Archive for the tag: Joe Rays Fan

Oct 03

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Death By Howell

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Yeah, the Rays were unlikely to win scoring three runs tonight, but tossing out J.P. Howell in the seventh to face Josh Hamilton with the bases loaded and two outs was the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with a half-loaded gun.

Was Jake McGee unavailable? What about Matt Moore for one batter? This was freakin’ game 3 of the ALDS.

For Joe, the commercial break before Howell threw his first pitch was like waiting for the lethal injection guy to stroll over and plunge the syringe. Right on cue, Hamilton torched a two-run single to right field to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead.

The reality is this game was right out of the script for so many of the Rays’ 70+ losses this season. Enough pitching to win but anemic bats.

It just feels so much worse in the playoffs.

Kudos to Dezmon Jennings for busting out of his slump and giving the Rays life — and hope for now and beyond — with two dingers.

Sep 30

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Shoppach Wasn’t Honest

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Speaking calmly and cooly on ESPN Radio this morning, Rangers head man and former fireballer Nolan Ryan said he suspected it would take Rangers hitters two turns around the batting order tonight to get comfortable against Matt Moore.

Make that three turns, and they’re still waiting.

It made so much sense for the Rays to start the young phenom Moore that even the Rangers knew they were in for an early challenge.

But the X-factor was the Rays bats showing up in a big way.

Joe had to laugh. After the 9-0 blowout with two homers from Kelly Shoppach, a reporter asked Shoppach to comment on his rough season at the plate versus how he’s been hitting the last week or so. Shoppach wouldn’t bite and said he’s always confident and if they keep pitching where he’s swinging then he’ll be contributing.

But the reality is Shoppach muscled a low-and-away C. J. Wilson pitch over the wall just to the right of dead center field for the three-run bomb that put the game away in the third inning. That pitch is not one he would have done anything with all season long.

Shoppach routinely tries to pull that ball and whiffs, pulling his hips out and sometimes tossing the bat into the third base stands. But today the Rays got the Shoppach they signed originally, a guy with opposite field power who occasionally will go with a pitch to keep his average acceptable.

If that guy shows up for the rest of the series, and the Rays subsequently remove a black hole from their lineup, then their chances of landing in the ALCS improve dramatically.

Sep 27

Postgame Shot Of Joe: The Holy Triple

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Joe doesn’t know whether Evan Longoria was nuts to not take the sure out at home plate after a force out at third or whether he was just a man with a hefty set of balls to try and turn three.

Regardless, it worked, and tonight’s comeback win no doubt was destiny after the Rays’ turned that sixth-inning triple play with the bases loaded.

Later in the home seventh, Joe must admit he cursed up a storm when trailing by one run Matt Joyce wasn’t laying down a bunt with B.J. Upton on second and Longo on first with nobody out. Of course, Joyce drilled MFIKY’s pitch into the right field seats to give the Rays the 5-3 win.

Surely, “the numbers” said to bunt. But as Joe Maddon said last night, sometimes you just have to trust people no matter how much you love the numbers.

Thankfully, he was trusting of Joyce.

What was once a season of what-ifs now feels like the final 10 minutes of a cheezy Hollywood movie with a PG-rated happy ending.

At this point with one or two games to go, if the Rays can’t nail down a Wild Card spot, it’ll be an extraordinarily miserable and maddening offseason of what-ifs featuring Dezmon Jennings, Andy Sonnanstine and many more.

Don’t let that happen Rays. Get it done tomorrow!

Sep 24

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Take A Bow, Alex Torres

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Like nearly every Rays fan with a pulse, Joe sobbed in his beer when Jeff Niemann looked stiff and awful in the first inning and got yanked for Alex Torres after the opening frame.

Could things have looked any worse? It was as if The Hangman had lowered the noose on the season.

But could Torres have pitched any better over the next five innings?

What an unreal showing by the bullpen.

One might call this 6-2 win a nailbiter, but it was more of head-banger as the Rays smacked their share of feeble ground balls and deflating double plays. And Bossman turned in another baserunning gem getting picked off first with two outs. Then in his typical schizophrenic way, he nearly got picked off first in the eighth but beat the throw to second base from the Jays’ first baseman. At least he’s never boring.

Thankfully, the Rays got to Ricky Romero early and Ben Zobrist’s solo shot in the fourth was enough before Johnny Damon put the game away with a three-run blast in the eighth.

The Red Sox got abused in New York, 9-1, and the Rays are 1 1/2 back. The Sox play two in New York tomorrow. One can only hope the Yanks want to bury the Sox as much as their fans want them to.

Sep 18

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Ya Gotta Believe

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Sorry, but the Rays have made up too damn much ground to turn back now. The Sox aren’t better — not now anyway — and the Rays are two back with 10 to go.

As the late Tug McGraw coined for the 1973 Mets, “Ya Gotta Believe.”

Why not the Rays? Why not? Joe can’t answer the question.

Oh, the irony of the bullpen and the bats pulling the Rays through the biggest game of the season after David Price took an early line drive off the chest today.

After Matt Moore delivered his wicked heat and cardiac moments yesterday, the Rays unleashed their scary pen on the Sox and walked out alive with an 8-5 win.

Cue the “What if Desmon Jennings was on the roster sooner?” calls to sports radio tomorrow. The man is electric. The Rays have the day off Monday and the Sox have two at home against the O’s.

The Sox have won two of their last 11. Good luck turning it around, fellas.

