Rays Rants (and more):

            Last Friday night the Tampa Bay Rays played their 108th game of the 2008 baseball season. That game marked the 2/3-point in the season. I have had 2 months now to appreciate the positive steps the Rays have taken to become a viable team in the American league this year, but I am still totally amazed when I look at how much they have accomplished.

            With the victory the Rays remained in first place in the American League East and led the Red Sox by 4 games in the lost column (this is the time of year when I stop looking at the games behind column and only look at the lost column). Only the Angels have a better record in the American League being 4 games better than the Rays in the lost column. With the win against the Tigers Friday and the Cubs loss, the Rays had the second best won/lost record in all of baseball. They'd won 64 games.

            The most that they have ever won in a single season is 70 games, which they did in 2004 under the fiery leadership of Lou Pinella. Last year they only won 66 games. When they swept the Tigers this weekend they matched last years total wins with 52 games left to play.

                 For the long-suffering Tampa Bay Rays fan, this has been an incredible season of milestones. There have been so many "firsts" this year that I can't even to properly chronicle them. There have been so many of them that most have become a blur. Actually, each new milestone sends the last into historical obscurity.

            I am so fortunate to be a fan of the Rays. It seems like every day there is something new to celebrate that had never been done before. I don't think that there is any team in all sports that has as many events to celebrate as the Rays have had this year. The Rays play the last game of the Indians series Wednesday afternoon and immediately fly to Seattle for a 4 game series against the Mariners. It is possible that they could tie and /or pass the best record they have had in their history this weekend.

            What is there left to look forward to? Well, the day they clinch a spot in the post season will be a day to celebrate. The day they clinch the American League East. The day they win the American League Pennant and get to their first World Series. The day that they break the hearts of all Cubs fans when they become champions of the world. The days when Evan Longoria wins the Rookie-of-the-Year award and the American leagues Most Valuable Player award; the first to do so since Freddy Lynn did it with the Red Sox in 1975. OK, that last one may be a reach, but all the other firsts I listed are achievable.  

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I was informed Monday night that I would have to put up a $500 deposit to guarantee the opportunity to get playoff tickets this year. The deposit is non-refundable. It will however be used as a down payment on next years tickets. Money well spent if you ask me.

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I'm still pissed about the fact that Buccaneer preseason football is getting as much press as the first-place Rays. I guess this is how the Patriots felt in the fall of 2004 when they won their first six games and all anybody talked about in Boston was the Sox.

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Is it just me or is PGA golf just not the same with Tiger on the shelf. If it weren't for Michelle Wie's lousy showing at last weekend's men's senior event, nobody would be talking golf at all. That got as much press as Anika's final Major or Lefty's blowing another one. 

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We have a new expression that is driving me crazy. If I hear another baseball announcer use the expression "play(ing) the game the right way" I am going to consider taking a drink.

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Dewayne Staats and Joe Magraine do the TV broadcast for the Rays. I have been critical of them over the years but this year there has been a change. Staats may very well be one of the best play-by-play guys doing Major league baseball and Magraine is not nearly the buffoon he was at the beginning of the season. What a difference a winning team makes.    

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I am informed that sometime after this article is posted that the Tampa Bay Bucs will announce a trade that brings Brett Favre to Raymond James Stadium for the 2008/2009 season. What are the Bucs going to do with the other 9 or 10 QBs on the staff? I know, make them all wide-outs; at least they know the play book. Besides Favre, the Bucs have Jeff Garcia, Bran Griese, Luke McCown Chris Sims and rookie, Josh Johnson on the QB depth chart. Is that the richest QB corps in the NFL?

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Sometimes I get upset when people criticize the "plan" instead of criticizing the participant. A fine example of this is Jerry Manuel of the Mets.  He has made the Mets respectable since taking over from Willie (once a Yankee, always a Yankee) Randolph. Yet he has exactly the same tools and parts to work with that Randolph had. I think it is the same as what happened at the local Olive Garden restaurant.

A new manager, using the same product and players, has turned one of the worst and dirtiest operations in the country into a pleasant dining experience in a relatively short period of time.

It seems to me that the same applies to the upcoming presidential election. When we supported George Bush in the last 2 elections, weren't we really supporting his (or the republican party's) plan? If that plan is what I believe is the best direction for the country, why would I want to change it? Why not just change the manager?

