Larry King doing MLB Games?
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Larry King wants to do baseball? What? In a Ben Maller Exclusive, King told Maller that he would love to sports now that he’s given up his gig on CNN which no one was watching. King told Maller that he would like to be Bob Costas West. King said, “That will be something that will definitely interest me because baseball is my avocation”, King told Maller. I would have thought he would have done softball since most of his hard hitting questions lately have been softballs.
I can see it now, he wraps up his show on MLB and says, Tomorrow night, Charo for the full hour.
Red Sox Roll Rays
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As I scribe tonight’s game recap, in the background I can hear Simon and Garfunkel. “You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away”. And so goes the Tampa Bay Rays. After a 30-11 start, we’re at a 44-32 record now, slip sliding away, now having dropped 9 of the last 12.
This is getting painful to watch my friends. James “No Game” Shields has now lost 7 straight and has an ERA of over 7 in that time frame. Last night Shields lasted only 5 innings, tossing 109 pitches, surrendering 5 earned runs with three coming from one swing of the bat of David Ortiz. The Rays never recovered though they did mount a valiant effort late in the game.Once again, runners in scoring position was the curse of the Rays, with Tampa going 3-11 tonight, leaving 10 overall. And all of that against a beat up, patchwork Red Sox team.
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Carl Crawford made a return after sitting for a few days with a shoulder injury and was 4-5 with a stolen base. CC now has 33 consecutive stolen bases against the Boston Red Sox. Enjoy watching Crawford while you can, each loss is one game closer to a trade. BJ Upton did not start the game, manager Joe Maddon said it had nothing to do with Sunday’s dugout ruckus with #B Evan Longoria. Okay Joe, can I give you a deposit on the Skyway now?
In other comings and goings for the Rays, Gabe “Welcome Back” Kapler has returned from his rehab stint in Port Charlotte. Kapler really smoked the ball in the single-A league, batting .077. In order to make room for Kapler, the club designated for assignment, Hank Blalock. Blalock said he will return home to San Diego. Blalock also said, “This team is capable of winning the World Series”, although it remains unknown if in fact he was sitting in the Red Sox’s dugout at the time of his comment.
Tonight’s game pitching matchup sees Matt Garza (8-5 4.10) going up against Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-2 4.50) Garza has a 6-3 lifetime record against Boston with a 3.36 ERA.
Believe we’re gliding down the highway, when in fact we’re slip sliding away…………………
The First Pothole in a Bumpy Road Ahead
It’s on like Donkey Kong starting tonight with the Tampa Bay Rays squaring off in a two game set with the Boston Red Sox.
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James “Little Game” Shields (6-7 4.55) needs to reach down and grab ahold of his jock tonight and go out there on the mound and pitch as he is capable of doing. Shields has lost 6 games in a row and just as Evan Longoria called out BJ Upton, it’s time for Shields to assume his role as the #1 pitcher on the Rays staff, go out, and shut the damn Red Sox down. Period.
Tampa will square off against, John Lackey (8-3 4.69) for the Red Sox tonight. Boston is hitting the snot out of the ball right now, but they are going to have to deal with some key injuries. Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeremy Hermida, Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia are all on the DL currently. Tampa Bay led the Red Sox back on May 23rd by 8.5 games and now they are looking up at them in the standings.
If that is not motivation enough for this squad, then so be it, and mail in the rest of the season. The 2010 Rays squad has the most talent of any team they have rolled out on the diamond, the past 6 weeks should be an embarrassment to anyone on the squad who considers themself a professional. Perhaps we started to see the start of the frustration this past weekend with the Upton/Longoria bash. In my mind, you’ve got 27 games to turn this thing around or start trading.
Last Chance to Vote for Crawford
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This is it Rays fans. All-Star voting ends at 11:59pm Thursday night and this will most likely be your last chance to see Carl Crawford in a Rays uniform in the All-Star game. Last week, Crawford was in second place in the OF balloting, but former Rays player Josh Hamilton has moved approximately 120,000 votes ahead of Crawford, likely on the back of his current hitting streak.
You can vote up to 25 times. Vote early and often. Register your pets to vote. We need to get Carl back to the All-Star game one last time in Tampa garb.
Rays Contest for Children
I was at my local Sweetbay grocery store this morning and I see that the Tampa Bay Rays now have a sweepstakes for children of Rays fans in the Bay area. Sweetbay grocers, Frito-Lay and Aquafina have teamed up to allow sweepstakes wining children the chance to say, “Play Ball” at a Rays homegame.
The child must be between the ages of 5-14. There is no place on the entry form I see to enter online, so if you are interested, you must visit the Sweetbay near you to pick up an entry form. Entries must be received by July 20th.
Kind of a cool contest for those of you who live in and around the Bay area.
