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!

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!

Wow, what an amazing game!  Evan Longoria once again showed the nation why he deserves to be Rookie of the Year.  He was a stud at the plate!  Longo ended his day going 3 for 3 with 2 Home Runs, a single, a BB with 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs and a stolen base!  Yes, that’s right, 2 Home Runs!  Only the second time in postseason history a player has belted 2 home runs in his first 2 postseason at bats, the first by a rookie!  Ironically the only other player to do this is Rays AAA hitting Coach Gary Gaetti.  Longo approached the dish each at bat and looked like he had about 10 years experience.  Clearly the postseason is not going to rattle him or his teammates.                                           

James Shields did an outstanding job of limiting the White Sox big play offense.  He did give up a 3 run blast to Dewayne Wise but aside from that the Sox bats were ineffective against him.  He went a strong 6.1 innings, scattering 5 hits and compiling 4 K’s along the way.  \

The huge play in this game came in the 7^th inning with bases loaded.  Grant Balfour replaced Shields with 1 out.  The Aussie struck out Uribe for the 2^nd out.  Next to the plate Orlando Cabrera.  The first pitch to him was outside and apparently Cabrera wanted something better — he kicked dirt in the direction of Balfour.  Well the Thunder from Down Under did not appreciate that and a war of words broke out.  Grant Balfour eventually strode to back to the top of the hill and proceeded to blow to hard fastballs right by Cabrera for the huge K!  On his way to the dugout Balfour pointed at Cabrera and told him to sit down!   It was awesome!  I was at The Trop and the crowd exploded!  The energy in that dome was amazing!  From that point you felt like the game was over.   

The Rays have shown the rest of MLB that they will no longer be a door mat for anyone.  That began with Elliot Johnson running over the Yankee catcher in spring training.  It has not stopped.  The Rays are confident in the fact they can beat anyone, they’ve done it all season.  They fear no team!

Can’t wait to get back to The Trop!

Well Ray fans here we go!  The second season officially began for the Tampa Bay Rays as the last out was recorded in the Rays 8-7 extra inning victory over the Detroit Tigers Sunday afternoon.  The second season began with the first ever red carpet arrival of the AL East Champs and 1000+ fans cheering on the heroes of the bay.  A rally today at Straub Park in St Petersburg will allow the Ray fans to continue to show their love for the our beloved blue collar grinders.                                           

Who would have ever thought?  Did you really believe at the beginning of this year the Rays had any chance to displace the Yankees and Red Sox atop the toughest division in baseball?  If you say yes I’d say you are either lying or you are optimistic to the point of being delusional.  No one saw this coming, no one.  Did we see the potential for improvement for the perpetual cellar dwellers?  Absolutely yes, no doubts there!  

The Rays have gone about their business game after game not once allowing yesterday’s failure to haunt them.  The Rays have won games late with dramatic walk offs.  The Rays have won games early with hot bats and GREAT pitching.  The Rays have won games by flashing the leather through out.  The Rays have won games. 

The Rays front office has put together a very special group of individuals.  From rookies to veterans who may be playing their last year and every step in between they have all delivered in the clutch.  Injury plagued all season long the guy off the bench made something special happen between the lines.  I cannot think of one guy who did not have a special play to win/save a game at some point in the season.  When they stepped onto the field they all melded together to form a consistent, confident entity.  An entity that was afraid of no one.  They proved that by sweeping the teams considered the best. 

Here’s to our Tampa Bay Rays, the 2008 AL East Champions!  An amazing year for an amazing team! 

James Shields led the Rays to victory in the first game of the double header by pitching 7 innings allowing only 2 ER and 1 free pass while collecting 8 K’s.  Shieldsy looked ok the first few innings but settled in nicely to go the 7 complete.  The only real blip for him was a 2^nd inning 2 run HR.  After that he was lights out!  You could see how angry he was at himself as the Oriole runners rounded the base path. You just knew that was going to be the end of the scoring!

The offense blasted out 13 hits altogether!  The majority of the production came from the bottom of the line up, 6-9.  Dioner Navarro was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored, Jason Bartlett was 3 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI and Fernando Perez was 3 for 3 with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs.  This was a great offensive for the Rays who have been lackluster at the plate the last 2 games.  Great recovery

The Tampa Bay Rays inched a bit closer to their first ever AL East Division crown with a 4-2 victory Monday night over the Baltimore Orioles.  That coupled with Boston’s loss to Cleveland takes the magic number down to 4 games!  How exciting is this Ray fans?! 

David Price made his first career start Monday night pitching 5 1/3 innings.  He showed great poise on the mound.  He did run himself into trouble in a few innings by allowing 4 hits and 3 free passes.  The defense did not help his cause by committing an error and allowing a run to score.  Evan Longoria committed the fielding error giving him 12 for the season and 3 in his last 2 games.  Longo may be still trying to regain his feet after his stint on the DL.  Price gave up 2 runs – 1 ER – and garnered a no decision.  The good news is that Price showed great command of his pitches at key points in the game.  He also pitched ahead in the count to almost all of the hitters he faced.  He really gave us a glimpse of what he will bring to the starting rotation in the very near future. 