Just my opinions..... 

 

 

Rays Rants (and more):

During the 2007 baseball season I was a frequent critic of Joe Maddon's managing ability; being especially critical of his leadership and motivational skills. It appeared to me that Maddon was consistently sending a message that it was OK to lose as long as you played hard. In 2007 it didn't really matter much as the Rays lost their predictable 90 plus games. However, this year is different. The Rays are in first place and quite honestly, fighting for their lives in the American League playoff hunt. The Red Sox are not going away and the Yankees seem to be figuring out how to win with that patched together pitching staff. The Tigers are coming together (finally) and the Twins appear to believe in themselves. The Wild Card hunt in the American League is going to be very interesting.

Last night the Rays were down 3-1 after the seventh inning. Andy Sonnanstine had pitched a pretty good game so far and had only used 92 pitches. Maddon decided that Sonny had gone far enough and brought in Travis Miller to pitch the eighth inning. Now Miller hasn't been very good lately; specifically he hasn't been able to find the strike zone except to groove his pitches for hitters to tee off on. He promptly gave up 2 walks and a hit and was relieved by Al Reyes (who had just come off the disabled list).

Reyes allowed all of Miller's base runners to score and one of his own before getting out of the inning. Jason Hammel came in for the ninth and gave up another run.

My observation is this; when Maddon has given up on a game he brings in Hammel, Miller, Glover and now, Reyes. If he thinks that he can possibly win the game then Balfour, Wheeler, Howell and Percival get the nod. Last night he gave up on the game when was down 3-1. It was amazing to see the fans start leaving when Miller came into the game. By the way, Balfour was loose in the bullpen when Miller came into the game.

 

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On July 10th, the Rays were in Cleveland and were ahead 2-0 going into the bottom of the 5th inning. Sonnanstine fell apart but Maddon left him in the game long enough to give up 6 runs. Hammel finally was brought in and stopped the scoring. In the eighth inning, Gary Glover was brought in with the Rays down 6-2. He had nothing and gave up 6 hits, 7 runs and 2 walks in 2/3 of an inning. Mercifully Travis Miller was brought in to get the last out.

I have never felt as sorry for any pitcher as I was for Gary Glover that night. The bullpen was not stretched and the game was still within reach, yet Maddon left Glover in the game to face utter humiliation. He didn't even send the pitching coach, Jim Hickey, out to tell him he was taking one for the team. Gary Glover has not pitched since that game and is, in fact on the DL as of July 20th. I wonder if it is for psychological reasons based on what Maddon did to him on the 10th.

 

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On another note, I was channel surfing last Saturday afternoon and happened on to a women's beach volleyball game. My goodness, I had forgot how much I love that sport.

 

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I tripped across a picture of a 1949 Ford and I thought I would share it with you. My first car was a 1949 Ford and looked almost exactly like this one except that all the metal parts of the car in the picture were straight and not one of the metal parts on my car were. Also, there wasn't a plume of blue smoke behind the car in the picture and there always was one behind mine. Other than that the cars are identical. Gee, I loved that car! It would peal rubber.

 

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The brawl that took place in the WNBA game last night was disgraceful! However, it might be the best thing that ever happened in the WNBA to spur interest in the game. What normal guy doesn't want to see 10 women mixing it up on a wood floor with a few guys trying to break it up and not knowing how to do it, especially when there in no beach volleyball on the tube. I don't remember Bill Lambeer ever being so timid when he played the game.

 

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Michelle Wie! I have four daughters who were all 17 years old once and I can personally see three of them forgetting to sign their cards unless their mother was right there forcing them to do it. They all grew up to be pretty responsible people, but none of them play golf.

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Manny is worth $20 million for one more year (especially based on what Andruw Jones got).

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Maybe what everyone around the country is saying has some truth to it. Maybe the Tampa Bay area has not got a baseball mentality and they would be better off moving someplace else. The Rays are in first place in their division and look like they may make the playoffs with a little bit of luck and yet the Sports Talk Radio shows are only talking about the Bucs. The Bucs haven't even fitted their players for helmets yet and that's all everyone is talking about. Even the local radio hosts who get great pleasure out of chastising the local fans for not showing up at the games are headlining their shows with topics like  whether Brett Favre would be a good fit in Pewter and Red.

