SB Nation User Blog: thebaddancingraysfan

Red Sox vs. Rays

thebaddancingraysfan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:25:02 -0000

Yesterday,
All my troubles seemed so far away,
Now it looks as though they're here to stay,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly,
I'm not half the man I used to be,
There's a shadow hanging over me,
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.
"Yesterday"- The Beatles

It was not too long ago that the Tampa Bay Rays had optimism. The Rays were, justifiably, optimistic about there 2009 baseball season where the Tampa Bay Blue were going to defend their American League Championship. After a rocky the start the optimism has faded into realism. A realistic view of where the Rays stand in the AL East. A realistic view on the lack of consistency. Now, the realism is morphing to pessimism. Outsiders are already pessimistic about the Rays chances in this new 2009 season.

What will the Rays do? Today, the Rays will take on the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are are riding high and looking to pound the Rays who are sputtering.

After today, the moth will be May. April will be behind us and new month to build on. Let's go Rays! Beat the Red Sox!

Probables:

Thu, Apr 30	Boston	7:08 PM	Garza (1-2)	Beckett (2-1)

Fri, May 1	Boston	7:38 PM	Sonnanstine (0-3)	Masterson (2-0)
Sat, May 2	Boston	7:08 PM	Niemann (2-2)	Wakefield (2-1)
Sun, May 3	Boston	1:38 PM	Shields (2-2)	Penny (2-0)

Poll

What will happen when Rays take on the Boston Red Sox in their upcoming four game set?

Rays sweep all four games!

13 votes

Rays take three out of four!

9 votes

Split.

13 votes

Red Sox take three out of four.

7 votes

Red Sox sweep all four games.

2 votes

I don't care.

3 votes

47 votes | Poll has closed

Rays vs. Twins

thebaddancingraysfan — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:40:42 -0000

Two. Two is the number that comes after one. Two can be as bad as one, it is the loneliest number since the number one.

The Rays will now move up to Minnesota and take on the Twins. During the Rays three game set, the Rays will look for at least two wins and go for there second series win of the season.

The Twins are currently in 4th place in the AL central and sport a 9-10 record. The Rays are 36-50 all time against the Twinkies. Last year the Rays tied the series six game head to head series by winning three games and losing three.

Probables:

Mon, Apr 27	@ Minnesota	8:10 PM	Niemann (1-2)	Baker (0-2)
Tue, Apr 28	@ Minnesota	8:10 PM	Shields (2-2)	Liriano (0-4)
Wed, Apr 29	@ Minnesota	8:10 PM	Kazmir (3-1)	Blackburn (1-1)

Time Capsule: We go back to 2007 where the Devil Rays beat Johan Santana and stopped his 17 games home winning streak. In this game Carl Crawford earned a inside the park home run, which he hit off of Santana.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays	ab	r	h	rbi
Baldelli cf	4	0	1	1
Zobrist ss	4	0	0	0
Crawford lf	4	1	1	1
Wigginton dh	4	0	2	0
Young rf	4	1	1	0
Iwamura 3b	2	1	0	0
Pena 1b	4	0	0	0
Paul c	4	1	1	1
Upton 2b	3	0	1	1
Kazmir p	0	0	0	0
Reyes p	0	0	0	0
Totals	33	4	7	4

Minnesota Twins	ab	r	h	rbi
Castillo 2b	4	0	2	0
Punto 3b	4	0	0	0
Mauer c	4	0	0	0
Cuddyer rf	4	0	0	0
Morneau 1b	4	1	2	1
Hunter cf	4	1	1	0
Rabe lf	3	0	0	0
Kubel ph	1	0	0	0
Rodriguez dh	3	0	1	1
Bartlett ss	3	0	1	0
Santana p	0	0	0	0
Guerrier p	0	0	0	0
Perkins p	0	0	0	0
Totals	34	2	7	2

Tampa Bay	0	0	0		0	3	1		0	0	0	–	4	7	1
Minnesota	0	1	0		0	0	1		0	0	0	–	2	7	0

Tampa Bay Devil Rays	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO

Kazmir W (1-1)	8.0	6	2	2	0	6
Reyes SV (3)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1
Totals	9.0	7	2	2	0	7

Minnesota Twins	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Santana L (2-1)	7.0	6	4	4	1	10
Guerrier	1.1	1	0	0	0	1
Perkins	0.2	0	0	0	1	1
Totals	9.0	7	4	4	2	12
E–None. 2B–Tampa Bay Wigginton (4,off Santana), Minnesota Morneau (2,off Reyes). HR–Tampa Bay Crawford (3,6th inning off Santana 0 on 0 out), Minnesota Morneau (4,6th inning off Kazmir 0 on 2 out). Team–4; 5. U-HP–Bill Miller, 1B–Tony Randazzo, 2B–Mike Everitt, 3B–Ed Montague. T–2:37. A–27,783.