Sep 14

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Playoff Urgency Was Lacking

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Yeah, Joe Maddon knows what he’s doing. The guy’s a miracle worker. But this game wasn’t played with the urgency it called for.

C’mon. The Rays get runners on first and second with nobody out in the seventh down 4-2 and Maddon isn’t going to have Casey Kotchman lay down a bunt to move the runners and pressure the infield and another crappy starter the Rays made look like Steve Carlton. (Jeremy Guthrie? Really?)

Was Maddon looking for a big inning out of John Jaso and Reid Brignac behind Kotch?

The Matt Moore sighting was exciting and depressing at the same time. Joe only hopes the kid’s confidence isn’t busted up. Especially since he’ll be put in even tougher spots (hopefully) against the Red Sox.

And how Jaso and Wade Davis don’t settle on an 0-2 pitch that can’t be taken out of the ballpark is another one of the great 2011 mysteries.

So here it is: four games back of the Sox and a four game series at Fenway starting tomorrow. Every Rays fan would have had wet dreams over such a fantasy entering the season. Try to forget about how the Rays got here and enjoy it.

Sep 09

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Shame On The Non-Believers

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Everywhere Joe turns, from his radio dial to friends and men on the street, the Rays have been written off.

Frankly, it was descpicable even before tonight’s 7-2 win against the nasty Sox. What kind of baseball town turns its back on its team when its playing well and very alive mathematically?

Have the stats geeks ruined baseball so much that their data and odds are powerful enough to strip the fundamental hope that should be in every fan when his team has a shot in September? Apparently so. Joe never would have believed the Rays-Sox tonight would only draw 18,000+.

The Rays sit five back in the loss column to the Sox with 19 games to play. It’s doable. Even the BSPN baseball crew was hyping the race after the game and not ripping attendance.

When Wade Davis breaks off a complete game like he did tonight, you know the baseball gods are smiling upon this team. And throw in John Jaso’s three-run homer and him draining the Sox bullpen with a one swing of the bat, and something divine is happening.

Somebody start up the bandwagon. If you can find it.

Sep 04

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Standing O For Hellickson

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Hellboy was masterful shutting down Baltimore with a complete game four-hitter today. Savage control on just 97 pitches.

So how long before the Rays shut him down for the season? He’s at 164 innings and, given the Rays history, it’s hard to imagine they’ll let him start a game past 180.

His next two starts appear to be against the Red Sox, who the Rays trail by eight games in the Wild Card chase.

Would Stu and company dare end HellBoy’s season if the Rays were still in the hunt this season, say five back with 12 to play? Hey, if they made him disappear in the thick of it last year, there’s no reason to think it won’t happen again.

Good to see the Rays smack around a bad starter today, even if they left a hundred runners on base and Jose Lobaton made us yearn for Kelly Shoppach.

Anytime the bats are aggressive early, that’s serious progress.

Aug 31

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Rays Need Another August

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Yet another game tonight that makes you pound your head against the wall over where the Rays could be.

It shouldn’t be so damn hard for the Rays to scratch out a few runs night in and night out and win a pile of games. Tonight at Texas was a classic example. Alexi Ogando struggled with his command. B.J. Upton takes a fast ball to the ribs. Everybody stays patient at the plate. John Jaso fights off a two-strike fastball. And, poof, two quick runs for James Shields, who jumped his record to 13-10 (2.84 ERA).

Shields not having at least four more wins will go down as one of the saddest memories of this season.

But the Rays sit 7 1/2 games back of the Yankees for the Wild Card, and there’s plenty of hope to go around if you don’t look at the Yanks’ schedule. Ten of the Yanks’ next 14 are against the Mariners, Jays and Orioles. But the scoreboard watching is still a blast and still worthwhile.

The Rays finished August 18-10. They’re surely capable of a September like that, which means the bad guys would roughly have to play .500 ball or less for the Rays to work a late-season miracle.

For now, Joe will settle for a series win in the Texas swelter — probably the first “must-win game” of the season.

Aug 27

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Winning As Yanks Tread Water

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The bullpen reared its scary head in Toronto, sans Kyle Farnsworth, and held on today to put the Rays seven back of the Yankees in the Wild Card chase.

Obviously, the bullpen was more rested than any history. Then why did Joe Maddon pull J.P. Howell for Jake McGee — lefty for lefty — to open the eighth after Howell went six pitches (two outs) to close the seventh? Howell had given up just one hit over his previous nine outings.

Surely Howell was capable of more. And right on cue, McGee served up a gopher ball and put the Jays back in the game.

Oh, well. There’s no use questioning everyone’s favorite manager, especially after a win. The team is confident and swinging the big boy sticks, and it’s certainly not Maddon’s fault the Rays left another pile of runners on base to keep the game close.

It was interesting to see that during today’s in-broadcast sales pitch for 2012 season tickets, there was no offer dangling priority purchasing for 2011 playoff tickets, which is pretty standard for any team in a pennant race. Shouldn’t the Rays believe? Or at least put that vibe out there? Matt Silverman needs to smack someone for that.

And speaking of the Yankees, their pitching is imploding and a slew of Hurricane Irene rainouts and other lost games leave them with an overloaded schedule of epic proportions.

Assuming the fix isn’t in and Major League Baseball doesn’t find a way to give the Yanks a break somehow, the whole scenario can only help the Rays.

Oh, the glorious potential irony of the Yanks getting screwed by the Rays, in part, because they don’t play in a rickety old dome.

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