 

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Sometimes I think it must be me! That's the only explanation that makes any sense. I must be the one who thinks funny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rays Rants (and more)

Last Sunday night I was watching the Red Sox/Yankees game on ESPN. Much conversation took place between John Miller and Joe Morgan about Manny Ramirez' recent slump. At some point in the evening there was a quote attributed to Manny that his slump would be over on Monday. Late in the game Manny (who wasn't in the lineup) went in as a pinch hitter. He struck out on three pitches without even swinging the bat.  

On Monday night Manny was back in the lineup and went 2 for 4 with an RBI. On Tuesday, he hit his 17th home run and had two RBIs to help the Sox get a 6-5 win over the Twins. Could it be that his slump is over as he predicted it would be? You may hate Manny Ramirez or you may love him, and either way your arguments would be sound. But I doubt if anyone could argue against the fact that he is a fascinating man. I for one have learned that if Manny talks, you need to listen.

 I was really surprised when Scott Kazmir was selected to participate on this year's American league All-Star team. When Kaz came off the DL, he came out strong but most of his last 4 or 5 starts have been nothing to write home about. He has slipped into that familiar role of being a 5 or 6 inning pitcher. Nobody seems to be able to get the fat of the bat on his pitches very often but he doesn't seem to be able to avoid foul ball after foul ball without the ability to put the hitter away. I have been saying for the past 2 years that James Shields was the ace of the Rays' staff, not Kazmir, and nothing that has happened this year has turned me from that position.

I love Carlos Pena and I firmly believe that his second half will be far more productive than his first half has been. However, he has struck out 10 times in the last 5 games and he has been killing the Rays batting out of the clean-up spot all season long. He needs to be moved to 6th or 7th in the order until he is back on track.

Jonny Gomes is the highest paid cheerleader in the country and may be one of the best teammates. But he no longer needs to take up space on the Rays 25 man roster. It is time to designate him for assignment and if he ends up being lost on the waiver wire; then so be it. I can't help but believe that if the Rays are seriously looking for additional help for a playoff run they will try and package Gomes in the deal, but I can't imagine anyone buying into it.

            

(In St. Pete, we'd like to think that when Kaz is on the bump, he only needs shirts in the field.)

I know it is kind of early to start thinking about this but assuming the Rays make it to the American League playoffs, I am wondering who is going to pitch? According to my calculations, 4 of the Rays starting pitchers will have used up around 200 innings by the time the season is over. Only Kazmir will be below 170 innings because of his time on the DL at the beginning of the season. One of the things the starters on this team have shown is an ability to stay healthy. In fact, the current rotation has started 82 of the 89 games the Rays have played this year. However, 200 innings takes its toll on a young arm. Both Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann have enjoyed some success as a starter this year. How about going to a 6-man rotation for about six weeks during late July and August? I don't mean rotating six men but I do mean each member of the rotation skipping a start during this period and resting the wing. If they can clinch a playoff spot early in September then you can rest the arms further. My concern is based on the fact that there is nothing more fragile than a Major League pitching arm and sometimes it just runs out of gas.

What is this apparent love affair the Rays have with Ben Zobrist? He has had some success hitting for average in the Minors, but has barely hit his weight in parts of 3 years at the major League level and he always seems to be hurt. He has only shown himself to be a marginal fielder at best. Somehow I don't think that a 27-year-old project makes sense with the talent this team has at the minor league level. Brignac needs to be playing while Bartlett is on the shelf.

Something is wrong with Carl Crawford. I know that he has had a bad knee for a lot of the season but this is not the same player who we have grown to love for the past 6 years. He seems to be tentative in everything he does and at the same time he seems to be trying too hard at the plate. Rest him or fix him or do something. If the Rays success is going to continue they will need Crawford playing at his best.

 

That's it! Just felt like ranting for a bit.

            It was 5:00pm and the parking lot I normally use was full. This I did not understand since it has never happened before. Reluctantly, I turned around and headed for the main lot. This whole business didn't make any sense. I haven't had to park in the main lot in years and it was two hours before the start of the Rays/Red Sox game at Tropicana Field on Monday night.

            My wife (the fabulous Cindy) and I were attending our second game of the season together and we wanted to get there early to visit the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. It was actually going to be like a date (for old people, that is).

