Oct 20
Somebody at the 4-letter thinks the Red Sox will now pull off the greatest comeback in the history of baseball, coming back from a 4 games to 3 deficit. Well, Bristol is in the heart of Red Sox Nation. (Thanks Brett).
We have now watched the 8th and 9th innings about a dozen times. One thing we didn’t notice last night was the incredible play that Aki Iwamura made on the final out. The ball takes a wicked (pun intended) hop and nearly goes over Aki’s head. If he misses that ball, it is first and third and things are suddenly very scary.
Also, let’s not forget the one guy that has worn the Devil Rays/Rays uniform longer than anybody else and knows the pain of the first 10 years more than most, Scott Cursi. The Rays bullpen catcher has been warming up pitchers since 1999. Congrats Scott, you earned it.
Finally, last week we took exception when one Red Sox blogger wrote about Carl Crawford and his “gangster neck tattoo”. This week, Red Sox bloggers are back at it. This time courtesy of Surviving Grady.
Especially that punk-ass Carl Crawford, who you know is just an injury away from boosting car stereos.
Stay classy Red Sox Nation.
(The image after the Webtopia is from the Boston Globe)
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Some photos from the game 7 celebration. [Tampa Tribune]
- A recap of the game (with unfortunate appearance from Steve Harvey) from the guys at “The Dugout”. [Fanhouse]
- It is impossible to overstate exactly how big David Price was in game 7. [Big League Stew]
- 10 reasons to watch the World Series. [SI.com]
- One writer at Bugs and Cranks is bracing himself in anticipation of having to get a Rayhawk after losing a bet. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Boston Irish will be rooting for the Phillies in the World Series because the Rays fan base “haven’t exactly earned this as yet”. They also hate the idea of all the “punk, spoilt, brash NBA star types” on the Rays being champs…Jonathon Papelbon? Something comes to mind about a pot and a kettle and grapes that may or may not be sour. [Boston Irish]
- Apparently, the Rays were just practicing for these postseason celebrations back in May. [The Sports Hernia]
- Coolest Rayhawk yet? [Deadspin]
- Dick Vitale was his usual passive self last night…Ahh, who are we kidding, the dude went batshit crazy. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Big League Stew debates whether Terry Francona stuck with Jason Varitek too long. [Big League Stew]
- Jordi Scrubbings spoke to Sports On My Mind about the Rays, prior to game 7. [Sports On My Mind]
- The cover of today’s Boston Globe (thanks Scot). [Boston Globe]
- The Rays may have ended the Red Sox captain’s career in Boston. [Boston Score]
Oct 16
Bud Selig, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, Grant Balfour, Jason Varitek, Jim Hickey, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir, The Mad Australian, Tim Wakefield Cork Gaines
Click on above images to be taken to full standings, box scores or schedule…
How good was The Mad Australian this season? Grant Balfour put up some sick numbers this season. In 58.1 innings, Balfour allowed only 28 hits and 24 walks while striking out 82. He pitched to a 1.54 ERA. Certainly the best season by a relief pitcher in the short history of the Rays. But we wonder if there was a bigger context we could look at to see exactly how dominating he was this season.
We went to the “Play Index” at Baseball-Reference.com.
We did a search for every pitcher that has ever posted a season with at least 11 strike outs per 9 innings, while giving up less than 9 hits and walks combined per 9 innings with an ERA less than 1.70 (minimum 40 innings pitched). Three criteria for a dominating relief pitcher.
The results? The Mad Australian is just the 4th pitcher in the history of baseball to post such a dominating season out of the bullpen. The other three is a who’s who of dominating closer performances, including Eric Gagne (2003), Billy Wagner (1999) and Joe Nathan (2006). Gagne won the Cy Young Award in ’03, while Wagner finished 4th and Nathan finished 5th. The only difference between their seasons and Balfour’s was the number of saves. They each recorded at least 36 saves, while Balfour only had 4.
