After all the hype, all the newfound Rays coverage, all the optimism and doubts… it has happened again.  The Tampa Bay Rays have officially swept the Boston Red Sox by final scores of 5–4, 3–1 and 7–6.  The Rays now lead their division by 3½ games.  Indeed, Raysmania has taken over.  And this is far from the end of it.

Now thinking about all those times that networks such as ESPN put over the Red Sox, the Yankees, even the Blue Jays ahead of the Rays for weeks on end into this season, we have been vindicated.  We talked before the season about how good this team could be (and they have even exceeded those expectations), and the optimism was higher than ever before.  At this point — yes, it is July — we can still say we were right and then some.  The Blue Jays have perennially disappointed Canada since 1995, the Yankees are old guys and older news, and the Red Sox are faltering.  I'm going back to Tampa very soon and then will be busy moving to another apartment and then going back to school, but even then I will be looking to throw together enough money to see more Rays games.  This team is now 20 games over .500 and even on the minds of long–time doubters.  All of the horrendous losing of the previous ten years is behind us — it died with the Devil Rays name.  Now it's time to dismantle whatever is left of the Royals and keep the train moving.

I'll be using the off day to throw it all in the faces of those rival fans.  And Jonathan Papelbon.  Where was he?  Probably in Argentina with Hitler and Tupac.  I wouldn't mind it if he stayed there.  In one final bit, Evan Longoria should now be the Rookie of the Year.  He proved in this Red Sox series that he has outperformed Jacoby Ellsbury, and voters should remember this when the ballot arrives.  Until next time, celebrate good times and go first place Rays.

We are already 81 games through the 162–game MLB schedule — at least the Rays are, and they currently sit in first place at 49–32, by far their best record ever at the halfway point of the season.  This is a team that won 66 games all of last season, and a dismal 61 the year before.  This is a team that received very little respect before the season, a trend that continues in some circles.  This is the first team since the 1903 Chicago Cubs to have this good a record at this point of the season after finishing with the worst record the previous year.  And once again, they are in first place in the American League East division.  The Rays: We Are One Team.

After they narrowly pulled out a 4–3 victory over the Pirates to win that series, the Tampa Bay Rays are in front of the Red Sox by ½ a game as they get ready for a huge showdown this week at Tropicana Field, where the Rays swept Boston back in April and have held a surprising home field advantage this season.  Baseball Tonight placed the perennially disappointing Blue Jays ahead of the Rays on multiple occasions, and they still get our name wrong occasionally.  (Peter Gammons probably owes us $100.)  Nobody thinks the Rays can hold it up this long.  But now it's time to throw it in their faces, which has basically been the main goal of this team this season: proving people wrong.  We've been underestimated too much for too long, and it's time to sweep the Red Sox back to ancient history.  After two World Series wins and the uprising of a newfound arrogance, the Red Sox have run out of sympathy.  And this does not mean that those New York dinosaurs should come back either.  It's our time now.  Keep up the pace in the second half, which would amount to 98 wins, and show the baseball world that we really are the new 1991 Braves.  It's the attitude that the Rays need to keep winning.

It's time to shove it to the Boston Bandwagon and force people to jump off onto our side.  And with Shields, Garza and Kazmir on the mound, I like the chances.  Until it is accomplished, go Rays.

Hello all interested parties, I have taken a brief pause on my vacation to return here and celebrate the Tampa Bay Rays' sweep of the Florida Marlins at Dolphins Stadium.  The Rays dominated the entire series, winning 6–4, 15–3 and 6–1.  Some news, notes and highlights from the sweep:

–The Rays have completed their sixth sweep of the season, surpassing last year's grand total of five.  They are also, at 47–31, a franchise record 16 games over .500, and now only ½ game behind the Boston Red Sucks — ERR, Red Sox.

–Evan Longoria had an amazing series, hitting two long home runs and two doubles.  He has 14 home runs, and Steve Levy said on today's SportsCenter that he “looks like he's for real.”  We have known this, but now at least there is a little nationwide respect for him.  Not to mention he saved the game on Tuesday night with a two–run double in the top of the ninth inning and a diving stop with the bases loaded in the bottom half.  He is a machine on every side of the ball he sees.

–Carl Crawford actually hit two home runs in one game, the 15–3 beating, as he tries to surpass last year's reduced total of 11.  He currently has seven.

–Speaking of home runs, Ben Zobrist filled in for Jason Bartlett and hit two, one in each game he played.  We can't even drag one out of Bartlett, yet this guy can hit two home runs in as many days.  Great job by him to do this for the first, and probably only, time in his career.