So what will happen when the Rays take on the Twins? Will the Rays right the ship or just continue to sink down to the depth of the American League?

Go Rays go!

Poll

How will the Rays do when they take on the Minnesota Twins?

Rays sweep all three games!

9 votes

Rays take two out of three!

5 votes

Twins take two out three.

6 votes

Twins sweep all three games.

4 votes

I don't give a damn.

6 votes

30 votes | Poll has closed

It's good to see Jason Hammel has some fans in Coloraldo. Hammel will get to start for the Rockies...

thebaddancingraysfan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:28:18 -0000

It's good to see Jason Hammel has some fans in Coloraldo. Hammel will get to start for the Rockies Monday. h/t Purple Row.

Rays Vs. Athletics

thebaddancingraysfan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:28:08 -0000

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

-"Eye of the Tiger" lyrics by Survivor

So, the Rays take there Rocky Horror picture show to Oakland to take on the A's for a three game foray. Behind the Rays are three games against the Seattle Mariners, where the Rays lost two out of the three games that they played. The Rays must forget that both of the two games were winnable. They must move on try to beat "money ballers" of Oakland.

The A's are 5-9 this year and sitting in last place of the AL West. The Rays will try to grab some momentum and have some sort of a swagger heading into Minnesota.

The Rays are 37-66 life time against the Green and Gold goons, but the Rays did take the season series last year winning 6 of the 9 meetings against Oakland.

Probables:

Fri, Apr 24	@ Oakland	10:05 PM	Kazmir (2-1)	Cahill (0-1)	Tickets
Sat, Apr 25	@ Oakland	4:05 PM	Garza (1-1)	Braden (1-2)	Tickets
Sun, Apr 26	@ Oakland	4:05 PM	Sonnanstine (0-2)	Eveland (0-1)	Tickets

Time Capsule:

We go back '01 when Rays beat the Athletics in Al Davis' Winter home. Take a look at the Tanyon Sturtz win. Those were the good ol' days.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays	ab	r	h	rbi
Winn rf	4	1	2	1
Rolls 2b	5	0	2	1
Grieve lf	4	0	0	0
Tyner pr,lf	0	0	0	0
McGriff 1b	3	1	1	0
Vaughn dh	5	1	2	3
Huff 3b	4	0	2	0
Williams cf	4	0	0	0
DiFelice c	4	2	3	0
Sheets ss	3	0	0	0
Sturtze p	0	0	0	0
Phelps p	0	0	0	0
Totals	36	5	12	5

Oakland Athletics	ab	r	h	rbi
Damon lf	3	0	1	0
Menechino 2b	4	0	0	0
Giambi 1b	2	0	0	1
Long cf	4	0	0	0
Tejada ss	4	0	1	0
Chavez 3b	4	0	0	0
Saenz dh	4	0	1	0
Piatt rf	3	0	0	0
Hernandez c	3	1	3	0
Lidle p	0	0	0	0
Mathews p	0	0	0	0
Magnante p	0	0	0	0
Bradford p	0	0	0	0
Guthrie p	0	0	0	0
Totals	31	1	6	1

Tampa Bay	0	0	0		3	1	0		0	0	1	–	5	12	0
Oakland	0	0	0		0	1	0		0	0	0	–	1	6	0

Tampa Bay Devil Rays	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO

Sturtze W (2-4)	7.0	6	1	1	5	4
Phelps SV (1)	2.0	0	0	0	2	1
Totals	9.0	6	1	1	7	5

Oakland Athletics	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Lidle L (0-4)	6.0	5	4	4	2	2
Mathews	1.0	2	0	0	0	1
Magnante	0.1	2	0	0	0	0
Bradford	1.1	3	1	1	0	0
Guthrie	0.1	0	0	0	2	0
Totals	9.0	12	5	5	4	3
E–None. DP–Tampa Bay 2, Oakland 1. PB–Difelice (1). 2B–Tampa Bay Huff 2 (7,off Lidle 2); Difelice (2,off Lidle); Winn (5,off Bradford), Oakland Hernandez (8,off Sturtze). HR–Tampa Bay Vaughn (13,4th inning off Lidle 2 on, 2 out). SH–Sheets (2,off Bradford). IBB–McGriff (2,by Lidle). SB–Damon (11,2nd base off Sturtze/Difelice). IBB–Lidle (3,McGriff). U-HP–Dana DeMuth, 1B–Kerwin Danley, 2B–Greg Gibson, 3B–Scott Higgins. T–3:04. A–11,334.

