The Rays come to the rescue of their own, and we consider jumping on the bandwagon
May 19th, 2009 by Cooper Levey-Baker in News, Sarasota-Manatee, Sports
Ed. note: This piece was written by Bobby Winsler.
The Tampa Bay Rays have the most character of any team in professional baseball. Manager Joe Maddon’s lineup card mistake Sunday caused pitcher Andy Sonnastine to hit third in the bottom of the first. Sonnastine delivered a shot over the shallow playing left fielder, driving in the Rays’ opening run and tallying himself a double.
“All the starting pitchers are trying to pay us off to make that mistake,” Maddon told reporters with a smile.
The game picked up again in the eighth. Cleveland relief pitcher Kerry Wood wouldn’t let go of a high inside pitch thrown at catcher Victor Martinez earlier in the series and targeted B.J. Upton for revenge. Upton had stolen a base in the previous game, despite the Rays 9-0 comfortable lead.
Wood’s first pitch to cruised behind Upton who had to jump towards the plate. The next toss bent Upton inside. His teammates had seen enough.
Maddon yelled, “That’s twice,” and the bench cleared led by Carl Crawford. A physical yelling match broke out until the umpires finally cleared the scene.
I have avoided jumping on the bandwagon for as long as I can but every game makes it harder to resist. This young team now has an undeniable chemistry that sparks a genuine love for playing the game. While not off to the stellar start this season compared to last, look for the team’s bonding attitude to keep them competitive in the AL East, a division that will destroy itself with others living up to contract expectations.
May 21st, 2009 at 5:56 am
I say jump on that bandwagon, God did. Ever since Tampa dropped the word ‘Devil’ from their name, God became the Ray’s biggest fan. How else can you explaine their AL pennant, and almost winning the World Series last year (A merciful God took pity on the Phillies). And the Ray’s are back with a vengence this year. Due to a score card error, the Ray’s best hitter has to sit while the pitcher bats. Then Sonnastine gose 1 for 3 with an RBI Double! Come on, if that’s not devine intervention… Maybe they’ll win the World Series if the change their name again, to the Tampa Bay ‘Devine’ Rays!