW!!! The Tampa Bay Rays series has been filled with lots of WOW but this……WOW…. The Rays had 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning and a lead of 7-0 when the bullpen, our salvation all year long, imploded. Scott Kazmir put on a pitching display we haven’t seen form him all season long. He was awesome. He pitched 6 innings only allowing 2 hits and 0 runs. The game appeared over. Our bullpen was coming in and they have been virtually untouchable in the postseason, heck they have been untouchable just about all season long. Why/how could anyone see what was about to happen?

Joe Maddon marched Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler and JP Howell out to close this game. That did not happen. They didn’t even come close. The three aces of our bullpen, if you can have 3 aces, allowed 9 hits and 8 runs in 3 innings! They gave up home runs to Big Papi and JD Drew. Evan Longoria chipped in with a throwing error that allowed Kevin Youkilis to 2nd base and eventually score the walk off run. It was clear to me from the get go that there may be problems. Balfour threw nothing but fastballs pitch after pitch. Sorry Grant, but in the majors they will catch up with a fastball eventually. You need to find another pitch or two to compliment your fastball. I know you have a slider – ¬use it! Wheels had control issues pitch after pitch. He could not find any consistency. Howell actually pitched well. Had it not been for the Longo error the inning would have been over and we would have gone to extras once again.

This was definitely a tale of 2 games within the 9 innings. The first 61/2 innings were all Rays! BJ Upton, Longo and Carlos Pena added 3 more home runs to the Rays amazing postseason total. Upton also added a 2 run double of Papelbon late in the game giving him a total of 4 RBIs for the game. The Rays were thieves on the base path – Gabe Gross and Jason Bartlett each had one and Akinori Iwamura swiped two.

The Ray offense beat up Red Sox starter Dice-K while Ray starter Kaz pitched his best game all season long. Shame he didn’t get that win – he deserved it! Now the series travels back to St Pete and The Trop where the Rays have been more successful than any other team in MLB this season. The Rays are still in the driver’s set leading the series 3-2. I don’t anticipate the rays dwelling too much on this loss on their day off Friday. They have been resilient all season long and I expect to see even more focus and determination coming out of the box Saturday as Big Game James Shields takes on Josh Beckett.

I anticipate the Rays closing this out Sat and the dome glowing orange as we drive down 275! See you at The Trop!

Go Rays!

WOW! Amazing! Incredible! Rays Win, Rays Win, Rays Win!

Ok, so my thoughts are bit jumbled. Can you blame me?! If you saw what I saw you’re probably just as jumbled!

What an amazing game! All facets of the game came together last night to culminate in a Rays romping of the “invincible” Red Sox 13-4. Yes, you read that correctly. The Tampa Bay Rays dismantled the Boston Red Sox in Fenway. Great to see Red Sox Nation spilling onto Yawkey Way before the 7th inning!

Andy Sonnanstine pitched a gem on the big stage once again. He pitched a very strong 7.1 innings scattering 6 hits and 1 free pass while allowing 3 ER. Sonny has been thriving on this big stage! You’ll remember he was the winning pitcher in the final game of the ALDS as he shut down the powerful White Sox bats as well. Sonny’s location was excellent! He might not have the speed on his pitches but his use of his pitches, the movement and location have made Sonny a 13 game winner during the regular season and 2-0 in the postseason. He was fantastic!

While Sonny was shutting down the bats the Rays offense was pummeling the Red Sox pitching staff. SP Tim Wakefield gave up 3 runs in the first inning and lasted on 2 2/3 innings. The bull pen did not fair any better. The Rays had amazing at bats and made good use of each hit. In total the Rays banged out 14 hits, half of which were for extra bases. The hit parade included home runs from Evan Longoria (setting the rookie playoff record for HR in Oct), Carlos Pena, and Willy Aybar. The “Green Monster” has not fazed this team at all. These guys are hitting the ball out of Fenway to the street! The hits kept coming with triples by Jason Bartlett and Carl Crawford who also added 2 doubles. Crawford had a day at the dish for himself. He was 5-5 with 3 runs scored, 2 RBI’s and 2 stolen bases. Only 2 other players in MLB history have done this is postseason play. Aybar tried to keep up with CC but fell a hit short going 4-5 with 5 RBI’s and a run scored.

The defense was stellar. Even though the Rays committed 3 errors, Longo had 2 on 1 play and Upton over ran a grounder on another, the defense showed how it has supported the Rays pitching staff all season long. Upton made several nice catches running a long way, CC made some nice plays off the Green Monster to hold hitters to 1 base and the middle infield turned a nice double play to silence the anxious Fenway crowd. With the defense behind them the pitching staff is not afraid to attack the strike zone. This has led to a worst to first season for this team!