What do you think Draysbay? How will the St. Pete Slammers do? Go Rays Go!

"The great American game should be an unrelenting war of nerves." - Ty Cobb

Poll

How will the Rays do when they take on the A's in there upcoming three game set?

Rays sweep all three games!

11 votes

Rays take two out of three!

10 votes

A's take two out of three.

4 votes

A's sweep all three games.

2 votes

I don't care. I don't like Survivor. Rocky III sucked.

1 votes

28 votes | Poll has closed

Hell-boy doesn't sleep, he waits.

thebaddancingraysfan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:22:21 -0000

Hell-boy doesn't sleep, he waits.

Desmond Jennings goes deep and hits his first home run of the season!

thebaddancingraysfan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:11:21 -0000

Desmond Jennings goes deep and hits his first home run of the season!

Call me crazy, I think he is handling the promotion to AA pretty well. Jennings went 3 for 3 in today's game against Mobile with a homer, a triple, and a single.

Rays vs. Mariners

thebaddancingraysfan — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:08:16 -0000

The beautiful ship was upside down, flipped over by a massive wave. It was known quickly to the survivors that the the ship was taking on water quickly. Now the passengers who were zealous and overjoyed had to find a way to survive. Am I talking about the 2009 Tampa Bay Rays season? No, I am talking about the 1972 movie The Poseidon Adventure. But, the plot could easily describe the beginning of the season for our Tampa Bay Blue.

Next, on the docket for the Rays travel to the land of Starbucks and Sir Mix-a-lot to take on the Seattle Mariners. The Rays are 40-58 life time against the M's but taking the series last year 4 games to three.

Probables:

Tue, Apr 21	@ Seattle	10:10 PM	Sonnanstine (0-1)	Washburn (2-0)
Wed, Apr 22	@ Seattle	10:10 PM	Niemann (0-2)	Jakubauskas (1-1)
Thu, Apr 23	@ Seattle	6:40 PM	Shields (2-1)	Hernandez (2-0)

Time Capsule:

Now, this is one of my favorite games. Toby Hall is the difference in this game where he scored on a Jaime Moyer balk.

Safeco Field, Attendance: 21,801

Wednesday, May 10, 2006, 1:37PM
Time of Game: 2:21

Devil Rays 1 14-21 Won 1 5th, 7 GB Joe Maddon

                1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
                -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -    -  -  -
Devil Rays      0  0  0   0  1  0   0  0  0    1  4  1
Mariners        0  0  0   0  0  0   0  0  0    0  4  0

W: Scott Kazmir (5-2), L: Jamie Moyer (1-3), S: Tyler Walker (4)

Mariners 0 15-21 Lost 1 4th, 3½ GB Mike Hargrove

Batting Stats

Tampa Bay Devil Rays         AB   R   H RBI   BB  SO    BA   OPS  Pit  Str   PO   A  Details
D Hollins RF                  4   0   1   0    0   0  .242  .718   18   11    1   0   2B
C Crawford LF                 3   0   0   0    0   0  .260  .662   13    9    1   0   SH
J Gomes DH                    4   0   0   0    0   2  .291 1.064   15    9    0   0   
A Huff 3B                     4   0   0   0    0   0  .156  .505   16    9    0   3   
  J Lugo SS                   0   0   0   0    0   0  .217  .511              0   0   
T Wigginton 2B                3   0   0   0    0   1  .256  .819   20   14    0   2   
T Hall C                      3   1   2   0    0   0  .295  .772   16   11   11   0   2B
T Lee 1B                      3   0   1   0    0   1  .215  .656   10    8   11   0   
T Perez SS-3B                 3   0   0   0    0   0  .195  .530    8    6    1   6   
J Gathright CF                3   0   0   0    0   1  .196  .554    7    6    2   0   

S Kazmir P                                                                    0   0
  R Lugo P                                                                    0   1
  T Walker P                                                                  0   0
Totals                       30   1   4   0    0   5              123   83   27  12

Batting Events 2B: D Hollins (8, off J Moyer); T Hall (7, off J Moyer). SH: C Crawford (4, off J Moyer). TB: T Hall 3; D Hollins 2; T Lee. Team LOB: 3. With RISP: 0 for 7. Fielding Events E: T Perez (4).

