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 were hoping to finish off the Chicago White Sox Sunday afternoon but their attempt was thwarted by outstanding pitching from the White Sox. The Rays offense banged out 8 hits but were shut down for only 3 runs. They couldn’t seem to string hits together as Chicago SP Danks seemed to toughen up as runners were on the base path.

Rays SP Matt Garza had a great first 3 innings then imploded a bit in the 4th allowing Chicago to jump on top with 3 runs. Garza was tagged with the loss as the Rays could not recover from his bumpy 4th inning. Overall Garza’s line was 6 innings, 7 hits, 5 ER, 4 free passes and 4 K’s. Garza has had a few struggles the last 3-4 outings of the regular season as well. This does not bode well fro the Rays if they continue on deeper into the playoffs. They need Garza to step up and throw with the confidence he has had all season long.

On the offensive side of the ball the Rays were able to put runners on base all game long, 8 hits and 4 free passes. They were not able to string hits together or swipe bags as Danks showed off why Manager Ozzie Guillen calls him a big game pitcher. On the positive side Iwamura, Upton, Pena and Navarro all had a multiple hit game with 2 hits each. Nice to see Carlos back in the lineup and swinging the bat well! BJ Upton accounted for 2 of the 3 runs by blasting a towering shot to LF. The Rays have had a good approach at the plate and are swinging the bats well. An additional hit or 2 and the outcome of this game would have been reversed no doubt!

Today the Rays try to close out the series with Chicago and send Andy Sonnanstine to the mound. I have a real good feeling about this. The Rays have done well to neutralize the power of the White Sox for the first 3 games of the series allowing only 2 HR (both in Game 1) in this series. Sonny needs to keep the ball low and pound the strike zone. Sonny may get hit a lot but if he keeps it in the park Rays will win!

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!

They did it!  For the first time in the franchise’s 11 year history the Tampa Bay Rays will play baseball in October!  Scott Kazmir seals the deal with a nice 6 inning outing.  Kaz scattered 5 hits over the 6 innings while allowing 1 free pass and compiling 5 strike outs.  Kaz did manage to work himself into trouble a few innings but was bailed out by stellar defense.  With bases loaded and no outs a Twin batter hit a pop fly to Fernando Perez in CF.  The throw was cutoff by Carlos Pena who had the play in front of him and caught Justin Morneau leaning too far off 2^nd base for a double play.  The runner on 3^rd did not tag and score. The last out in the inning was recorded with no runs scoring.  That was a great play by Pena to help bail out Kaz in that inning. 

The offense chipped away at Twin pitching to score their total of 7 runs in 4 innings.  Pena led off the scoring barrage with a 2 RBI double off the SP Slowey.  The big bangs came off the bats of Cliff Floyd and Perez, each sending solo blasts over the wall.  The Ray hitters showed a great deal of patience at the plate and took the Twin SP deep into counts.  This was a great overall offensive approach to the game! 

It was awesome to see the Rays celebrate on the field at the end of this game!  Actually it was unbelievable!  At the beginning of the season it was clear this Ray team would improve on past performances.  But no on had any idea by how much.  I was going to be thrilled to see the team go .500 as I’m sure most Ray fans would have been.  But this…..this is beyond all belief!   Joe Maddon and the RFO deserve a ton of credit for GREAT talent evaluations and GREAT management of such!  They took some veterans who were cast off from other teams and infused their leadership into the youth of this team.  They made a GREAT trade for Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza.  They rid the clubhouse of any negativity.  They brought up the young AAA talent and put them in positions to be successful.  And the players themselves…..they never gave up.  No matter the circumstance they fought every game until the end.  Enough cannot be said about the chemistry of this team.  This is a special group enjoying a very special year.

The year isn’t over yet though.  The Rays have their sights set on the AL East pennant.  They gained a game on Boston with Boston losing to Toronto.  I expect to see the Rays play as they have all season long Sunday and take the series from the Twins.   

Congratulations Tampa Bay Rays!

The Tampa Bay Rays lost their composure on the field and a game in the standings by giving away game 1 to the New York Yankees. They made costly mistakes on both sides of the ball.

SP Matt Garza clearly showed his frustration on the mound by throwing the rosin bag down several times through out his 5 innings of work. He was clearly irritated at the miniscule strike zone that Rays arch nemesis, Umpire Brian Runge, was calling. Garza was stellar the first 3 innings of the game then it all began to unravel in the 4th and 5th innings. Garza committed an error by throwing a ball far beyond the reach of Carlos Pena and gave up a 2 run blast to Xavier Nady. A dropped ball by Jason Bartlett that would have been an easy caught stealing on Derek Jeter led to another run. The frustration was evident on Garza as he allowed 6 runs (4 ER) in his 5 innings of work.