–Matt Garza wins on the road?  Not only wins, but dominates?  He only gave up one walk and one hit, a seventh inning home run by soon to be All Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez.  He struck out ten of the 28 Marlins hitters he faced, as Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez stated that he knew early on that Garza would be having a very strong performance.  Apparently, so did everyone else.  Garza came off the heels of a good outing from James Shields to pitch the best game Rays catcher Shawn Riggans says he has ever caught.  Great job of holding the brain and arm together in this game.

That just about does it for me, and I will continue to monitor my beloved Rays, as well as the rehab stint of Rocco Baldelli at Vero Beach and David Price's progression through AA Montgomery.  We get the Pirates next, and until we destroy them, go Rays.

Well, during my time away from basic luxuries like the Internet, cable TV and cell phone reception, the Rays won two very close games against the Cubs, two managers got fired, and the Rays signed first overall Draft pick Tim Beckham.  And they played on ESPN, which I conveniently did not have on my grandparents' farm.  Turns out I did have some good catching up to do upon my return.  Thankfully, the news was mostly positive.  We'll just omit the Yankees going on a seven–game winning streak and stealing the headlines.  Those people missed the show in Florida.

I don't know much about the first two Rays–Cubs games, other than that the Cubs obviously didn't watch any Rays games earlier this season, because they had no knowledge of a basic rule of smallball: Don't bunt on Evan Longoria.  He makes that bare–handed play from third base as well as I have seen anyone in recent years do it.  He has made that play a few times this year with complete success.  Even with the game on the line, he makes that big defensive stop to save his pitching staff.  And he hit a home run in that first game, too.  And so did former Cub and lifelong Cubs fan Cliff Floyd.  Great job by those guys.

The Rays entered game three looking for their sweep, returning James Shields from suspension to start against young Sean Gallagher.  Shields went up 1–0 early, and it remained that way until the seventh inning decided the game.  He ended up surrendering three earned runs in that inning, in which the Rays used three pitchers to escape trailing by two runs.  In the bottom half, things looked grim when lights out setup man Carlos Marmol took the mound.  The flamethrower who was so lethal against the Braves was going up against the bottom of the Rays order.  However, he began to lose control early — and often.  Marmol walked Willy Aybar and Dioner Navarro, then hit Gabe Gross to load the bases.  Akinori Iwamura stepped up, and Marmol beaned him too, scoring a run.  With the Cubs in trouble, Lou Piniella brought in left hander Scott Eyre to face one of his former players, Carl Crawford.  After taking a ball, Crawford connected on an inside hanging pitch and changed the course of the game.  Fly ball… deep to right field… Derosa back… grand slam!  Rays lead, 6–3.  Marmol: 0 IP, 0 H, 4 ER.  The Rays scored two more off Eyre and went on to an 8–3 victory and a sweep of the Cubs. Their 43–29 record means that, with 43 wins, these 2008 Rays have already set a franchise record with 43 victories before the All Star break.

Congratulations Rays for sweeping the best team in baseball at home and keeping momentum alive.  The Cubs definitely made it interesting, and I would like nothing more than to see this as a World Series matchup sooner than later.  These teams know drama better than TNT.  I knew I should have placed a “friendly wager” on this series with one Cubs blogger before the series started.  Maybe I should take up sports gambling.  Now the Rays get the Astros, who besides Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada are just asking to get rolled right out of town.  So let's do it.  Until next time, go Rays.

I am leaving Tampa for a vacation this morning, and will be gone for about two weeks.  I'll only be without Internet access until Thursday night, which means I'll be missing the big Cubs series.  I'll get to New Smyrna Beach on Thursday, but until then I'll have to get my updates over the phone from others with access to information.  I'll have no Internet or cable TV until then.

In other news that more people should be reporting, Rocco Baldelli played designated hitter in a minor league game last night, going 1–3 with 2 RBI as he works back up towards the Major Leagues.  He has been recovering from a rare mitochondrial condition that has probably been a source of his recurring injuries in recent years.  He's still only 26 years old, which gives him a little time to become productive.  Just ask Rick Ankiel and Josh Hamilton.

I'll be out soon, so until I get back to the blog, go Rays.

To quote Howard Wolowitz of CBS' Big Bang Theory, “That's a negatory.”  The Rays didn't even look like they came in looking for a sweep, and the Marlins came away with a 9–3 victory.  The game ended when Jason Bartlett, who had the big two–run single last night, popped out with the bases loaded after one run had already scored.  On the plus side, Akinori Iwamura stole his fourth base of the season, something we need to see more of out of the leadoff spot.  Eric Hinske took over the team lead with his 12th home run.  Other than that, not a game to write home about.  (Yet I'm writing about it anyway.  Somebody please give me directions to a social life.)  B.J. Upton was 0–for–4 with three strikeouts, and the team struck out 12 times with only one walk.  So much for that patience and getting on base idea.  Ricky Nolasco picked up the win for Florida, throwing his curveball as well as he has ever done it and throwing off the timing of the young Rays lineup.

