[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Near No-No, Dirtbag’s Impending Absence And Aybar On The Mound
Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, Matt Garza, Uncategorized April 15th. 2009, 7:10am
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: No no-no. Well there is that…Matt Garza. After the first 3 batters reached base, The Garza Complex settled down and retired 17 of the next 19 batters.
THE BAD: Strikeouts-to-walks. As in the Rays struck out 12 times and walked only once. BJ Upton, Evan Longoria and Dioner Navarro combined to go 1-11 with 9 Ks. Ouch. That’s embarrassing just typing it. And let’s not forget Pat Burrell. Sure his sac fly in the 7th tied the game, but with first and third with no outs and a 3-0 count, Burrell needs to do better with a 3-0 pitch than a lazy flyball…An almost no-no. No hits until the 7th inning for a team that had 46 kazillion in the two previous games. And on the night they received their AL championship rings. The Yankees needed a strong performance from their starting pitcher and the Rays gave it to them.
THE TELLING: Last night during the broadcast, when asked which fielder he would turn to if needed to pitch an inning, Joe Maddon answered Willy Aybar. Strange (Thanks Brian)…Last night’s game was the Rays 12th straight sell out, a streak that will end today.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Matt Garza. Giving up 2 runs in 7 innings is not the best night ever, but against the Yankees it is pretty darned good, and it is not like the offense did anything last night.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Evan Longoria is going to miss the next 2 games to be back in California for a family matter. So adjust you Sunburst PoG predictions accordingly. [MLB]
- Thanks to those that reminded us that the Scott Kazmir countdown in the sidebar was behind the times. It is now updated and Kid K stands one win short of his first milestone.
- Rays the Stakes wants to know why we have to put up with Jason Isringhausen’s mouth. [Rays the Stakes]
- Joe Maddon said Ben Zobrist has earned his share of playing time in right field. Maddon would not say that Zobrist is taking Gabe Gross’ job…Does tham mean that right field is now a triploon? [St. Pete Times]
- The Rays received their AL championship rings last night. [St. Pete Times]
- Gary Shelton writes about how Matt Garza could have easily imploded in the first inning, but his new sense of self-control kept him and the team in the game. [St. Pete Times]
- Gabe Kapler struck out against Nick Swisher. Somehow he found a silver lining. He can now answer the question: What is your most embarrassing moment? [The Heater]
- Some small business owners near the Trop are not at all happy about the Rays new found success. [St. Pete Times]
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You got to top your cap to AJ Burnett. His stuff was sick last night. As much as I would like to blame the Rays hitters, it would’ve been tough to hit Burnett with any line-up.
I think Maddon’s defensive switches cost the Rays last night… big time. He had CC/Bossman practically on the infield when Brett Garnder was up. Two times he burned them with doubles over their head. You have to play to stop the double there. I don’t think you need to get pretty with your defense late in a game when 1 run is probably the difference between a W or an L. Even Kevin Kennedy remarked how shallow the Rays were playing after the 8th inning hit. If CC was playing back, just a bit they get the out. And at that point you turn it into a game of bullpen attrition… which the Rays had the upper hand.
I would trade out Wheeler’s performance for Burrell’s in the “Bad” category. An RBI versus an implosion that put the game out of reach? I’m trying really hard not to overreact, but he has been less than reliable for a while now, right? Especially considering the price. I did feel for Dwayne having to make that homerun call. They must have the weirdest Thanksgivings. Don’t you figure Kennedy is going to be on eggshells as far as slamming Wheeler as he and Dwayne get to know each other?
Absolutely on Wheeler. Just completely forgot to include him. Guess it was so bad that my mind blacked it out.
That’s funny, I was just sitting here tying to figure out what it was last night that I just couldn’t wait to complain about on my blog today… thank you!
Freakin’ Wheeler gave it away!
Much like Prof, I forgot about him, so he gets a free pass, but next time i’m gonna let it rip, and he’ll most definately be “on-notice”!
Hey Rev,
I know the Rays were playing Gardener shallow and it costed them, but I am sure they have spray charts for Gardener and know how he hits the ball. If he hits the ball 80% of the time shallow, the Rays have to play the numbers. Its how Maddon managers. He lives and dies by the sword. Some nights, that 20% will happen. It’s very easy to second guess Maddon there but I think he played it right.
Prof, any chance of a live blog today?
I know what you’re saying. But, what I’m saying is that in some cases you have to throw out the spray chart and go with good baseball sense. I thought it was more important to stop the double as opposed to playing the spray chart. Of course, it’s easy for me to sit back and criticize the AL Manager of the Year from my keyboard. lol It just seems he’s getting a little more cute with the defensive alignments this year.
No live blog today unfortunately
Get a ring, Prof?
Completely off the subject, but would you guys say the Baseline Box seats are the best for the price? I plan on making trips up from Miami frequently this year.
If your going to be price conscious, get the cheapest seat you can, if it’s not a sellout or not even all that packed for that matter just sit in the lower bowl, no one will say anything much as long as you aren’t in some one else’s set. If it is a packed house and then I say once again get the cheap seats, get to the stadium and in line early, and sit out in the power ally pub area.
I think if your willing to spend a pretty good amount on tickets then you can’t beat the Lower Infield Box seats, they are $55- $75 per ticket but they are about 3-5 rows from the Home Plate Club, and maybe 10-12 rows from the field. I have all sorts of pictures from all around The Trop up on my Myspace page if you want to check them out: Myspace.com/buccley
Depends on what you’re looking for. My season tickets are in the 200 level. Short concession lines, clean bathrooms and you can see the TVs that the suites use if you are 4 rows back or so. Good for replays. If you sit close to the pressbox, you also drastically increase your chances of catching a foul ball. Had 3 hit within 10 seats of me on Monday alone.
hmm. attractive