Tag: Tampa Bay Rays (Page 23 of 24)

      Rays, Cubs clinch playoff berths

      September 20, 2008 /

      Chicago CubsWith a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, the Tampa Bay rays clinched their first playoff spot in club history. And with their 5-4 victory over division rival St. Louis, the Chicago cubs are once again NL Central Champions.

      The Rays’ Division Series playoff destination will shake out in the final week of the season. Assuming the Rays win the AL East and Boston wins the Wild Card, the Rays will open at home against the Central winner, either the White Sox or Twins, while the Red Sox would open at the Angels, who have the AL’s best record. Should Boston win the East and the Rays get the Wild Card, the Rays would open at Anaheim, while the Red Sox would host the Central Division champion. The Division Series is a best-of-five set.

      What a magical run the Rays had this year. Finally, all of their young, exciting position talent came together and the pitching staff held up for an entire season. Too bad they don’t sell out in Tampa, because fans are missing one hell of a ride.

      If the standings hold, they will host the Wild Card-leading Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 1-2 in the first two games of a best-of-five National League Division Series. Games 3 and 4 (if necessary) would be in Philadelphia on Oct. 4-5. If the series goes to a decisive fifth game, it would be Oct. 7 at Wrigley Field. Philadelphia is only a half-game behind the Mets in the East, so the first-round opponent could easily change.

      Teams from the same division cannot face each other in the Division Series. If Milwaukee, Houston or St. Louis wins the Wild Card, the Cubs, if they don’t blow their seven-game lead atop the NL standings, will play the NL division champion with the worst record. The West-leading Dodgers are Chicago’s likely opponent in that scenario, since they are 6 1/2 games behind the East-leading Mets.

      How long before all the curse talk begins? Wait, it’s already started? The Cubs have the most balanced lineup in the NL and if Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden can stay healthy, the club also has an excellent 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. But obviously the major question surrounding this team is whether or not they can get over the hump. They certainly have enough talent to make a World Series run, now it’s all about execution.

      MLB

      The Best and Worst MLB Players of All-Time

      September 19, 2008 /

      Bush League TV.com put together a list of the best and worst MLB players of all time for all 30 baseball teams.

      Boston Red Sox
      Dustin Pedroia2008 BEST PLAYER: Dustin Pedroia
      Pure hustle. This tiny kid has won over RED SOX nation with his gutsy, balls-out play. He should never have to buy a beer in the Northeast US again. Not to mention boatloads of p—y.
      2008 WORST PLAYER: Mike Timlin
      Need a lead blown in the 7th? Mike is your man! He has lots of championship rings, which he’ll display on his middle finger at you while you call him a loser.
      ALL-TIME BEST PLAYER: Ted Williams
      The greatest pure hitter in baseball. Would have set many records and probably led the Red Sox to some titles if it wasn’t for a pesky little thing known as World War 2… He’s so damn good he’s in the Fishing Hall of Fame too.
      *ALL-TIME WORST PLAYER: Eric Gagne
      The French-Canadian closer was deadly as a Dodger, got hurt, stunk as a Texas Ranger and then stunk to HIGH HELL as a Red Sock. Boston couldn’t get rid of him fast enough…not sure why he’s even in the league anymore.
      HONORABLE MENTION: Dave Roberts
      His stolen base in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS made the greatest series comeback possible.

      New York Yankees
      *2008 BEST PLAYER: Jason Giambi
      He may be sorry about taking steroids, but he will NEVER apologize for that moustache.
      2008 WORST PLAYER: Johnny Damon
      America’s favorite traitor phoned it in and came up lame again. One of the key reasons the Yankees aren’t in the post-season for the first time since Jesus was seven.
      ALL-TIME BEST PLAYER: Babe Ruth
      It’s not known ans DiMaggio’s Pad or Mickey Mantle’s Place…it’s the House that Ruth built. The best ever. Period.
      ALL-TIME WORST PLAYER: Jose Canseco
      Oh Steinbrenner, have you ever met a bloated past-prime HULK that you didn’t overpay?
      HONORABLE MENTION: Yogi Berra
      When you look at the old dude today it’s hard to imagine he ever played baseball. He looks like a mix between Yoda and your grandpa, except twice as huggable.
      HORRIBLE MENTION: Carl Pavano
      So far he’s made $2.2 million per start this year. Remember that when you see how bad the economy is on the news. He’s spent more time on the DL than Eddie Murphy. (Look it up.)