The offense did not back Garza’s cause either. An uncharacteristic lack of fundamental play by Eric Hinske cost the Rays 2 runs early. With Willy Aybar standing on first Hinske blasted a line drive to the LC gap off the top of the wall. Hinske put his head down and ran all the way to third. Problem was Ray’s 3rd base coach, Tom Foley, held up Aybar at 3rd. Aybar was then forced off 3rd by Hinske and thrown out at the plate. On the next play Bartlett hit a fairly soft grounder that Rodriguez had to travel to the hold to his left. Hinske not breaking on contact did not score.

The Rays out hit the Yankees 12 – 9 but stranded 10 on base. The offense gave up a lot of free outs to the Yankees by way of 11 strike outs, 8 by our top 3 in the lineup. The Rays definitely had opportunities to advance runners and score runs but failed.

This game was uncharacteristic for the Rays on all sides. The best thing about this game for the Rays is the OUTSTANDING catch BJ Upton made off the wall in deep CF. No one in The Trop thought he was going to catch up to that ball. It was one of the best catches ever!

Today is a new day! The Rays beat themselves up for about 30 minutes after the game and are now focused on today’s game. That’s one of the great things about this team. They understand bad games will happen and move forward. Tonight should be a total turn around for our Rays!

Go Rays!!

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 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! 

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.

The starting pitching was bad but the offense bailed the Rays out to notch the 70^th victory – our franchise high – on Aug 9^th.  Matt Garza pitched in and out of trouble in all of his 5 2/3 innings pitched.  Trouble began in the bottom of the first with the first batter as Ichiro quickly deposited a Garza pitch in to the right field seats.  Garza allowed 10 hits, 5 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB while striking out 5.  Joe Maddon had to burn 6 relievers in this game which always leaves everyone praying that the next day’s SP can go deep to allow the BP to rest.  Sunday’s SP is Edwin Jackson. Problem is you never know what you’re getting from E-Jax from start to start so we’ll have to be positive and hope he can remain focused for an effective, deep start.

The offense for the Rays woke up in the 6^th.  To that point the score was 5-1 Mariners.  Every position in the Rays batting order, except 1, had a hit in this game.  All totaled the Rays offense knocked out 13 hits and collected 8 free passes.  Gabe Gross blasted his 9^th HR of the season.  BJ Upton and Carl Crawford each collected 2 RBI’s.\ 

Something to keep an eye on is Dan Wheeler’s response to his last 2 outing.  Wheels took the loss in game one of this series.  Tonight he blew the save sending the game into extra innings.  Chances are slim Wheels will pitch tonight as well but it’ll be nice to see him toe the rubber against Oakland and right his own personal ship. 

This again was a nice overall team effort!  Being down by up to 5 runs this team never gave up.  Another great victory!

The Rays may have lost the game but there was still a lot of good thing s that happened Monday night.  First, the Rays still looked energized and did continue to have good at bats.  The Rays offense banged out 8 hits and squeezed 2 BB out of the probable AL Cy Young winner, not bad at all!  Second, Willy Aybar made some good plays at short filling in for Bartlett.  I think a lot of people forget that he originally was a shortstop. Nice to see him be able to fill in and allow Longo to stay at 3^rd.  Third, the Red Legs and those that wear pinstripes also lost so nothing changes in the standings.  This same time last year the Rays were –DIG THIS – 24 1/2 games out of first!!!  We are now 3 games UP!!  WOW – what a turnaround!

Matt Garza had a bit of trouble with his location throughout the game.  He allowed 7 hits, 4 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB while accumulating 4 K’s.  Even though Garza did not have his best stuff he did leave the game with the Rays still in good position to win.  That is an acceptable outing – no one pitcher is going to have their best stuff every outing.  When they don’t their objective turns to limiting the damage and keeping their team in the game — Garza did just that.  He did it by keeping his composure on the bump!   

The offense did bang out 8 hits.  Unfortunately Cliff Lee answered back by getting the key outs when he needed them.  Now, Cliff Lee is probably going to win the AL Cy Young award.  That being said I think the Rays did a good job against him last night.  I don’t feel so bad about this offensive effort because I still saw the intensity and energy out there. 

Tonight the Rays come back to take the game and tomorrow take the series!  Go Rays!!