In terms of pitching, Edwin Jackson noticeably lacked command early.  Though he picked off Jeremy Hermida in the first inning, the second inning turned against him.  He allowed back–to–back walks before serving up a home run to spot starter Wes Helms.  Five innings, six earned runs, one strikeout.  Those are 2007 Jackson totals.  He just needs to find good consistency and show that he can win a few starts consecutively.  The bullpen was below its season averages except for Grant Balfour, who struck out four Marlins with one walk and no hits in two innings of work.  This game was meant to be lost.  It happens sometimes in a league where 162 games are played every season.

The Red Sox torched the Reds and the Yankees killed off the Astros, but at least Pittsburgh finally beat Baltimore and the Cubs took their series with Toronto.  Now it's time for those same Cubs to bring their beastly lineup and phenomenal bullpen to Tropicana Field.  Get the bats ready, this could be a home run derby.  And if the Cubs happen to beat us once or twice, there's always next weekend's Astros series to get the wins back.  They just got bulldozed at home in three straight games by the Yankees.  Hopefully this isn't yet another Yankee renaissance.  I can see it now: “The Rays win their fifth straight game at home… in other news, Joba Chamberlain just had dinner with Hank Steinbrenner.  For more on this shocking development, here's Buster Olney.”  Until next time, go Rays.

Our Tampa Bay Rays have once again defeated the Florida Marlins at Tropicana Field, riding a strong start from Matt Garza to win 4–1.  Once he got home, Garza decided to stop acting like a raging 14–year–old and start pitching like he should, allowing one run on three hits in seven solid innings.  Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla were a combined 0–for–7.  The Rays only got five hits, but took enough advantage to score four times.  Former Tampa Bay starter Mark Hendrickson gave up Jonny Gomes' fifth home run of the season in the second inning to open up the scoring.  Hendrickson was later relieved by Doug Waechter, which had me believing I was in a time warp back to 2005.  Another former Ray, Waechter surrendered their last run without a single hit.  Three walks can do that sometimes.  That's probably why he's a Marlin now and not with us.  The Rays took six walks with their five hits in a nice display of patience and getting on base (though they did have 10 strikeouts).  And, sure enough, my guarantee of 30,000 people proved correct, as 31,195 dedicated fans cheered the home team on to victory.  The Rays guaranteed a series win here, and we can easily earn the sweep tomorrow with Edwin Jackson on the mound.

And now a follow–up to my earlier anti–ESPN rant: it appears that someone at the FOX network has jumped on the Rays haters bandwagon.  Jeanne Zelasko, the in–studio host for their game coverage, was asking Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy about where Ken Griffey, Jr. could be traded to this season.  Dibble said that Rays management was high on him and that he owns a house in Orlando, so they would be a good fit for him.  (More on that rumor if and when anything more develops.)  So Zelasko immediately chimed in, “So he's going to a non–contender?”  Obviously she's oblivious to the Rays' talent.  I never thought she was a great studio host, and now this is another new low.  Jeanne Zelasko can go hide in a cave with the rest of the doubters.  At least Dibble jumped to the Rays' defense, insisting that they are a contender.  Thank you Rob Dibble for saving the segment.

People around baseball are being proven wrong daily, and it happened again tonight with the Rays defeating the Florida Marlins for the second game in a row.  This team is now 40–28 and still in a comfortable second place in the division.  Jonathan Papelbon also got tagged today, allowing a game–tying home run to the Reds' Edwin Encarnacion with two outs and two strikes.  The Red Sox won, but I naturally found humor in that.  So until next time, keep proving people wrong and go Rays.

These networks know how to drive me up the wall sometimes.  And now they have done it again, wrongfully and unjustly, by bashing Rays fans where it wasn't warranted.

I was on the phone with my dad, and he told me that this morning's edition of “SportsCenter” angered him so much he turned it off.  Apparently, an anchor (Josh Elliott?) on the Saturday morning show stated, flat–out, that the Rays' crowd in the Friday night win over the Marlins was “pathetic.”  You think that's really pathetic?  Well, here are the facts.  The attendance totaled 19,312, which is actually slightly above the season average to this point.  Sure, it was Friday night, but the key to the smaller crowd was that it was severely storming in Pinellas County for several hours before and during the game.  There were funnel clouds off the coast of St. Petersburg Beach and some areas were hit with three inches of rain per hour.  Lightning strikes were also being reported in droves.  Who wants to leave their homes to do anything in those storms?  19,312 loyal fans did, and they should be respected, not buried.  Read a freaking weather forecast before speaking on national TV.  Wrongly and intentionally humiliating Rays Nation in front of the entire country was a horrible thing to do from a PR standpoint and from an objective broadcasting position.  Now that's pathetic.