      Tampa Bay Rays
      Carlos Pena2008 BEST PLAYER: Carlos Pena
      It was almost Longoria until he got hurt down the stretch…but the smiling Cuban Pena’s 28 homers and 88 rbi’s (so far) have put the Rays at the top of the AL East.
      2008 WORST PLAYER: Jonny Gomes
      The Vanilla Ice look-alike is about the only disappointment on this overachieving team. He’s been hurt half the year, but he’s only batting .177 when healthy. One of those rare players that has helped his team by not playing on it.
      ALL-TIME BEST PLAYER: Scott Kazmir
      He’s young, he’s fearless, he’s strong and he has great stuff. It won’t be long before he’s the best player on a different team.
      *ALL-TIME WORST PLAYER: Jose Canseco
      He smacked 34 homers while hopped up on horse pills, hurt his back and wound up picking up a cheap championship ring with the Yankees. Not technically the worst player the Rays have had, but just a black-hole of a–holeness that invaded the clubhouse for a while.
      HONORABLE MENTION: Wade Boggs
      The great 3rd baseman played his last two years for the Rays and picked up his 3,000th hit at Tropicana Field.
      HORRIBLE MENTION: Hideo Nomo
      The leg kick wasn’t fooling anyone anymore in his last full year in MLB service. He’s still a god in Japan, he just can’t get a table at a Hooters in Florida.

      Ah, anytime someone gets the chance to make fun of Jose Canseco, I’m in.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      MLB’s top flops, failures, fiascoes and firsts

      September 3, 2008 /

      UATGSPORTS.CA compiled an interesting list of baseball’s top flops, failures, fiascoes and firsts of the 2008 MLB Season.

      Alex Rodriguez

      “Failures”
      If there was ever an unfitting send off for the house that Ruth built, a season and era that ends without a World Series championship would be it.

      New York Yankees
      … The Yankees have been unable to string together enough wins to make up ground on the Red Sox or Rays. Much of the Yankees misfortunes can be credited to the meteoric rise of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays’ rise has knocked Boston back into the wildcard race with the Twins and thus left the Yankees on the outside looking in. Depending on how the Red Sox and Twins finish down the stretch we could be witness to a post season without the Yankees and Red Sox.

      “Flops”
      It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

      Cleveland Indians
      … Considering CC looks like a completely different pitcher with Milwaukee and the Indians are squandering a 30/30 season from Grady Sizemore, this season is an utter disappointment for Chief Wahoo and the Indians. The Indians have not won a World Series since 1949 and suddenly their collapse in the bottom of the 9th inning during the 1997 World Series with two outs doesn’t seem so bad.

      “Firsts”
      A changing of the guard (also the New York Yankees’ worst nightmare).

      Tampa Bay Rays
      The Rays are guaranteed to finish north of .500 for the first time in franchise history, but arguably more important is the fact that this team will likely unseat the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East.

      “Fiascoes”
      Saying the franchise is in “rebuilding mode” is an understatement.

      Seattle Mariners
      Seattle brought in Erik Bedard (now on the DL) and Carlos Silva and JJ Putz was expected to step-up in the closing role. Big contracts were also handed out to Kenji Johjima and Adrian Beltre over the years which pretty much sealed the fate of Bill Bavasi, the Mariners GM who was fired back in June. Suddenly this team is rebuilding and the one reason to go see this team play is for the Mariner Moose. The memories of a 116-win season are long gone in the state of Washington.