This game was very quiet and unemotional.  The offensive push came from Jason Bartlett who was 2 for 3 with 2 doubles.  He knocked in the go ahead run with a double in the 7^th.  The other 2 runs were generated off the bat of Akinori Iwamura.  The Rays looked sluggish again offensively.  They only managed 3 hits in this game off a very poor pitching staff.  The bright side to the lackluster offensive performance was the Rays had some quality at bats and showed patience at the dish.  This patience translated into 8 free passes by Baltimore pitching.

Tuesday will have the Rays in a doubleheader against these Orioles.  Mitch Talbot will toe the rubber for his first MLB start in the 2^nd game as James Shields will go in the first game.  It will be nice to see the Rays turn up the offense in support of these great SP! 

Go Rays!

How do you hit 5 HR, score 8 runs and lose a game in MLB? I’ll tell you how – bad pitching! The Tampa Bay Rays gave the Twins the first game of this 4 game set by letting them off the hook in the 9th inning. But, we really should start at the beginning with our SP James Shields. Shieldsy was not sharp and pitched into and out of trouble through 6 1/3 innings. He gave up 8 hits, one of which was a first inning 3-run bomb, and 2 free passes that equated 6 ER. David Price made his second appearance of the season giving up a 2 run single to Joe Mauer before striking out the final 2 batters to complete the 7th inning. Troy Percival looked good in his return to the bump by pitching a solid 8th inning.

The big hurt came in the 9th inning when Dan Wheeler gave up a 2 run blast to tie the game at 8. Wheels then allowed the next 2 runners on base while garnering no outs. Those runs eventually came around to score giving the Twins a total of 5 runs scored in the 9th inning for a well earned victory. This is what the Rays usually do – it has not been done to us!

Evan Longoria lit up the Twins pitching staff blasting 3, that’s right 3, home runs! He clearly has recovered the eye he had before his stint on the DL and that was GREAT to see! Dioner Navarro and Carlos Pena chipped in with taters of their own giving the Rays a total of 5 for the game. As a matter of fact, the Rays were swinging the bats really well! They added doubles by Ben Zobrist and Gabe Gross to give them a total of 7 extra base hits out of their 9 hit total!

Great offense was derailed by poor pitching in this game. It is a bit of a concern that bad pitching has found its way to The Trop for the 2nd time this week. The first game of the Boston series being the other bad pitching performance this week. I have to also question the Price move. Here are the facts. Price is LHP, Mauer hits better off LHP and the pitch called was thrown right into an optimal location for Mauer to take full advantage, which he did by hitting a 2 run single and breaking the tie in the 9th. It is clear this was a questionable decision to bring Price into the game. Even if Price had elicited an out from Mauer the move must be questioned. Wonder who was reading what charts? Why would Navi call for a pitch right in his wheel house?

Oh well, a loss, no matter how painful to watch, is still a mere loss to this team. They will come out firing on all cylinders tonight. Edwin Jackson is due for an outstanding performance and tonight is the night!

See you at The Trop!

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 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!    

The Tampa Bay Rays took the series from the Oakland A’s in 12 innings taking this road trip’s record to 5-2 so far. They begin the last leg of this 10 game trip tonight in Texas. I’m not really sure how to characterize this victory. Was it a great victory in that the Rays kept grinding? Was it a lucky victory in that the Rays made a ton of mistakes? Was it a bad victory because we should have put this team away easily? Well…..I guess none of that really matters as WE WON!

The Bad: James Shields struggled through his 5 innings of work mightily. He allowed 5 hits, 5 free passes, 1 HR and 4 ER. Clearly James’ road woes haunted him in this game. BJ Upton was doubled off of first base on a fly ball that took the A’s RF to the wall. Upton forgot to retag 2nd base on his way back – are you kidding me with this??!! Troy Percival thought that cutting in front of Carlos Pena to field a late inning bunt then running down the runner rather than tossing it to first base was a good idea. WRONG — yes, we got the out, only because the runner ran out of the baseline, but Perci is probably going to join CC and Longo on the DL for his 3rd time this season with a sprained knee. Perci – you’re old dude, let the young guys take care of the details! Grant Balfour earned his first blown save of the season by giving up a game tying single to Frank Thomas.

The Better: The Ray offense banged out 13 hits and accumulated 7 free passes. Rocco Baldelli played 6 innings and made an outstanding diving catch in RF. Jason Bartlett returned to the game as a late inning replacement at SS.

The Best: Willy Aybar had a nice day at the plate going 2 for 5 with a 2B, 3B, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs and 1 BB. Cliff Floyd showed his great eye for the K zone by going 1 for 2 with 4 free passes, 2B, 4 runs scored. Carlos Pena broke the 5-5 tie in the 12th by crushing his 23rd HR of the season. But most importantly – WE WON!

Concerns for today’s game: The Rays used every pitcher in their bull pen in this game. If Garza cannot go deep we may have to use a few tired arms against a very potent Ranger offense. Rocco played hard and ran a lot in this game so he’s probably not available for the opening game in Texas.

Go Rays!!!!