ESPN is wrong, the anchor who said this is wrong, and the worst part is that the Rays get cheapshotted all the time.  This was only the latest incident.  We recently had John Kruk openly defending the Boston Red Sox in their fight with the Rays, saying Tampa Bay was in the wrong.  Sorry John, but we don't need anyone from the 1993 Phillies telling us who's right and wrong.

Now I guarantee you that, barring more severe weather, 30,000 fans will show up for Latino Heritage Night tonight at Tropicana Field.  Show your support, Rays fans, and prove those Northeast-centric networks wrong again.  Until next time, go Rays.

I've just finished watching the latest Rays victory, a 7–3 trouncing of the in–state rival Florida Marlins at Tropicana Field.  Andy Sonnanstine picked up his seventh victory of the season as the offense picked him up early and often after going down 2–0 in the first inning.  It was an aggressive running night for the Rays that, for the most part, worked out.  Cliff Floyd stole his first base since July 14, 2006, when he was with the Mets.  He had been through two teams (he was a 2007 Cub) between steals.  But it paid off huge, as he advanced to third base on a throwing error and later scored.  Jason Bartlett stole two bases in a game for the third time this season, reaching a total of 14.  He had three hits and a sacrifice fly, marking his best offensive output since coming to Tampa Bay.  Akinori Iwamura, his double play partner in crime, had two hits and an amazing diving stop and throw reminiscent of Ozzie Smith.  Eric Hinske kept it going with a big two–RBI night. Even with Carl Crawford out suspended, they hit and ran effectively enough to put up a seven spot against inexperienced pitchers.  To top it all off, with Al Reyes going to the disabled list today (shoulder injury), Troy Percival was reactivated for this series.  And the shutdown closer made it count, striking out Dan Uggla on three pitches, then retiring Luis Gonzalez on strikes before Cody Ross grounded out to end it.  Congratulations Troy and the Rays for getting eight of the starting nine on base and killing Marlin momentum early.

In other news… Jonathan Papelbon is a dillweed.  That is all.

The series continues tomorrow on Latino night, which unfortunately will not be televised.  Sunday's game will only be seen with Marlins coverage and commentary, so I'll have to sit through that for three long hours or so.  Hopefully there is no “His name is DAN… UGGLA!” in that one.  There certainly wasn't tonight.  The Red Sox lost to the Reds — yes, the Cincinnati Reds — meaning that the Rays gain one big game in the divisional standings.  There's a reason to celebrate.  Until next time, go Rays.

Thankfully, James Shields and Scott Kazmir are not injured.  Though Shields will miss a start due to suspension.  They both lost to the Angels on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  At least they won Edwin Jackson's start against Joe Saunders, but they finished the roadtrip a dismal 3–6.  They lost Shields' start early and Kazmir's late, so it's not a specific recurring problem.  It's just that the Rays don't do well in Anaheim, and don't play quite as well in any hostile environment.  Joe Maddon has admitted that they have to improve in that department, and he's as right as he's ever been.  But now it's time to come back home and face the other Florida surprise, the Marlins.

The Rays come back to Tropicana Field to start that long stretch of interleague play.  They'll be trekking to a series of National League stadiums following a home series with the Cubs next week.  I've been watching the Cubs the last few days during their series with the Braves, and I must warn the Rays to put on their A–game and get ready for a war.  They are dangerous.  But first, the Marlins, who have shocked the state of Florida right alongside the Rays.  They have a great collection of infielders who can burn pitchers if they show up unprepared.  Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez lead the offensive charge, both hitting and running.  But they are a little lackluster in pitching and more than a little down on defense, so I see the Rays having the advantage throughout most of this series.  Hopefully they can take two out of the three games, which I see them doing.  Sonnanstine, Garza and Jackson will be on the mound, and I like their chances.  Plus we'll be seeing the grand returns of former Rays second baseman Jorge Cantu, now Florida's third baseman, and pitcher Mark Hendrickson to Tropicana Field.  Bring your boos and cowbells, and keep Marlins infiltrators back.  Let's take them down a peg and stay in our divisional race.

On a high note, my Waterfront Stadium speech, which I mentioned in a previous post, went down well last night.  Hopefully I convinced people to hop on the Rays' bandwagon.  At least I know I got an A both on the speech and in the class.  And my college quarter is officially over.  I'm off for over a month and due for a long vacation, so celebrate with me.  Let's start with a Rays win over the hated National Leaguers tomorrow night and go from there.  So in hopes of sending the Marlins back out to sea, go Rays.