Ok gang…here’s the skinny on this game.  If you cannot hit you cannot win — period.  Andy Sonnanstine pitched his best game of this young season and still had to suffer the loss on his record.  He went 6 strong scattering 6 hits, 3 ER, 7 K’s and only allowing 1 free pass.  Sonny had trouble in his first 2 starts hitting his location and walking far too many batters.  He cleaned this up in this game and looked like the Sonny of last year.

The offense started out with a bang by scoring 2 runs in the first inning.  It was downhill from there as they were then silenced.  Check out the offensive numbers 

1 for 9 RISP

10 K’s

Only 4 BB

6 Hits

8 LOB

There aren’t too many teams in MLB that will win with numbers that look like that! I cannot say this enough – the Rays MUST improve their decision making at the plate and stop expanding the zone!  Carl Crawford has looked sick hitting (or trying to hit) in the #2 hole.  He has displayed absolutely zero plate discipline to this point in the season.  I’m thinking maybe time to look at placing JB in the #1 hole and moving BJ to #2 while sliding CC to #5.  Here are the numbers to back this up 

Jason Bartlett -   OBP – .451; BB – 4; K – 6

BJ Upton – OBP – .379; BB – 6; K – 9

Carl Crawford – OBP – .246; BB -1; K – 15

Seems like a fairly easy decision to me… 

Look I’m not here to slam our skipper Joe Maddon either.  However I will state my opinion in that this spray chart shift thingy does not seem to be working.  The outfield is playing far too shallow!  I’m fairly certain that at least one of those triples would have been outs had Kapler been playing his normal position thus saving a run.  I understand the theory Joe and his coaching staff have been working with but this experiment needs some rethinking ASAP!

Wednesday evening the Rays Send Jeff Niemann to the mound to start a Rays winning streak!  

Ben Zobrist came off the bench in the 6^th inning to hit a bases loaded bomb into the LF seats at The Trop Friday night to put the Rays ahead once and for all.  This could not have come at a better time.  This game was all about the White Sox until this point.  The Rays had initially taken the lead on Carlos Pena’s 2^nd inning solo blast.  The White Sox then answered back with 2 runs.  All the action seemed to take place in the 5^th and 6^th innings of this game.  In the 5^th Dioner Navarro led off with a 2B and came around to tie the score on Jason Bartlett’s 2B.  The top of the 6^th proved to be trouble for Rays SP James Shields as he gave up 2 HR (3 hits total) and 3 ER with only 4 pitches to put the Sox up 5-2 just as the Rays had managed to tie this game.  The bottom of the 6^th contained all the dramatics for Ray’s fans.  Bases loaded with 2 outs Joe Maddon calls back scheduled hitter Gabe Gross and inserts Ben Zobrist who promptly deposits the baseball in the LF seats.  The Trop went crazy! 

James Shields struggled in this game.  Shieldsy went 7.1 innings allowing 7 hits (2 HR), 5 ER and 2 BB while netting only 4 K’s.  But something good did come out of this.  After all the dramatics in the 6^th inning Maddon sent Shields to the mound in the 7^th and let me tell you what a difference.   He was fired up and throwing with a vengeance.  He sat the White Sox down 1-2-3 and did not allow them to gain any momentum.  This was a good call on Maddon’s part, to allow Shields to go grab some confidence and he did just that.  This will pay dividends down the road.

The bullpen did a nice job with Wheeler, Shouse and Percival combing for 1.2 innings and giving up 0 ER.  However, it was not without incident.  Percival managed to allow runners on 1^st and 3^rd but get out of that 9^th inning mess to earn the save. 

The one down spot in this game was the umpiring behind the plate.  CB Bucknor has got to be one of the worst ball/strike callers I’ve ever seen.  AJ Pierzynski was blatantly moving his glove, pulling balls back into the strike zone and Bucknor was giving those to him.  Shields and Colon had a nice pitchers duel going on for the first 4 innings or so but Bucknor would not give them anything.  These guys were making some unbelievable pitches at the knees and e would not budge.  It was absurd and I hope he gets called on his performance.  It was poor at best.

Saturday night Scott Kazmir will take to the mound to keep this train rolling!

See you at The Trop! 