We knew Balfour had a strong season, but we had no idea that it was one of the best in the history of baseball.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- In case you missed it yesterday afternoon, we ran a bunch of “Webtopia” links in the evening “Happy Hour” feature. [Rays Index]
- Remember the Rays fan that ended up with the Evan Longoria home run ball above the Monster at Fenway in game 3? He was kind enough to answer a few questions about the incident. [Rays Index]
- Congratulations go out to Gabe Gross and his wife Kelly, who are expecting their first child in May. [Celebrity Baby Blog]
- Rocco Baldelli could get the start in right field tonight with Gabe Gross struggling…Also, Joe Maddon is not worried about the Red Sox history of comebacks noting that he would rather concentrate on executing their own gameplan. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Smith says the key to Scott Kazmir is surviving the first inning. Smith points out that Kid K tends to settle down after long first innings and gains confidence as the game moves along. [St. Pete Times]
- The Phillies won the NLCS 3 games to 1…The Rays aren’t there yet, but it is worth noting that every time a Tampa Bay franchise wins a championship they beat a Philadelphia team on the way. [The Fightins]
- This is worth pointing out again. 18 “experts” at ESPN.com predicted the World Series matchup prior to the playoffs. 2 picked the Rays to win the ALCS. None picked the Phillies. If the Rays win the ALCS, that will be 2 correct picks out of 36. Wow. [ESPN]
- Bugs and Cranks found a picture of the reverse mohawks from Fenway. [Bugs and Cranks]
- John Romano says Jim Hickey deserves much of the credit for the Rays success and points out that he came very close to losing his job last winter. [St. Pete Times]
- More evidence that the Red Sox Nation isn’t as devoted as they would like you to believe. Tickets can be had for ALCS games in Fenway for below face value. [Boston Globe]
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post says the Red Sox are being betrayed by their age and are suddenly old news. The perfect metaphor for this series is the young, speedy Carl Crawford beating out an infield single with the old Tim Wakefield scrambling on the ground trying to throw out Crawford. [Washington Post]
- Wallace Matthews seems to think the Yankees paid for the Rays success…Bitter much? [Newsday]
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald points out that this incarnation of the Red Sox is much different than the teams that made postseason comebacks. [Boston Herald]
- Tonight could be the last game for Jason Varitek in a Red Sox uniform. [Boston Globe]
- Fire Brand of the American League points out 5 keys to the Red Sox winning game 5. [Fire Brand of the American League]
- Awful Announcing gets it. We will fully admit that a Rays-Phillies World Series would not be FOX TV’s first choice. Thankfully, there is not a single mention of how Bud Selig is rooting for the Red Sox and the Dodgers. We have already pointed out how ridiculous that sentiment is. [Awful Announcing]
- The Rays signed four 16-year old players during the international free agent signing period. Among the players signed is a switch-hitting catcher from Venezuela named “Narvaez”. Coincidence? [Tampa Bay Rays Prospects]
- Stay classy Pink Hat Nation…How Youz Doin Baseball? Did this blog get their name from a line in “Friends”? That’s hot. Oh, and the only other Colby Alum we know is the guy in the bottom of THIS picture. We don’t think we have ever seen somebody more afraid of a baseball that was no where near them. [How Youz Doin Baseball]
- We are not sure where this person did their research. It is yet another attempt at showing how the Rays roster was put together. Two problems. The list of players traded by the Rays is short about 6 names. And nobody in baseball is acquired for “FREE”. What does that even mean? The Rays traded Josh Butler, a former 2nd round pick, for Gabe Gross. And Chad Bradford was acquired for a player to be named later. The Rays will likely send a player to Baltimore once the season ends. Cheap? Yes. But not “FREE”. For the complete list, check here. [Beyond the Boxscore]
- Kevin Gengler stops by The Hardball Times and gives an in depth review of the Rays farm system. [The Hardball Times]