Keep it going Rays! Let’s celebrate on the green grass of Fenway!!!

The Tampa Bay Rays led by Matt Garza made it clear early Game 3 would not be another 11 inning marathon! Garza pitched a game for the ages holding the typically potent Red Sox line up silent. The added bonus to that was the silence of the 10th man, the Fenway Faithful. It was great to see the cameras pan around Fenway and watch the Fenway Faithful sit quietly with their arms crossed over their chests in total disbelief!

Garza pitched 6 innings scattering 6 hits and 3 free passes while allowing 1 ER and striking out 5. Garza had all of his pitches working and his location was spot on. He exuded confidence on that mound last night. Great to see Matt prove all the “experts” wrong! All I heard in all the post game shows was how Garza’s emotions will be a problem for him on this grand stage. If it were up to them they would have canceled the game and just handed the win to Lester and the Red Sox as clearly the Rays were going to be out matched.

The Rays offense was having none of that talk! Granted they went out in the first inning allowed Lester a fast 5 pitch, 3 out beginning. But Lester’s luck ran out there. The offense unloaded on Lester early and often! The Rays banged out a total of 13 hits against Lester and Paul Byrd. Of the 13 6 were for extra bases, 4 HR and 2 doubles by Akinori Iwamura. The HR barrage began with a monster 3 run shot out of Fenway by BJ Upton, his 5th HR of the postseason. It continued with Evan Longoria’s solo blast, Rocco Baldelli’s 3 run blast and Carlos Pena’s solo shot! Every Ray that stepped to the plate had at least 1 hit.

Don’t be mistaken. The Ray’s offense was amazing to watch but the game was won by having a solid game plan and great execution. It was clear in the beginning that the Rays were going to come out and be aggressive against Lester from the get go. The same game plan was in store for the Red Sox offense. Garza and Dioner Navarro did not back down from the heavy hitting Red Sox. They were on the attack pitch after pitch. Garza’s location was pin point and he pounded the strike zone with all of his pitches. It’s been said good pitching beats good hitting and this was a prime example of that old adage.

Great game plan, great execution! Congratulations to Matt Garza and the Rays for proving all the “experts” wrong! They know nothing! With this win the Rays gain back their home field advantage and lead the series 2-1. It would sure be nice to see the Rays celebrate on the grass at Fenway!

Go Rays!

The Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox hooked up for game 1 of the ALCS at The Trop Friday night.  It was a magical atmosphere in the dome but the Rays offense was vanquished by Dice-K Matsuzaka.  This game was one of the premier pitching match ups of the season.  James Shields toed the rubber for the Rays in an effort to get an early jump on the BoSox.

Dice-K ran into trouble several times through out his 7+ innings of work but always managed to work himself out of it.  Notably in the first inning Dice-K walked the bases loaded and then managed to get Cliff Floyd to roll over and hit a lazy ground ball for the third out keeping the Rays off the board early.  In the 7^th inning the Rays Carl Crawford managed the first Ray hit of the game, yes that’s right the first hit in the 7^th inning, and went to 3^rd on a Floyd single.  Now with, at that point, the tying run on third with 0 out the Rays could not even manage a long fly ball to score the run.  

The Rays made the BoSox pitching staff’s jobs a bit easier by swinging on counts of 3-0 and 2-0 all night long and having nothing to show in return.  The Rays lack of big game experience seemed to rear its ugly head in this lack of patience all night long.

Well nothing positive to note from the offensive side of the game.  The Rays managed only 4 hits and 4 free passes for the game.  That’s a shame as Shields pitched just as well for the Rays and deserved a better fate.   

In my opinion the difference in this game was the experience factor.  The Rays had opportunities to score runs multiple times but could not muster the key hit.  The BoSox didn’t have many more opportunities than the Rays to score runs but they managed to be patient and, rather than swing for the fences, focused on the base hit to score the runs.  

The Rays have now put themselves in an early must win situation in my opinion.  They cannot go to Fenway down 2 games.  That will spell doom for them.  The Red Sox would have far too much momentum.  If the Rays are patient at the plate they will score against Beckett.  Even though his postseason numbers are incredible through his career he has struggled a bit as of late due to a rib injury.  Scott Kazmir will take the mound for the Rays and he must keep the ball in the park for the Rays to have a chance.  If the Red Sox get out to an early lead the momentum given to the Red Sox will be difficult to overcome.  The postseason is their stage and they know that.  I don’t really think the Red Sox care too much about winning or losing the division pennant.  Their focus has always been to make it to the playoffs where they seem to become an entirely different team.  The Rays have to squash the thought that we will lie down for them early in this game 2.    

Go Rays!