ALDS Open Thread, Chicago vs Tampa Bay, 11:37 am PT
2008-10-02 10:45
by Bob Timmermann
Nothing screams postseason baseball more than seeing the blue, green yellow, and white of the Tampa Bay Rays running across the FieldTurf of Tropicana Field in front of a screaming crowd of 36,000 people or so, many of them banging cowbells or sounding a klaxon.
Actually, I don't think you can bring in a klaxon to Tropicana Field and besides, I have already cornered the market on klaxons on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It's a cutthroat business. Follow along online here.
Today's lineups:
WHITE SOX
Cabrera, ss
Wise, lf
Dye, rf
Thome, dh
Konerko, 1b
Griffey, cf
Ramirez, 2b
Pierzynski, c
Uribe, 3b
Vazquez, p
RAYS
Iwamura, 2b
Upton, cf
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Crawford, lf
Floyd, dh
Navarro, c
Gross, rf
Bartlett, ss
Shields, p
I'm sorry I'm at work today and can't watch this one on TV. But then again, as much as I enjoy watching the Rays, I hate watching games played at that monstrosity known as Tropicana. Yikes.
Bob, when will we petition MLB to make teams wear a different throwback uni during each playoff game they appear in? We're doing that before the Phils/Brewer series goes back to Milwaukee, right?
True story: when Dioner Navarro was a Los Angeles Dodger and Russell Martin was but a glimmer in our eye as we squinted at the Suns, the LA Times published this gem:
"Dioner. As in De Owner of De Area behind De Plate."
I saw Shield pitch in the 2005 AFL on the same team as the Dodger kids. He looked like the best pitcher in the league but I couldn't get any scout to tell me he was any more then 5th pitcher in a bad rotation. I didn't know squat as a scout but as a fan he looked good to me. Then again they didn't much of Kemp at the time either.
Wow, this has been a heck of a game so far. It figures this will be the best series of the first round -- the Brewers are gassed, the Cubs are the Cubs, and the Red Sox have mystical playoff mojo over the Angels. But you have to like the fast start.
Is the weather in Tampa Bay/St. Pete so bad that they have to have a permanently-closed dome? I read the Wikipedia entry which implied that the heat and thunderstorms caused the city to make that decision.
The Rockies passed on Longoria for Reynolds. Can you imagine Longoria in Coors. Dodger fans are quite happy that they decided to go with pitching and a lousy one at that.
40 , YES! Many a time have I entered the Trop during a refreshing afternoon thunderstorm and exited after the game to lovely 80 degree and humid evening. Their new parasail ballpark by the bay will be very much welcomed, and seems like it could well be the Turner Field that powers their Braves-like future dynasty.
43 Rockies management still thinks that every offensive player they have is a star and the pitching staff is in constant need of reinforcement. The park effect revolution hasn't taken root here.
Can I just stop here to say the TB Rays are the most encouraging baseball story of the decade? As the 'roid issues fades, the emergence of "teams built around draft picks, sprinkled with strategically selected veterans, managed by somebody really smart" as the new competitive trend is very, very good for the sport.
Being so optimistic, I'm going to assume the Rays' lousy attendance has more to do with the lousy stadium than the lack of fan enthusiasm for this lovely little team.
58 I don't think baseball fans in St. Pete are savvy enough to know that A.J. Pierzynski is a villain. After all, the famous dropped strike play occurred against Anaheim, not the Yankees.
58 If it makes you feel any better, I hate that guy with a passion that burns in my soul with the fire of a thousand suns.
When he was caught stealing -- standing up, I believe; it wasn't even close -- it filled me with a joy that I have not felt in ten months, since the birth of my spawn.
But I don't know if that will make you feel better.
Both Florida teams deal with problematic stadium situations.
If Miami had the equivalent of Dodger Stadium, or Oriole Park, I have to think the Marlins would do better given the team's seeming Phoenix-like ability to regenerate winning ballclubs so quickly.
Til this year there has been little reason to go to Rays games unless you're a Boston/NY transplant.
The radio announcers are saying that Evan Longoria has joined the immortal Gary Gaetti as the only two players to homer in their first two postseason at-bats.
81 - sorry, been a while since I paid attention to anything Sutcliffe said, so I'm going to guess that your comment means "pretty much nothing beyond the name and being able to identify it in a picture"?
83 Basically, though specifically I was thinking of his sorta harping on guys like Matt Kemp without knowing what he's talking about, and then harping on worries about rays without knowing anything about them.
The seats are blocked off per orders of MLB. They will only be sold if the Rays make it to the World Series. They have an obstructed view.
Gameday is very wrong.
doesn't Halladay throw a palm ball, or something similar?
Bob, when will we petition MLB to make teams wear a different throwback uni during each playoff game they appear in? We're doing that before the Phils/Brewer series goes back to Milwaukee, right?
17 Indeed. They're already wonderfully dated, so they're cool.
Old Friend Dioner strikes!
"Dioner. As in De Owner of De Area behind De Plate."
New ballgame.
Great replay by TBS to show Longoria starting his swing then pausing when he IDs the breaking ball, then hitting it out. He's scary good.
Any Floridians here?
Anyone know what the score is?
2 Longoria solo home runs
Iwamura with a big no out triple knocked in the 2nd run and resulted in the 3rd run.
Jeepers, some construction and A&E firms are paying big kickbacks.
He scratched his eyeball somehow at home last night. His vision apparently was a little too blurry, so Maddon said he aired on side of caution.
I wish it were Derek Lee. : )
Being so optimistic, I'm going to assume the Rays' lousy attendance has more to do with the lousy stadium than the lack of fan enthusiasm for this lovely little team.
Fan support for teams in Florida is not good in general.
Really, truly, does anybody like the guy?
When he was caught stealing -- standing up, I believe; it wasn't even close -- it filled me with a joy that I have not felt in ten months, since the birth of my spawn.
But I don't know if that will make you feel better.
And he got it. And the Rays lost.
Without that win, we'd be discussing Scott Baker and Denard Span now.
If Miami had the equivalent of Dodger Stadium, or Oriole Park, I have to think the Marlins would do better given the team's seeming Phoenix-like ability to regenerate winning ballclubs so quickly.
Til this year there has been little reason to go to Rays games unless you're a Boston/NY transplant.
Yes, yes it does.
http://www.majorleaguedowntown.com/Playball.aspx
Okay, that was more Brian Sabean.
But what about the dank? They're not going to get rid of the dank are they?
And following him:
lunch!!
I like when ESPN was there and Erin Andrews went to go visit the rays. Sutcliffe was saying be careful they will stab you and all this.
Yes, they are going to allow kids to play with dangerous animals.
I learned this at an aquarium in Ireland, of all places.
He's 1-0.
He was the fortunate winner of Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS when he relieved Mussina in the third.
Other pitchers for the Yankees that day were Paul Quantrill and Tom Gordon.
Ramiro Mendoza was the losing pitcher.
Who threw out the first pitch, by the way? Hopefully, not the Hulkster.
The record is 6 by Mike Hampton in the NLDS. Hod Eller, Moe Drabowsky, and Todd Worrell struck out six in a row in the World Series.
It all became a blur after a while with that game.
Check out this video on changing the name of Wrigley to something else. Don't let it happen!! (Video is pretty funny too)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwhPTJMzzBc
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.