      Very cool list. The Yankees’ failures this season goes to show you that without pitching, it doesn’t matter if a team has an All-Star lineup. And the same can be said for the Tigers, who were also mentioned by UATGSPORTS.CA. As for the Tribe, injuries completely dismantled an otherwise potentially great year. But the Indians loaded up again in the Sabathia trade and should again be a contender next year if Carmona can stay completely healthy.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Couch Potato Alert: 9/1

      September 1, 2008 /

      Things are looking up sports fans! With the return of college football, and the NFL kicking off this week, there won’t be a shortage of games to watch on TV this week.

      Plaxico– The NFL season kicks off this Thursday when the Washington Redskins travel to the Meadowlands to take on defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. The game will be televised on NBC at 7:00 PM Eastern. Be sure to tune in!

      – The fourth round of the U.S. Open will be shown on CBS on Labor Day from 11:00 AM Eastern, to 6:00 PM Eastern. That’s a whole lot of tennis!

      – Speaking of Labor Day, ESPN will be airing a couple college football games on the holiday. Tune in at 4:00 PM Eastern as Fresno State @ Rutgers, and then again at 8:00 PM Eastern to see Tennessee travels to UCLA. Be sure to check ESPNU and other sports networks to see if any games are airing.

      – The Tampa Bay Rays will try to stay ahead in the AL East when they get a visit from the New York Yankees on Wednesday. The game can be seen on ESPN at 7:00 PM Eastern.

      – “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys” will air it’s finale this Wednesday night at 10:00 PM Eastern on HBO. Expect an inside look at how the coaches decide who’s good enough to make the roster, and who’s not. Also: In my last Couch Potato Alert, I said there were six episodes. I stand corrected, this will be the fifth and final one.

      – The ole’ ball coach, Steve Spurrier, will lead his Gamecocks against Vanderbilt this Thursday at 8:30 PM Eastern. The game can be seen on ESPN.

      Couch Potato Alert

      Bullz-Eye baseball prediction from 2007 looking eerily prophetic

      August 21, 2008 /

      When we assembled our annual piece on the year in sports for Bullz-Eye, the piece was coming along really well, but something seemed a tad off to me. It was too…serious. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. John and Anthony dissect sports as well as anyone. But one section of our year-in-review piece is dedicated to predicting what we think will happen. For me, that is a golden opportunity to let loose with the craziest idea you can think of, have a laugh, go all Onion on everyone.

      After hearing that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were changing their name, this is what I thought of.

      God anoints the ‘Devil’-free Tampa Bay Rays His new favorites; team wins World Series

      No song with the word “Devil” in the title has ever made it to Number One on the pop charts, and the Almighty has the same rules when it comes to baseball. (This mandate clearly does not apply to hockey, though that makes sense now that we think about it.) When pitchers and catchers report for spring training, God will hold a press conference, admitting that He had been punishing Tampa Bay for their transgression. “I really like that Crawford kid, and the way they stole Kazmir from the Mets…that was sweet,” God will be quoted as saying. “It actually bothered me to give them the smackdown year after year, but now that they’ve cleared their name, as it were, I see big things for this team.” The Rays will win the Series in a thrilling Game 7 comeback against the Chicago Cubs, who will have a 3-2 lead with two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the ninth, then proceed to walk in the tying and winning runs.

      It is now late-August, and with the Cubs’ win today, they have the best record in baseball. The Rays are a game behind them in the win column. Incredibly, this World Series match-up still has a chance of happening. Indeed, my joke prediction has come closer to fruition than some of our more right-minded declarations (see: “The Detroit Tigers will win the Al Central”). That scream you just heard, by the way, was Cubs Nation telling me to shut the hell up for jinxing their team. Anyone who saw Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS knows that my ‘walking in the winning run’ scenario is not that outrageous.

      Anyone wanting to know what tomorrow’s lottery numbers will be, give me a call. I’m feeling lucky.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

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