Seattle Mariners             AB   R   H RBI   BB  SO    BA   OPS  Pit  Str   PO   A  Details
I Suzuki RF                   4   0   1   0    0   1  .287  .708   17   13    1   0   SB
J Lopez 2B                    4   0   0   0    0   1  .278  .753   21   12    3   2   
R Ibanez LF                   4   0   1   0    0   1  .301  .826   19    9    3   0   2B
R Sexson 1B                   4   0   0   0    0   3  .186  .582   19   12    9   3   
C Everett DH                  4   0   0   0    0   1  .229  .749   11    9    0   0   
A Beltre 3B                   3   0   0   0    1   2  .225  .592   17   10    0   1   
W Bloomquist CF-SS            3   0   2   0    0   0  .333  .720   13    7    2   0   
R Rivera C                    2   0   0   0    0   2  .176  .693   11    7    5   1   
  K Johjima PH-C              1   0   0   0    0   0  .271  .744    3    2    1   0   
Y Betancourt SS               2   0   0   0    0   0  .257  .617    9    8    0   1   
  R Petagine PH               1   0   0   0    0   0  .286 1.016    4    3    0   0   
  J Reed CF                   0   0   0   0    0   0  .192  .535              0   0   

J Moyer P                                                                     3   1
  E Guardado P                                                                0   0
Totals                       32   0   4   0    1  11              144   92   27   9

Batting Events 2B: R Ibanez (10, off T Walker). TB: R Ibanez 2; W Bloomquist 2; I Suzuki. Team LOB: 6. With RISP: 0 for 9. Baserunning Events SB: I Suzuki (12, 3rd base off S Kazmir/T Hall).

Pitching Stats

Tampa Bay Devil Rays          IP     H   R  ER   BB  SO  HR    ERA   BF  Pit-Str  Ct·Sw·Lk   GB·FB·LD· ?   GmSc  IR-IS   LevI    WPA
S Kazmir, W (5-2)              7     3   0   0    1   9   0   2.94   26  110-70   42·15·13   12· 4· 1· 0     79    -     1.25   0.50
R Lugo, H (2)                  1     0   0   0    0   0   0   4.09    3   14-10    7· 0· 3    1· 2· 0· 0          0-0    1.91   0.15
T Walker, S (4)                1     1   0   0    0   2   0  11.57    4   12-10    5· 3· 2    1· 1· 0· 0          0-0    4.50   0.21
Totals                         9     4   0   0    1  11   0          33  136-90   54·18·18   14· 7· 1· 0           -

Seattle Mariners              IP     H   R  ER   BB  SO  HR    ERA   BF  Pit-Str  Ct·Sw·Lk   GB·FB·LD· ?   GmSc  IR-IS   LevI    WPA
J Moyer, L (1-3)               8     4   1   1    0   5   0   3.29   28  114-78   44·15·19   11·12· 5· 0     75    -     1.10   0.31
E Guardado                     1     0   0   0    0   0   0   6.39    3    7-4     4· 0· 0    1· 2· 0· 0          0-0    0.57   0.04
Totals                         9     4   1   1    0   5   0          31  121-82   48·15·19   12·14· 5· 0           -

Balks: J Moyer (1). WP: S Kazmir (3). HBP: None. IBB: None. Pickoffs: None. So Draysbay, will the Rays sink the Seattle Seamen? Go Rays!

Poll

How will the Tampa Bay Rays do in their three game set against the Seattle Mariners?

Rays sweep all three games!

4 votes

Rays take two out of three!

13 votes

M's take two out of three!

10 votes

M's sweep all three games.

5 votes

I don't vote and I don't like anyone who does vote.

2 votes

34 votes | Poll has closed

Busch was impressed with the Dome. "It's a very impressive ballpark," he told reporters. "For a...

thebaddancingraysfan — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:05:24 -0000

Busch was impressed with the Dome. "It's a very impressive ballpark," he told reporters. "For a building of this size, it creates an intimate atmosphere." The Giants official insisted St. Petersburg was not a pawn to get something better out of San Francisco. "If we were going to use the possibility of leaving to leverage something, we would have done it 10 years ago," he said.

A lot has changed in twenty years, I guess.

White Sox vs. Rays

thebaddancingraysfan — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:42:55 -0000

One of my favorite horror movies of all time is Friday the 13th, the original. For those who have not seen it, Friday the 13th is a slasher flick about a revenge crazed mother who kills unsuspecting camp counselors in the name of her slain son Jason. Great film, the mother dies and everyone ends up happy, give or take.

Then came the sequel known to us all as Friday the 13th: Part II. So how a dead son, Jason, who drowned in Crystal Lake became a linebacker-looking invincible psychopath? What is Jason's motivation? To kill the kids at Camp Crystal Lake, of course! Needless to say, the sequel sucked.