The Tampa Bay Rays crushed the New York Yankees in their home opener 15-5 Monday night!  This was an awesome night!  Not only did we destroy our division rival but we also raised the AL East and AL Championship banners!  The feeling in The Trop was amazing – people were very emotional.  Then to come out in the first inning and burn Wang in the fashion we did just added to the emotion.  I really believe the Rays converted a lot of bandwagon fans to die hard Ray fans with all that transpired last night.  It was a very classy, well conceived ceremony including the moment of silence to Harry Kalas – our condolences Todd! 

Carlos Pena provided the BIG bat during this game going 3 for 6 with 6 RBIs (4 by Grand Slam), 2 2B and 2 runs scored.  Jason Bartlett doubled his HR production from last year by belting his 2^nd HR in as many nights.  Nice to see Pat Burrell hit a rope into the LF seats as well, his first of this young season.

In total the Rays racked up 17 hits and 8 free passes!  The offense was clicking on all cylinders last night and chased Wang after 1+ innings.  The pitchers that followed Wang didn’t fair much better giving up 11 runs the rest of the way.   Yankee skipper Girardi was so desperate he had 1B Nick Swisher pitch the 8th inning!  Swisher actually did better than the rest of the Yankee staff.

The defense was clicking as well.  BJ Upton made his return to CF with a catch that would have made Willie Mays cheer.  Nady blasted a long fly to CF and as Upton approached the wall we all thought it was out.  BJ just reached his glove about 6 inches from his body and snags the ball as he ran into the wall.  Let me tell you — The Trop was silent.  No one knew where the ball was until he turned and fired back into the infield then a moment of disbelief hit……then…….ROAR!  BJ got a much deserved standing ovation.  This was an unbelievable catch!  Carl Crawford got into the action by taking a Swisher hit right off the top of the LF wall. 

Not to be overshadowed by the outstanding offense and defense was Scott Kazmir on the hill.  Kaz came out firing and was spot on with everything he threw.  In 6.2 innings he scattered 6 hits and 3 ER while accruing 6 K’s and 0 BB.  Kaz’s 2^nd great performance of this young season seems to point to him being 100% healthy.  He certainly looks like he is back to the form we all remember. 

This game had everything you could ever imagine; banners being raised, HR (3), one of which was a Grand Slam, 2Bs (4), stolen bases (4), outstanding defense and outstanding pitching.   A baseball fan could not ask for more!  Nice to see BJ make it back and look healthy walking 3 times, scoring 2 runs, swiping 2 bags and making outstanding defensive plays!  Nice to see Kaz pitching like we all know he can!  And of course – nice to see the Yankees lose!

Don’t forget – tonight is replica ring night – get your tickets now!

See you at The Trop!

OK it may have only been game 6 of this young season but it as a big game.  No one wants to be swept at anytime during the course of a season.  The beginning of the season can set the tone for the duration.  That being said, “Big Game James” came through.  James Shields took to the mound for the Rays in an effort to stop an early season skid.  He did that and earned himself his first ‘W’ of 2009.  Shieldsy went 7 VERY strong complete innings scattering only 3 hits and 1 free pass while striking out 3.  He was the Shields we remember from 2008 plus some! 

The offense erupted as well with 17 hits, 9 for extra bases!   There were doubles (4), triples (1) and home runs (4).  Home runs are always awesome but the home run of note is Evan Longoria as this is his 5^th HR in 6 games!  Jason Bartlett, Carols Pena and Ben Zobrist are the other Rays who went yard.  The Rays were active on the base path as well swiping 3 bags.  Love to see these guys moving and taking what’s theirs! 

No need to even state the obvious and say that this game’s performance was clearly 100 times better by all involved than the previous 2 nights but, now that I have, the Rays seem to still be having an issue with strike outs.  They gave up 11 easy outs via the K in today’s game and only accepted 3 free passes.  They really need to clean this part of the game up as this AL East is looking even tougher in 2009 with the ever present Yankees and Red Sox and the obvious improvements to both Toronto and Baltimore. 

The bullpen pitched the last 2 innings of the game and all looked good except Grant Balfour.  Grant had all sorts of location issues and allowed the 3 runs in the 9^th.  He was taken out in the 9^th after loading the bases and not recording an out.  JP Howell came in and stopped the bleeding to end the game. 

