Greetings Maniacs!
After an All-Star break, 10-game homestand and jaw surgery, I have finally regained enough energy tobring back the blog for the rest of the season, (which will hopefully last til October)!
Instead of discussing everything that happened since my last post (way too long ago) it’s time to be forward looking and discuss the rest of this series vs. the Yankees and the looming trade deadline.
Last night’s game was attrocious from behind the Rays bullpen where I was sitting, and I’m pretty sure it looked just as bad from everywhere else. Shields, after a decent 1st inning, gave up 3 runs in the 3rd, most of the hits coming on the first pitch of at-bats. However, maniacs, remember the last series we played the Yanks at home? We blew them out in the first game 15-5, then lost the next 2 games close. Hopefully the 9th inning home-run by Pat Burrell is a sign that he’s gonna start getting his engine going. He is going to be a key contributor these last 62 games of the season, in which the Rays sit 6 1/2 games behind the first place Yankees. The Rays need to have a positive homestand this week, both on the field and in the front office.
Trade talks: Even bloggers have their places where they look for info, and mine in draysbay.com. They are reporting that the Rays have been shopping around Scott Kazmir to teams such as the Rangers and my even unload CC or ‘Los in order to make room for payroll and later trades. My 2 cents on all of this: Even though trade talks have been dominated by Halladay and the Phllies so far this year, look for things to heat up as soon as tomorrow morning. I expect the Rays to be big “movers” this year, with Kazmir scheduled to make so much money the next couple of years and BJ and ‘Los coming up on free agency, look for the Rays to pick up a big name in the next couple of days.
My Beef of the day: Seems like back when I wrote this blog daily, BJ Upton was always making me angry, and things havent really changed! B.J. is still the 1st batter in the line-up, even though his numbers haven’t gotten any better. I believe that Jason Bartlett has earned the chance to lead off, but I don’t think that Papa Joe will make that move any time soon. I would hate to see this team CC-less and still have BJ in the 1 spot in the order.
Tonight’s prediction: The Rays take on CC Sabathia in game 2 of this 3 game series. It’s safe to say this game is a close to “must win” as it gets without technicaly being must win. Kazmir takes the hill for the Rays, and he has suggested over the past couple of days that he would like to finish his contract in Tampa. If he really wants to stay in Tampa Bay, he’ll put up a touchdown in the first inning of tonight’s game. Although I don’t see him letting in a touchdown tonight, I think that he’ll have a tough time with this potent Yankees line-up, and the evil empire will put this game away early. Final Score: Rays 4 – Yankees 9 Player of the Game: Mark Texeira
