Matt Garza threw a gem against the Boston Red Sox to clinch the series victory Wednesday afternoon.  Garza threw a very strong 7 complete innings to earn his first W.  The only inning Garza ever faced any trouble was the 6^th in which he gave up a lead off 2B which would score 2 hitters later on a 3B before recording the final 2 outs of the inning.  His control was excellent aside from the 2 pitches he left up in the zone in the 6^th.  His line was 7 innings, 5 K’s, 3 BB and 1 ER.  I have to admit knowing how intense and pumped up Matt can get I was expecting a shaky first inning before he’d settle down.  Garza never showed any negativity on the mound.  His mound presence was intense but controlled.  He was very impressive today!

The Rays offense also had a nice showing chasing Dice-K after only 5 1/3 innings.  The Rays were banging the ball all over Fenway!  Offensively we knocked out 10 total hits 7 of which were for extra bases!  Matt Joyce began the scoring in the 2^nd inning with his first blast of the season.  Evan Longoria followed with a 2 run shot in the 3rd.  Shawn Riggans added to the scoring by sending out a beautiful opposite field blast in the 4^th. 

Shawn Riggans got the call behind the dish today and called an excellent game!  

The bullpen had a bit of a hiccup giving up 2 runs in only 2 innings pitched.  Brian Shouse gave up one manufactured run but, in my opinion, the big blow came in the 9^th when Troy Percival entered the game.  Percy came on and gave up a blast to Varitek on the 2^nd pitch he threw.  He then enticed 2 outs but allowed a free pass to Ortiz bringing the game winning run to the plate in the form of Youkilis, something I’m sure many Ray fans were not too comfortable with.  He eventually ended the game when Youkilis flew out to deep CF but it was not pretty.

First series victory in the books and a HUGE start to the season.  Now off to Baltimore where the Orioles are playing some tight baseball.  Should be a very exciting series!

See you in Camden Yards!

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!!!!!!!!!

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!     

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!

Rays Win!  Rays Win!  Rays Win!  I never get tired of hearing that called out across the airwaves! 

The Tampa Bay Rays shone a bright Ray of Sunshine over the Chicago black out as they defeated the Chicago White Sox and ended the ALDS series, 6-2.  The Rays played excellent baseball on all sides of the ball, offense, defense and pitching!  The Rays out homered the MLB team leader in homeruns as well showing off their power.

SP Andy Sonnanstine did an OUTSTANDING job for the Rays in this important game 4.  Sonny had all his pitches working and his location was spot on.  Sonny pitched a very effective 5 2/3 innings allowing 3 hits, 2 ER, 1 free pass and 4 strike outs.  The bullpen followed and allowed only 1 hit in the remainder of the game!  This was a GREAT pitching performance starting with Andy.  JP Howell and Grant Balfour followed his lead and kept the Chicago bats and fans silent.  Great job!

Offensively the Rays were just as effective.  They knocked out Chicago’s best pitcher, Gavin Floyd, in 3 innings.  BJ Upton blasted 2 solo shots in his first 2 at bats!  Great time for BJ to get hot!  The Rays totaled 10 hits in all, 5 of which were for extra bases.  Carlos Pena had a big day at the plate going 3 for 4 with 1 free pass and 2 RBIs.  Carlos also swiped 2 bags along with Carl Crawford.  

This was a great all around performance led by GREAT starting pitching from Sonny!  If the Rays continue to play complete ball like this they will be playing in the World Series!

Our next opponent will be our division rival Boston Red Sox.  I think this really says a lot about the AL East division.  The Rays and Red Sox came down to the final weekend to determine the division winner now they are both playing in the ALCS.  This is by far the most difficult division in baseball.  This is going to be a nail biter series!  Go buy your ROLAIDS, TUMS or whichever antacid you fancy because you’ll need it!!

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!

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!