The Rays will now head back to The Trop for their home opener and the raising of the AL Pennant!  How exciting is that!  I may leave now to get there!!

See you in The Pit!

Wow – nice turn around from the previous evening!  Rays SP Scott Kazmir was awesome on the mound!  Kaz had a shaky first inning but came out firing in the 2^nd inning and through the rest of his 6 complete innings of work.  In the first he got ahead of a few batters then looked like he was pecking away at the corners rather than going after them.  He lost them and issued free passes.  He recovered to end the first inning unscathed.  He come out in the 2^nd inning and looking much more aggressive and confident.  In his 6 innings he only allowed 5 hits, 1 ER and 4 K’s while allowing 3 free passes (2 in the first inning).  Kaz had a lot of late movement on his pitches and was using his breaking ball to off set his fast ball!  His pitch speed was varying from 92 down to 78.  He locked the knees of many Red Sox hitters.  Kaz was the difference in this game – period!

The offense had a nice day at the dish as well.  Nice to see the first home runs of the season by Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria!  Carlos went dead center with his monster blast and Evan went down to drive his shot over the Green Monster.  

Here is the play of the game, a patent Maddon safety squeeze!  This took a few guys executing perfectly for this exciting play to work.  Gabe Kapler led off with a walk.  Next to the dish, Akinori Iwamura.  With Kapler running Aki slapped a single into the vacated #6 hole allowing Kapler to head to 3^rd.  That was a nice piece of opposite field hitting!  Jason Bartlett, probably the best bat handler on the team, then laid down a beautiful bunt to the first base side allowing Kapler to score form 3^rd.  These 3 guys executed everything perfectly in this entire sequence – it was beautiful!

I love this “NL” style of play – love to see the Rays burning up the base paths and laying down the safety squeeze – outstanding!

Aside from Kaz being the star of the game let me mention someone else who was quietly impressive in my mind, Gabe Kapler.  Gabe didn’t tear the cover off the ball, hit a HR, steal a base but he had a very nice game both offensively and defensively.  At the dish he was 1 for 3 with a run scored and a free pass.  He was the lead cog in the wheel that manufactured the run on the safety squeeze.  Defensively he played CF.  He made a few nice running catches on balls that were hit well over his head and to me that was most impressive.  I watched him just turn around and sprint for the fence then make a difficult play look easy.  He also had an assist by throwing out Youkilis at 2^nd base.  Nice job Gabe!

The Ray bullpen was outstanding expect for a little hiccup from JP Howell.  Grant Balfour earned the save by being an intense beast on the mound.  In the 9^th inning he threw 10 pitches -9 were fast balls.  He was pacing all around talking to himself – it was awesome!

Good to see the Rays play with some intensity and desire.  They wanted this game and it was obvious.  Today the Rays send the always hyper, intense Matt Garza to toe the rubber.  Matt will probably be hurdling the ball at about 200mph the first inning he’ll be so pumped!  Cannot wait until game time!

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!!!!!!!!!

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 have continued their dominance of visiting teams at The Trop by pounding the Chicago White Sox 6-2 in the second game of the ALDS.  The Rays combined all components of the game – hitting, pitching and defense – to take a convincing 2-0 lead in the series.

Scott Kazmir pitched as he has all season long, early trouble, a lot of pitches and early exit.  Kaz had allowed the Sox to load the bases with 0 outs in the first inning. He showed a great deal of poise and resilience while limiting the damage to 2 runs.  His line ended at 5.1 innings, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 free passes and 4 K’s.  More importantly his postseason record stands at 1-0!  Enough cannot be said of the Rays bull pen.  Grant Balfour, JP Howell and Chad Bradford followed Kaz and stifled the mighty White Sox bats!  These guys have been outstanding in any and all situations you send them into.  They fear no situation and more often than not are successful!  The turn around in that BP is by far the biggest reason, in my opinion, for the Rays consistent success this season. 

