All Star Game Aftermath
I have recently been on another brief blog hiatus thanks largely to the actual move from one apartment to another that took place last Friday, the days of cleaning and unpacking, and my new school quarter starting this week. I've been a bit deprived on baseball lately. Except, of course, for the 79th All Star Game from Yankee Stadium, a showcase of baseball's greatest players. And Jason Varitek. There were three Tampa Bay players for the first time ever in an All Star Game, those guys once again being Scott Kazmir, Dioner Navarro and Evan Longoria. They all got their playing time — not only that, but they actually made positive contributions to the game and affected its outcome.
Navarro was the first Rays player to appear, pinch hitting for Varitek (wisely) with a runner on base. His strikeout and subsequent throwing error obviously didn't help his cause, but greater things were on the way. Longoria pinch hit for designated hitter Milton Bradley and hit the game tying ground rule double, making it 3–3 in the eighth inning. Navarro then threw out Cristian Guzman at second base to send the game to extra innings, and he probably should have scored the winning run in the 11th inning, but home plate umpire Derryl Cousins incorrectly called him out at the plate on what was a great throw from Nate McLouth. It would have been irrelevant if Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler had been correctly called safe by umpire Tom Hallion on a steal of second base. So after the umpires granted the game's eternal extension, Kazmir finally appeared in the 15th inning after every other pitcher had been exhausted. Having thrown 104 pitches two days earlier, there was cause for concern, but Kazmir represented his team with pride by throwing a perfect 14–pitch inning to set up the American League's win in the bottom half. So now if the Rays do pull off the 1969 Mets turnaround, they'll host four games of the World Series at Tropicana Field. In the last 25 years, teams with home field advantage have gone 20–5 in the World Series. So the cost of losing this game is very substantial. At least the Rays helped their league win.
Speaking of the Rays and winning, they returned to action tonight at home against the Toronto Blue Jays and edged out an exciting 2–1 victory to snap that seven game losing streak. James Shields allowed one run in seven innings, pitching well with no run support. That is, until Ben Zobrist entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning down 1–0. In a scene reminiscent of Akinori Iwamura teeing off Clay Buchholz, he took A.J. Burnett's inside pitch and launched it deep into the right field seats down the line to give the Rays their margin of victory. J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour stranding that runner at third base in the next half inning definitely assisted them as well. But tonight's victory was all about Zobrist, who has caught Navarro's sense of timing his home runs. Shields deserved to win, and he did.
Now this whole winning concept that they had most of the first half has to keep resurfacing as the Red Sox don't ever seem to lose. Not to mention those pesky ancient Yankees. The Rays need to send the freefalling Blue Jays back to their country by broom and stay right up there with baseball's best teams. They got off to a nice start tonight. Until this task is completed, go Rays.
Navarro was the first Rays player to appear, pinch hitting for Varitek (wisely) with a runner on base. His strikeout and subsequent throwing error obviously didn't help his cause, but greater things were on the way. Longoria pinch hit for designated hitter Milton Bradley and hit the game tying ground rule double, making it 3–3 in the eighth inning. Navarro then threw out Cristian Guzman at second base to send the game to extra innings, and he probably should have scored the winning run in the 11th inning, but home plate umpire Derryl Cousins incorrectly called him out at the plate on what was a great throw from Nate McLouth. It would have been irrelevant if Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler had been correctly called safe by umpire Tom Hallion on a steal of second base. So after the umpires granted the game's eternal extension, Kazmir finally appeared in the 15th inning after every other pitcher had been exhausted. Having thrown 104 pitches two days earlier, there was cause for concern, but Kazmir represented his team with pride by throwing a perfect 14–pitch inning to set up the American League's win in the bottom half. So now if the Rays do pull off the 1969 Mets turnaround, they'll host four games of the World Series at Tropicana Field. In the last 25 years, teams with home field advantage have gone 20–5 in the World Series. So the cost of losing this game is very substantial. At least the Rays helped their league win.
Speaking of the Rays and winning, they returned to action tonight at home against the Toronto Blue Jays and edged out an exciting 2–1 victory to snap that seven game losing streak. James Shields allowed one run in seven innings, pitching well with no run support. That is, until Ben Zobrist entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning down 1–0. In a scene reminiscent of Akinori Iwamura teeing off Clay Buchholz, he took A.J. Burnett's inside pitch and launched it deep into the right field seats down the line to give the Rays their margin of victory. J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour stranding that runner at third base in the next half inning definitely assisted them as well. But tonight's victory was all about Zobrist, who has caught Navarro's sense of timing his home runs. Shields deserved to win, and he did.
Now this whole winning concept that they had most of the first half has to keep resurfacing as the Red Sox don't ever seem to lose. Not to mention those pesky ancient Yankees. The Rays need to send the freefalling Blue Jays back to their country by broom and stay right up there with baseball's best teams. They got off to a nice start tonight. Until this task is completed, go Rays.
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