Oct 07
A few afternoon links to get you through the last hour…
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- [Let's try this again with an actual link] YES! They’re baaaccckkkkkk on the bandwagon. [
Mets Rays Geek]
- Joe Maddon would not answer directly but Troy Percival could be part of the ALCS roster, but Shawn Riggans does not sound likely. [Rays Report]
- Big League Stew has 10 reasons why the Red Sox won’t miss the Yankees in this season’s ALCS. [Big League Stew]
- Mike Lopresti says the Rays are the Cinderella the Red Sox used to be…What? Even when the Red Sox first broke through in 2004, they had won 90 games 4 of the previous 6 seasons and had one of the biggest payrolls in baseball. Not exactly “Cinderella” criteria. [USA Today]
- One fan site thinks TBS doesn’t want to talk about Andrew Friedman because TBS does not like how the Rays front office operates…That is being a bit neurotic and paranoid. Besides, to call the Rays a “sabermetric” team is overly simplistic. “Quantitative analysis” is not the only reason for this team’s success. In Friedman’s own words, this team is built on “information” and “information is king”. Not all of that information is numbers. [Drays Bay]
- Some think the Rays local media coverage is getting a bit too cocky…Ahhh. Red Sox media and their fans: Defining “classy” since 2004. [Deadspin]
- The 1969 Mets? How about the 1991 Braves. [CBS News]
- Mark Kriegel says needing postseason experience is a myth. [Fox Sports]
- Dayn Perry breaks down the appeal of all four potential World Series matchups. [Fox Sports]
Oct 07
In celebration of the Ray winning the ALDS and advancing to the ALCS, we are adding a couple of shirts to the Rays Index Store, and lowering the price on an old favorite…
Click on any image to be taken directly to the Rays Index Store.
Oct 07
Last week’s Rays Confidence Graph results.
Below you will see two polls that ask about your confidence in the Tampa Bay Rays. We will present these same polls every Tuesday. The results will be presented in graphical form on Thursday, and will be displayed permanently in the sidebar. The goal of the Confidence Graph is to get a feeling of how Rays fans feel about the team and the franchise and track how that level of confidence changes through time.
Raysiverse events of the past week that could impact confidence levels…
- The Rays won the ALDS 3 games to 1 over the Chicago White Sox and advanced to the ALCS to face the Red Sox with home field advantage.
- BJ Upton has looked as good as he has all season…Carl Crawford is back and stealing bases…And Troy Percival could still pitch in the ALCS.
Oct 07
Click on above images to be taken to full standings, box scores or schedule…
THE GOOD: Andy Sonnanstine. Sonny versus Edwin Jackson? Game, Set, Match. Is there any doubt that Sonnanstine will be in rotation in ’09 now? In the last month, The Duke has faced 3 crucial starts, 2 against the Red Sox and yesterday’s ALDS game 4 versus the White Sox. In those 3 starts Sonny has gone 18.2 innings and given up 10 hits, 3 walks, 16 strike outs and 2 earned runs. This just in: That’s pretty good. We have so much confidence in Sonny right now that we are disappointed that he won’t pitch in the ALCS until game 4…The Bullpen. 11.2 innings, 1 run in the series…BJ Upton. Yeah. He is feeling it…Boston winning ALDS. Early in the series we were openly rooting for the Angels. But now? We are glad the Sox are in the ALCS. If the Rays are going to the World Series, it is only fitting that they beat the Sox (again) on the way.
THE BAD: How many times this season has the MLBiverse started doubting the Rays after a single loss? And every time the Rays rise to the occasion and WIN. Apparently the respect and the benefit of the doubt won’t come until the Rays win the World Series and Stuart Sternberg raises the trophy…Having to wait three days for the ALCS…Carl Crawford was hit in the face with a bat swung by Dioner Navarro prior to the game. Crawford was OK and allowed to play…Evan Longoria is now 1-12 with 6 Ks since starting the series 3-3 with 2 home runs.
THE TELLING: During our Blog-A-Baloo (Lite) last night we had Bobby Fenton of 1010 Sports in one ear. He was supposed to be hosting a Bucs show, but he had the Rays game in front of him on a TV. Every time he tried to talk about the Bucs, the poor guy sounded like an executive trying to lead a budget meeting in Mons Venus…The Rays now have 100 wins on the season…Today is Evan Longoria’s 23rd birthday…The Heater has the ALCS schedule. Game 1 is 8pm on Friday and game 2 is Saturday at 7:30pm…According to CoolStandings.com the Rays have a 48.7% chance of winning the ALCS, with the most likely outcome being a Red Sox win in 6 games.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Finally somebody gets it! Ken Rosenthal says: “Anyone who thinks the Rays are merely a product of high draft picks isn’t paying attention.” [Fox Sports]
- Scott Merkin says Andy Sonnanstine pitched to the White Sox weakness. [MLB]
- Joe Smith says that all Andy Sonnanstine does, is win. [St. Pete Times]
- Mike Lowell was removed from the Red Sox roster prior to game 4. He will not be available for the ALCS. [Sox & Dawgs]
- Joey Johnston says the Rays are one step closer to being the best story…Ever. [Tampa Tribune]
- Rob Quinn grades the Rays’ performance in the ALDS. [Examiner.com]
- Brittany Ghiroli breaks down some Rays facts and figures. [MLB]
- Before the game, BJ Upton told Cliff Floyd he could “taste it” and that he felt “good”. Floyd says Upton could be a hall of famer. [St. Pete Times]
- Nathan Haynes who played 20 games for the Rays early in the season has been granted free agency. [Baseball America]
- Dan Shaughnessy says this generation of Red Sox fans think of the postseason as a birthright, a far cry from where this franchise came from. [Boston Globe]
- Grant Balfour is getting some love down under. [Melbourne Herald-Sun]
- The Chicago Tribune says the Rays clubhouse looked like a frat party and Cliff Floyd promises that the Rays are not done. [Chicago Tribune]
- The National Post of Canada says Andrew Friedman is part of the “new generation of savvy execs.”…We can’t help but think that Friedman is in a class of his own. [National Post]
- Hmm? Yet another article breaking down how the Rays were built. [MLB]