The offense was potent in racking up 12 hits.  The big bat was provided by Akinori Iwamura in the 5^th inning.  With Jason Bartlett standing on first base and the Rays down 2-1 Aki hit a bomb into the LC field seats!  The Trop exploded!  Aki smack placed the Rays on top to stay.  The Rays added 3 insurance runs in the bottom of the 8^th to secure the game!  Aki’s hit was even more exciting because SP Buehrle had made Aki look sick up to that point.  Aki’s concentration and focus when his team needed him most exemplifies the Rays success all season long.  Key hits, key plays, key pitches at the most important times all season long, that’s the Ray’s game.

I have to tell you, I’m exhausted!  LOL – having gone to the first 2 playoff games in Tampa Bay Rays history is in my top 5 of most exciting things I’ve ever done (not sure what kind of statement that makes about my life but..).  The atmosphere is amazing in and around The Trop!  The restaurants in and around The Trop will find people from all walks of life sitting together at tables cajoling about our Rays!  I have met more people just trying to get a bite to eat than I have met in a long time.  The tie that binds is our Rays!  Even though the ALDS is far from over it has been a very eye opening experience for me. Around the nation the Ray’s fan base has been knocked continually for not being absent.   But, trust me, they are there.  Next year The Trop will have a much bigger fan base and more seats will be filled.  From what I’ve seen and heard I’d just about guarantee it! 

Go Rays!!

For the first time since the Tampa Bay Rays franchise came into existence someone other than the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox have been crowned the Champions of the toughest division in baseball – the AL East.  That team is our loveable group of blue collar grinders the Tampa Bay Rays! 

The Tampa Bay Rays have had a remarkable year to say the least.  At the end of last season the “Devil Rays” were in the cellar just begging for the season to come to an end.  Their record at that time was 66-96 and they stood 30 games behind the Beantown  Bullies.  The RFO made some changes including having the “devil” exorcised, changing the team colors and filling in a few pieces of the puzzle with guys that were considered “throw aways.”  It was clear beginning in spring training that the changes made would have a major impact on the approaching season.  The Rays showed an explosive offense and improved pitching potential from starters and relievers alike.  They also showed a changed culture that was evident when they literally ran over the Yankees.  They were now a team and they believed in each other.    

Then it began, the regular season.  The Rays broke out with a good April.  They finished in second place for that month with a record of 15-12.  They were only trailing the Boston Red Sox.  From there it just got better!  From the months of May through September the Tampa Bay Rays finished each month atop the AL East.  Many games won on walk off hits, defensive gems and outstanding pitching from the most improved bull pen in baseball history.  A bull pen who the previous year had given up 52 games in which the “Devil Rays” had a lead had now learned how to pitch effectively late in a game.  Some of that turnaround must go to the acquisition of veteran Troy Percival.  Percy had an outstanding first half of the year saving 19 out of 21 games.  But that is only half the story.  His veteran presence made him invaluable to others sitting next to him in the BP.  They watched, asked questions and took notes.  He made the BP better!

The Rays were bit by the injury bug all season long, Scott Kazmir, Troy Percival, Al Reyes, Gary Glover, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, BJ Upton and on and on.  The goods news is those “throw away” guys were able to call on their veteran leadership and step in to fill the needs of this team.  Eric Hinske, Cliff Floyd and Willy Aybar walked right between the lines and did the job beyond all expectations I think.  They flashed the leather, made the throws, stole the bases and got the hits.  Newcomers like Gabe Gross, Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett also proved more valuable than anyone could have imagined when they were traded for.  When called upon our AAA players filled in for injured players like they had been here all season long.  Dioner Navarro was challenged by Manager Joe Maddon to step up his game, especially on the defensive side of the game.  Boy did he!  With a fielding percentage of .994 and having thrown out 28 attempted base stealers he earned his right to participate in the All Star game.  Oh and by the way, he has led the Rays in hitting most of the year! 

Enough cannot be said of the changes made by the Rays front office and Manager Joe Maddon.  They rid the clubhouse of negativity and brought in guys who wanted to win.  And that’s just what they have done!  Win, win, win!  These Rays are not satisfied with just making it to the playoffs.  Joe Maddon has made it clear this is just the first step of their ultimate goal.  Their sights are set on the World Series – not just playing in it but winning it!

I will be there at The Trop for every playoff game!  I would never miss an opportunity to enjoy such a precious gift the Rays have finally given their long suffering fans!   

Congratulations Tampa Bay Rays and we’re all behind you!