            Cindy and I both come from the Boston area and have always been baseball, and specifically, Red Sox fans. Her father was a life-long pal of Joe Morgan, the former manager of the Red Sox, and baseball was the hot topic of conversation at her house; when they weren't discussing politics. I grew up in the city of Boston and frequented Fenway Park maybe 20 to 25 times a year in my youth. However, we moved to the beaches of Pinellas County, Florida 15 years ago and quickly became starved for Major League baseball. In 1998, a franchise was awarded to the City of St. Petersburg and we again got to witness one of our favorite past times in person.

            After nine years of watching the Tampa Bay Devil Rays futile attempt at playing quality baseball at the Major League level, things have finally turned around. The Rays have become viable. We saw this starting to happen last year but their record didn't show it. This year the record shows the improvement; and that is an understatement.

            Walking through the parking lot was cool. We passed a host of people tailgating and socializing before the game. The smell of food cooking on the grill was everywhere and people were smiling and having a great time. The mixture of Rays blue and the Red Sox red was about equal in the parking lot, which is a common event when the Sox were in town. We got into a line that was about 150 yards long to get into the stadium and in fact were behind a family of five who were visiting from Andover, Mass and I actually got to take their picture for them in front of the Tropicana Field sign. They were all decked out in their Red Sox gear of course. But they were nice folks and the wait wasn't very long.

            Cindy and I both decided to attend the game in neutral colors. The seats we were sitting in were given to us by a Rays employee and Cindy didn't want to cause him any embarrassment by wearing Red Sox colors in his seats. Besides, it was awkward for us in deciding whom to root for. We have become fans of the Rays but the love of the Red Sox will never go away. I am convinced that there are two teams in Major League Baseball whose fans will never change. Those teams are the Cubs and the Red Sox. Once a Cubs fan or a Red Sox fan: always a Cubs fan or a Red Sox fan.

            We made our stop at the Ted Williams Museum and got to our seats about fifteen minutes before game time. The stands were pretty full by then and I would guess that the fans who were displaying colors were about 60% Rays and 40% Red Sox. The Rays mascot, Raymond was marching in front of the stands carrying a sign that read, "let there be peace" on one side and "can't we all just get along" on the other. I thought that was pretty appropriate considering the recent past between these two teams. Justin Masterson threw the first pitch of the game and B.J. Upton made a statement by promptly knocking it over the center field wall for a 1-0 Rays lead. There was a quiet moment a few minutes later when Masterson hit Willy Aybar on the foot with a pitch but it was obviously not intentional and nothing came of it.

            Cindy found this game to be very emotionally taxing. She was happy that the Rays were doing well but said she couldn't root against the Sox. I didn't have that problem though. The Red Sox win all the games at Fenway and the Rays win all the games at the Trop; it's only fair. Besides, I am convinced that the Sox are going to win the AL east this year so a couple of losses at the Trop won't matter in the long run and will help to ensure that the Rays get the Wild Card spot. I don't know how I will react if and when they face each other in the playoffs.

            I'm not going to bore you with the details of the game (ESPN has done a fine job of that) except to say that the Rays won. It was, in fact, a great game to watch. There were home runs. There were fine defensive plays. There was good pitching and the drama was elevated. I thought it funny that there was not one stolen base by the two best base stealing teams in the American League. There was an electricity, an excitement, an energy that I have never seen at Tropicana Field before this and it was nice.

            The one big difference between this game and all other Red Sox/Rays games I have attended at the Trop was that the Red Sox fans did not dominate the Game. The Rays fans actually overpowered the Sox fans throughout and the only time you saw that change was when Drew homered. It seemed all the fans behind the third base dugout were wearing red.

            The game started with drama and ended with drama. A ball hit the catwalk and came down in fair territory getting the Red Sox close. Troy Percival came up lame and J.P. Howell had to come in to get the last out against a stubborn Julio Lugo. There was a typical Florida thunderstorm taking place outside the Trop during the last two innings. It made getting out of the park difficult but it did allow me to enjoy the Rays fans celebrating as we crept our way to the parking lot. It hasn't always been like this and it was a long time in coming. It was nice to see.