My fear, though it's a young '09 season, is that the Rays season might be a disappointing sequel. Yes, you buy ticket to the show expecting to be entertained just as much as were from the original but you find that you are not having fun.

So, enter the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox come to the Trop looking for a little revenge after being beaten in ALDS by the boys in blue.

Probables:

Thu, Apr 16	White Sox	7:08 PM	Niemann (0-1)	Danks (0-0)
Fri, Apr 17	White Sox	7:38 PM	Shields (1-1)	Colon (1-0)
Sat, Apr 18	White Sox	7:08 PM	Kazmir (2-0)	Buehrle (1-0)
Sun, Apr 19	White Sox	1:38 PM	Garza (1-0)	Floyd (1-1)

Time Capsule:

We go back to the days of '05. The stands were full of blue seats this day when the Rays beat the White Sox and gave Jesus Colome a "W." Check out Jorge Cantu dominating with 3 for 4 day at the plate.

Chicago White Sox	ab	r	h	rbi
Podsednik lf	4	0	0	0
Iguchi 2b	3	0	0	1
Everett dh	5	1	1	0
Konerko 1b	2	0	0	0
Rowand cf	5	0	1	1
Dye rf	4	0	0	0
Uribe ss	4	2	3	0
Widger c	4	2	2	1
Crede 3b	3	1	2	2
Contreras p	0	0	0	0
Cotts p	0	0	0	0
Vizcaino p	0	0	0	0
Marte p	0	0	0	0
Takatsu p	0	0	0	0
Totals	34	6	9	5

Tampa Bay Devil Rays	ab	r	h	rbi
Sanchez dh	3	0	0	0
Phelps ph,dh	2	0	0	0
Lugo ss	4	0	0	0
Crawford lf	5	0	1	0
Huff 1b,rf	4	1	2	0
Hollins cf	4	1	1	0
Green 2b	1	1	0	0
Singleton rf	2	2	1	2
Perez ph,1b	1	0	0	0
Hall c	4	1	1	3
Cantu 3b	4	1	3	2
Hendrickson p	0	0	0	0
Bell p	0	0	0	0
Harper p	0	0	0	0
Miller p	0	0	0	0
Colome p	0	0	0	0
Totals	34	7	9	7

Chicago	1	1	0		2	0	2		0	0	0	–	6	9	1
Tampa Bay	0	1	0		3	0	0		2	0	1	–	7	9	1

Chicago White Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO

Contreras	5.0	5	4	4	5	3
Cotts	1.0	1	1	1	0	1
Vizcaino	1.1	1	1	1	2	3
Marte	0.2	1	0	0	2	1
Takatsu L (0-2)	0.1	1	1	1	0	1
Totals	8.1	9	7	7	9	9

Tampa Bay Devil Rays	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Hendrickson	6.0	8	6	5	3	2
Bell	0.0	0	0	0	1	0
Harper	1.1	1	0	0	0	1
Miller	0.2	0	0	0	1	0
Colome W (1-0)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	9.0	9	6	5	5	3
E–None. 2B–Chicago Uribe 2 (7,off Hendrickson 2); Widger 2 (4,off Hendrickson 2); Crede (8,off Hendrickson), Tampa Bay Singleton (3,off Contreras); Huff (5,off Cotts). HR–Tampa Bay Hall (2,4th inning off Contreras 2 on 0 out); Cantu (5,9th inning off Takatsu 0 on 1 out). SH–Iguchi (3,off Hendrickson). SF–Crede (3,off Hendrickson). HBP–Podsednik (1,by Hendrickson); Green (3,by Contreras). Team–9; 13. U-HP–Mike Reilly, 1B–Andy Fletcher, 2B–Bob Davidson, 3B–Rob Drake. T–3:17. A–9,389.

So, Draysbay, what do you think will happen when Rays host the White Sox for a three games set? Go Rays!

Poll

How will the Rays fare when they play the Chicago White Sox in a four game set?

Godfather II: Rays sweep all four games!

2 votes

Empire Strikes Back: Rays take three of four!

14 votes

Ghost busters II: Rays split the series.

7 votes

Ace Ventura 2: White Sox take three out of four games.

1 votes

Pirates of the Caribbean 2: White Sox take all four games.

1 votes

Home Alone 2 was the greatest film ever, that's all I have to say about that! I hate voting.

4 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed

With Rhyne Hughes batting, Desmond Jennings steals (4) home.

thebaddancingraysfan — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:39:49 -0000

With Rhyne Hughes batting, Desmond Jennings steals (4) home.

MiLB.com