Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The Rays ended the madness tonight and got away with a 7-5 win to avoid being swept by the retirement home bandits. They had a big inning in the second in which they scored 5 runs on hits by Gross, Aki and Aybar and things looked back to normal on the mound and in the field. The crowds picked up the last two nights also with 25,000 plus at both games. It got scary but it worked out. Anyway, let’s get to it.

• Kazmir still isn’t right. He is slowly improving but there still appears to be something wrong with him. He threw 6 innings of one hit ball with five walks. That’s right, 5 freakin walks! I don’t know how he got away with it against the Yanks but he did. I can only hope that there’s nothing seriously wrong with him and it all is corrected by the time the playoffs roll around.
• I have given credit to Jason Hammel in the past for having the toughest job on the team. No more. That was completely embarrassing tonight to have to bring in your closer to finish off a game that you were winning 7-0 in the ninth. The role that Hammel fills is a thankless role, but c’mon, 5 runs in 2/3 on an inning?! What are you doing?!
• A-Rod is still useless when he’s needed. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
• I guess I need to lay off Melvin for now. The St. Pete Times broke the story today where Upton said he needs surgery after the season and that’s why he hasn’t been hitting any homeruns. Interperet that any way you want but I have a couple questions. If he’s not driving in runs and he’s looking to get on base for others, why is he not batting leadoff? I’ve been puzzled by this for a while and it only goes to prove the point even more. He draws walks, steals bases and has been downgraded to having warning track power. He’s obviously our best leadoff hitter so……….. My other question is toward Melvin. Haven’t you had this problem for some years now? He has apparently battled this shoulder thing since the minor league days at least, so why hasn’t this been addressed sooner? I tore my rotator cuff in high school so I know how bad a shoulder injury can hurt and if I had the resources I would’ve had surgery but we couldn’t afford it. You could afford it Melvin so what’s the excuse here?
• Last thing is to Barty and Whiskers. I dogged these guys hard early in the year, and with the bet with Rays Index looming, I want to give both of these guys credit. I looked at the stats when the game started and these two guys have the highest avg. of all the regulars on the team. Outstanding! Gotta give credit when it’s due.

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Alex Rodriguez, BJ Upton, Dioner Navarro, Gabe Gross, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, New York Yankees, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Aybar

I have been chewed out for not covering USF’s opening game in which they played Tennessee-Martin. My bad, how could I have been so lost. Who doesn’t want to hear about how Matt Grothe went 6 of 8 for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns against the powerhouse that is the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks? Not only did USF sneak away with a 56-7 victory, but they sent the Skyhawks to a loss which leaves them one game behind the likes of Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference. Awesome! Why are there so many teams from Tennessee in the Ohio Valley Conference by the way? This is one of those things that drives me nuts about college football. Why are teams allowed to do this? It would be like the Bucs opening up against Kansas State or the Rays opening up against the Visalia Oaks. It’s stupid. What’s even worse is the fact that teams like Michigan go out and get BEAT by D-2 schools and yet still get consideration for the National Title. If someone wants to fix college football, start here. Playoffs or not, no one should be allowed to play “minor league” teams that count toward your regular season record. It’s a joke. Well, there you go fellas, I covered the big opening game for USF. Feel better?

Technorati Tags: Matt Grothe, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio Valley Conference, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rays, Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks, USF Bulls, Visalia Oaks

I can’t bring myself to say that the Yankees win, so I say we lose. Apparently the Devil Rays have suited up again and the Yankees have found the fountain of juice. There were a ton of broken bat bloopers, bad infield play and just all around bad luck. I don’t feel Jackson pitched awful, he was more a victim of circumstance tonight. I’m not saying he was good, just that the Yanks were catching all the breaks. As much as I hate the Yankees, I’m not going to overreact to all this though. We’re still down a couple players, the pitching is going to have some bad outings and the defense can’t be stellar every night. We all have to remember how things have gone for us this year. Most of the year, with guys like Gabe Gross batting .230ish, we got hits at all the right times in all the right places. I don’t like any slump coming now, but it happens. So let’s all just chill.

Note time…

• No one should ever throw a fastball low and inside to Gabe Gross. That was an absolute bomb he hit. You couldn’t draw up a better pitch for him to hit and he gets his props for demolishing that ball!
• Melvin should pretend the bases are empty with runners on. I’m sure someone will throw some stupid stat at me here but it’s too obvious not to point out. Upton looked like he was afraid to swing last night as he continuously came up with runners on. Tonight he had the bases empty the entire night and was stroking shots all over. I hope he can put it together for the playoffs.
• The gods have come to smack us. I admit that I got a little cocky towards the Yanks when they came to town (as did all of us), and we all have been smacked down by the baseball gods. It’s a reality check at the right time.
• The umpires still suck. The ball the stat padder hit was fair, but he shouldn’t have been able to hit it. The pitch before was a strike and the ass-kissing Yankee umpires were at it again. Look, we were gonna lose anyway, so I’m not making excuses, but why do the Yanks and Red Sox players get rewarded so much for not swinging the bat?
• Jason Giambi is the ugliest juiced up porn start I’ve ever seen. I would rather watch Ron Jeremy hit.

Technorati Tags: Alex Rodriguez, BJ Upton, Edwin Jackson, Gabe Gross, Jason Giambi, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays

I know, I know, but you should all know by now that since my life is chaotic, my postings become chaotic. I’m trying to slow things down a little now but we’ll see how it goes. Anyway, the ancient relics in pinstripes came to town and took game one of the series 7-2. I heard their pathetic chants at the game and I’m sure they’ll have a whole lot to say tomorrow so I will only say one thing, wait til the series is over idiots! The stat padder in blowout games that is Gay-Rod, oops A-Rod, came out to play and the man who should be wearing a Rays uni hit a bomb to left. It was hard to watch and even harder to listen to. The Yanks may have the oldest, most over-rated and overpaid team in baseball but they still have the most annoying fans. These are fans who didn’t bother to show up to the game either. I also hate to sound like one of those people here too but did anyone else feel like Matt Garza was being screwed tonight? Talk about an erratic umpire!

Now some notes….

• Even though the Rays didn’t produce too much, it’s still nice to see Barty, Pena, Aybar and Hinske still swinging the bat well. These guys have been very good lately, especially Barty, Pena and Aybar. I don’t think you could ask much more from these guys. How bout that bomb by Barty on Sunday too? I gotta admit, I didn’t think he had it in him.
• Melvin still hasn’t realized that he has to SWING the bat in order to drive in runs. He obviously doesn’t want to swing Maddon, he only appears interested in drawing walks and acts like he’s allergic to runners on base. How bout a benching for striking out looking too much with runners on?
• Garza got screwed by a Yankees paid umpire. How much did Mussina and the Yanks pay you Brian Runge? We could offer up some cash if you’re for sale. Shake it off Matt.
• And I must get to the attendance. There are a ton of reasons people are saying that they don’t go to games ranging from location, the team history, lack of time, etc… The one reason I do buy into is the economy. There is no real reason not to go, but this economy is hurting us all. It’s killing me and I know I’m not the only one. I’ve been to 50+ games this year and the only reason I don’t go to more is the fact that I have no money! Tickets are cheap, but not every night. I expected a bigger turnout for the Yankees but I guess their fans are either broke or embarrassed. Either way, I do think the Rays will draw here.

Technorati Tags: Alex Rodriguez, BJ Upton, Brian Runge, Carlos Pena, Eric Hinske, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Matt Garza, Mike Mussina, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Aybar, Xavier Nady