            I did learn some things though. I have been a supporter of a new stadium in St. Pete since Stewart Sternberg announced plans for one. I did believe that it needed to be covered and last nights rain convinced me I was right. Another issue was the traffic. I wasn't able to set up my escape from the park due to the fact that I was in an unfamiliar parking lot. The traffic in the area is an issue and moving the park to the waterfront will create even more issues. It is my opinion that Sternberg made the right move in tabling the referendum on the new stadium until some of these problems get worked out.

            I'll be back at the Trop tonight with my friend Doc Spero. I have decided to display colors for this one though. The problem I am having is what color to display. Red? Blue? Red? Blue? Red? Blue?

I was absolutely beside myself with glee after watching the Rays/Marlins game Monday night. The Rays were behind 3-2 late in the game when a walk, a (rare) bunt single and a Seeing Eye infield hit loaded the bases. At that point the Marlins brought in a pitcher who couldn't come close to finding the plate and eventually walked in two runs. Evan Longoria came up and promptly hit a double down the right field line, plating two and putting the Rays up 6-3.

Troy Percival came in to pitch in the ninth to close out the game but had his own problems finding the plate. Longoria made an absolutely incredible diving catch of a sure hit to save the game for the Rays. I was thrilled. However in two short months I have grown accustomed to Evan Longoria making plays like that.

I remember last winter when the Rays first started to talk about bringing Longoria up to play third base for the '08 season and moving Akinori Iwamura to second. I wasn't happy because I thought that Aki was a fine third baseman and why would you want to mess with something that worked. Well it seems that I either have no imagination or no ability to see a finished product from its inception because Aki has turned out to be the best defensive second baseman in the league and only Mike Lowell and Scott Rolen may be better at third than Longoria.

This post was originally intended to be a tribute to "Evan Almighty" (who just hit his 14th home run against the Marlins as I am writing this). But after doing some research on the subject the direction has changed. It changed because as I researched the progress of Rays' rookie Evan Longoria I discovered that he is not the only rookie in major league baseball that is having an impact with his team.

Joey Votto is hitting .289 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs while playing first base for the Reds.

Jacoby Ellsbury is covering a lot of ground in the Red Sox outfield and leads the league in stolen bases with 34. Justin Masterson is 4-1 with a 3.43 ERA in 7 starts.

The Cubs have Kosuke Fukudome hitting around .300 and scaring the hell out of pitchers with his bat control. Geovany Soto is hitting .280 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs and a .506 slugging average.

The Rangers have David Murphy (a former Red Sox first round pick acquired in the deal that sent Eric Gagne to Boston). He has 10 homers and 51 RBIs and whomever Josh Hamilton doesn't drive in, he does.

The Braves have Jair Jurrjens with a 7-3 record and a 3.20 ERA.

The Yankees boast Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramirez. Chamberlain has been effective out of the bullpen setting up Rivera and has recently shown he can be an effective and dominating starter. Ramirez has been one of the most effective pitchers the Yankees have coming out of the bullpen.

The Orioles have Jim Johnson in the bullpen with a 1.29 ERA in 30 appearances.

The Blue Jays have Jesse Carlson in the bullpen with a 1.73 ERA in 35 appearances.

The Cardinals have Kyle McClendon in the bullpen with a 2.45 ERA in 37 games with 16 Holds.

The Athletics have Joey Devine and Greg Smith doing fine work with Devine coming in from the pen and Smith a regular in the rotation.

Aaron Laffey has started 11 games for the Indians and has a 2.83 ERA. Masa Kobayashi has been the workhorse out of the bullpen with 37 appearances and a 3.23 ERA.

The Twins have started Nick Blackburn 15 times this year and he hasn't disappointed with a 6-4 record and a 3.68 ERA.

How does Longoria compare with all these guys? As I write this he is hitting .262 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs. His fielding percentage is right behind Scott Rolen and just ahead of Mike Lowell.

I get to watch Evan Longoria every day. He has made an incredible difference to the Tampa Bay Rays this season and he seems to get better every day. If you get to watch Fukudome or Ellsbury or Votto or Murphy or Soto every day then I would assume you have the same feelings about them as I have about Evan "Almighty", and I don't blame you. These are all players that you can base your hopes on.

It may be my imagination and that may be because I never really paid any attention to it but it appears to me that this is the best crop of rookies that MLB has seen in quite some time.