Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
Interesting piece of trivia. Every game so far in 2008 by the Tampa Bay Rays has been started by a pitcher who is 26 years old or younger. Andy from Baseball Reference’s Stat of the Day did the math for the whole league.
Pittsburgh is up there with 72. On the other side of the coin, Seattle has just 16 such games.
One series I’m keeping my eye on is the Red Sox-Rays matchup in Tampa. With Tampa on top of the AL East, that’s gotta be one a lot of people are keeping their eyes on.
I can’t help but quietly root for the Rays this year. Aside from the fact that any others in their division who have a shot (NY, Boston) have already seen their fair share of post season action (and all else equal, I tend to root for the underdog), it’s the Rays’ time to shine. For the last 5-10 years, I’ve alays felt Tampa had plenty of young talent. But for whatever reason, they couldn’t put it together. Either it was lack of experience or lack of leadership from their management or both.
Last night, Tampa held off a Sox rally in the ninth to squeak by 5-4.
Roger Mooney writes an illuminating article in the Bradenton Herald detailing the history of bad blood between the Red Sox and the Rays. According to him, 27 players have been ejected in games between the two teams since 2000.
The AL East is up for grabs. I guess only time will tell if the Rays are for real.
“I need a three-day vacation from Tampa-St. Petersburg.”
– Lou Piniella after getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays
Man, I thought Lou was making the right decision by not bringing in Neal Cotts tonight. I guess I was wrong…
I don’t know what else could have gone wrong with the Cubs in series against the Rays. Ok, I’m not pushing the panic button just yet but this isn’t the kind of series we needed going into the Sox weekend.
The Cubs became the last team in the majors to lose three in a row when the bullpen just couldn’t get the job done once again. This time, we had a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of 7th. Then the Rays exploded for 7 runs ensuring a Rays sweep. Marmol and Eyre bore the brunt of the Rays’ attack giving up all seven runs.
That’s bad enough. Now we play the waiting game with Zambrano undergoing tests on Friday. He’s already scheduled to rest on Tuesday. A likely candidate to take Z’s spot in the rotation is Sean Marshall.
Were that not enough, both Jim Edmonds (plantar fascitis) and Reed Johnson (back spasms) sat out Thursday’s game as well.
Shall we add some more? Kevin Hart, pitching his first game for the Iowa Cubs, was hit in the head with a line drive and suffered a Grade 1 concussion. Welcome to Iowa, Kevin.
But I’m not I’m panicking yet. We’re still 17 over .500 and we get to play the Sox at home this weekend. Time to make up for those three games with a sweep!
Commercial naming rights, begone. Nope, the New York Yankees have announced that they are renaming Legends Field, which has been the the Yanks’ spring training home for 30 years, George M. Steinbrenner Field.
As much as he could be, the billionaire and principal owner of the New York Yankees was humbled by the action:
“I am humbled and flattered to have this outstanding and totally unexpected honor conferred on me,” George Steinbrenner said in a statement. “I extend my thanks to the Tampa City Council and to the Hillsborough County Commissioners for passing resolutions suggesting and recommending the change.”
The newly renamed facility is located in Tampa, Florida.
(photo: Baseball Parks of the Minor Leagues)