Once upon a time there was a tiny, tiny chicken named Chicken Little. One day Chicken Little was scratching in the garden when something fell on her head.
"Oh," cried Chicken Little, "the sky is falling. I must go tell the king."
So Chicken Little ran and ran, and she met Henny Penny.
"Where do you travel so fast, Chicken Little?" asked Henny Penny.
"Ah, Henny Penny," said Chicken Little, "the sky is falling, and I must go and tell the king."
"How do you know that the sky is falling, Chicken Little?" asked Henny Penny.
"I saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my ears, and a bit of it fell on my head," said Chicken Little.
"I will go with you to the king," said Henny Penny.
We all know the story. They ran along together, and met Ducky Daddles, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey and finally Foxy Loxy who couldn’t care less about the sky falling. All he saw was five fat birds that were going to make a fine meal.
The original fable has the fox luring them back to his den where he eats them all except Chicken Little, who escapes and returns home without ever telling the King that the sky was falling. An awful lot of effort, sacrifice and worry over nothing.
Evan Almighty (that’s Evan Longoria to those of you who are uninformed) was placed on the Disabled List today by the Tampa Bay Rays. I just finish reading the article on line in the St. Pete Times and decided to peruse the reader comments below the article. Almost to a man, the comments were expressing the end of the line for the Rays in 2008. The general consensus was that the Rays could stand the loss of Crawford for a while but not the loss of Longoria and Crawford together.
I’m here to tell you, “that ####”. The Rays will be just fine. Losing one or both of those guys obviously creates a difficult situation, but it not the end of the world.
Neither Longoria nor Crawford have been have been carrying the Rays on their back this year. They have been key contributors to the success of the St. Pete Nine, but they haven’t been the sole reason for the success. What happened to the Yankees when A-Rod went down earlier in the season will not happen to the Rays. What happened to the Red Sox when Big Papi went down will not happen to the Rays. If anything, the Rays have proved that the parts are interchangeable.
Wasn’t the opening day third baseman Willy Aybar? Does anybody remember Eric Hinske filling in just fine at third base earlier in the year? Does everybody forget how many games Gabe Gross, Ben Zobrist, Willy Aybar Shawn Riggans and Hinske have won for the Rays? Hell, even Mike DeFelice, Jonny Gomes and Nathan Haynes have contributed to victories for them this year; and they are all in Durham with the Rays Triple A farm team.
It is not the end of the world and the sky is not falling. The pitching will keep them in games and every day a new star will appear. Don’t forget that Carlos Pena’s bat is now showing the magic it displayed last year. Don’t forget that Aki has been on a tear. Don’t forget that Navi has the only bat that has been consistently above .300. Don’t forget that this team has managed to get past injuries to Kazmir, Garza, Pena, Iwamura, Navarro, Percival, Bartlett, Floyd and last years best reliever Al Reyes. Don’t forget that this team has figured out how to win as a team. This team is bigger than any of its parts. It is not the time to panic. Not the time for the players; not the time for Joe Maddon and not the time for Andrew Friedman. This team has shown character all year and character is what is necessary to survive and succeed in times of adversity.
The sky is not falling. Don’t become a Chicken Little and say so!
The Redsox and Yankees won't make the playoffs! I'm making my official Prediction. The Rays will win the East. The Chisox will win the Central and the Twins will get the AL Wild Card.
Things like this can bring a group of young men together with the "us against the world" mentality. I hope (and believe it is true based on the performances we've seen to this point) that Joe Maddon can influence these guys to circle up the wagons and that they will all be the better for it.
bosox61
The sky may not be yet falling but this was indeed the last thing that any Rays' fan or management would've wanted for this team. Longoria has very much been one the main catalysts for what we've seen from this team throughout the year. He brings with him many intangibles. And the one thing you may not agree with me on at this juncture but have the Rays got a better defensive fielder than Longoria on their roster ? If you can name him then I'd certainly like to know who he is ?
If it was just Crawford i'd agree with you. You also have to replace an allstar third baseman who puts up Hmmmmmm? David Wright numbers. How many times can you go to that well before it comes up dry?
You can always go back to the Sox, and most people wont notice or, at the least, say anything.
You will however have to have my comments blocked, for i feel i would probably have something to say.
Its all about baseball! Big Leagues, Minors, College, HS or Little League. I seem to be happiest when I'm watching it in one form or another.
As a "long-in-the- tooth" Red Sox fan I have buried many familly members who only got to see my beloved Sox get close. The adjustment in going from a fatalist to a believer concerning the Sox has not been easy for me. I think I may have behaved badly as a fan during this years championship season.It's like learning to write left-handed when you have been right-handed all your life. I follow the Patriots, Boston College Football and college basketball. There is only a little bit of baseball when those sports play.
I only care about the game. If it happens outside the stadium, it is not my business.a>
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