Tonight, Let It Be Sonnanstine: 2008 Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays Thread

My Longoria was born a Ray soon crowned
Hits all sliders, tees off twice
Hits all sliders, tees off twice
Got no Kazmir, Iwamura strife

forget about rays paraphenalia! support the biscuits!

http://www.biscuitsbaseball.com/Images/home_2006_4.gif

their logo's a buttered biscuit w/ jazzhands! what's not to like?

7 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.

That home turf looks like a worn, mysteriously stained pool table.

anyway, their series vs Cards should be interesting, see whose pitchers regress, if any.

7 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.

Yow. Devil be gone!

2008 payroll = $31.2M

A-Rod = $28M

lol from Michael Kay on Yankeecast, first week of season:

"Baseball Prospectus, a very respected website in the industry, forecasts 88 wins for the Rays. Now, they're in the AL East; where are those wins going to come from?"

Rays have to play .514 ball for the remainder of the season to hit 88 wins.

</2007 NYMets>

very old, Man Without a Team.

I have 2 fantasy teams (1st and 2nd place FYI), wtf are you talking about?!?!?!?

Steve Shasta is. The Man Without a Team.

their logo's a buttered biscuit w/ jazzhands! what's not to like?

cholesterol? + jazz hands have recently been found to be a source of benzopyrene at least as commonly prepared

Anyway, this team is awesome, and if it weren't for their unis being total ass, I would buy paraphenalia

depending on yr budget you may be interested in the naming rights to what is currently called "New Ballpark" on their official website. my dudez in RBI Baseball played like Carlos Pena at that place, just fyi.

Longoria just made Joe Saunders his bitch in his first game back home in Anaheim. Aybar and Navarro file suit with 2 bombs of their own. Back to back to back.

aau championships!

Cousins just HOSED Kazmir. HOSED.

Cousins hypnotized by Willits' bubblegum cigar bat.

Now Cousins calls a strike at Kendrick's ankle. Jackass.

Is anyone watching this game on mlb.tv? Can you make out what the screaming dude in the background is raving about?

Also, CENTER FIELD STINGRAY AQUARIUM?! I need to watch more D-Rays.

Shields coming off a 6-day suspension to pitch tonight.

Is this team very good or just well-rested?

Or just playing against a Cubs' bullpen which is neither?

Or how about good AND going against shit Cub pitching?

1st place at the half way mark!

not to mention best record in baseball!

so great

plz don't trade the farm for Dunn or Griffey

Better yet, sign Bonds for league minimum.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

yeah, throw an over the hill petulant old man into the mix! as a red sox fan i fully support that.

Yeah, it'd really hurt the Rays to pick up a guy that could probably hit 15-20 HRs over the final 80ish games of the season. Also, they already signed Troy Percival, so getting another old crank won't hurt @ all.

2007:
Manny Ramirez - 20 HRs
Barry Bonds - 28 HRs

As a Red Sox fan, you should know petulance:

Manny apologizes after shoving Red Sox official to ground:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3467042

Manny shoves Youkilis in dugout:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3429644

1) This is a TAMPA BAY thread
2) Neither Boston nor Bonds have a monopoly on petulance
3) Small sample size :D

good: anything that screws with the Yanks/BoSox drama

bad: lolfanbase

Upton
Crawford
Bonds
Pena
Longoria
Hinske
Navaro
Iwamura
Bartlett

More like Hinske / Gomes?

Hinske vs. RHP - .284 / .359 / .580
Gomes vs. LHP - .219 / .311 / .484

OK, Maybe not Gomes.

Or Navarro instead of Navaro?

Yeah, that guy.

2007:
Manny Ramirez - 20 HRs
Barry Bonds - 28 HRs

lol barry on juice.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/images/uploads/432080630016_Red_Sox_v_Rays.JPG

lmbo

http://www.hardballtimes.com/images/uploads/432080630016_Red_Sox_v_Rays.JPG

The best part about Tampa Bay actually winning: that shitbrick what likes to yap, even if he's there, can't be heard over the actual CHEERING. For the HOME TEAM.

they've doubled attendance. up to 72 a game this year, i hear.

i'll have you know that shitbrick is my hero.

I BELIEVE!!!111

^^ frontrunner

http://www.norman.k12.ok.us/087/webpix/Bandwagon%20Final.jpg

so the RAYS stand for the rays of the sun! howbout that rebranding!

i thought it would be way cooler if it was just a bunch of guys named ray drinking jug wine behind a gas station. i'd see a ballgame built around that.

Tied for MLB best 76 wins (with the Angels they just routed and the Cubbies).

BP playoff odds predicts that the AL East winner will have 97 wins.
Tampa will have to play 21-17 (.553)
Boston will have to play 25-12 (.676)
NYY rofl will have to lmao play 31-7 (.816)

Barring any 2007/2008 Mets style collapse, things are looking pretty nice for the Rays, esp. when they get Longoria, Percival and Crawford back in ~4 weeks.

bj upton is pretty LOL. gets benched 3 games last 2 weeks for not hustling and then ropes one thinking it's going out and then gets tagged out at a second on what should have been a routine double.

too bad dan shaughnessy wasn't covering the came, he might have had a coronary.

haha yeah that was hilarious, better because he didn't even speed up when he saw that it hit the wall, which is what ultimately led him to being tagged, not the fact that he pimped it out of the box

wau, SS Mets-trolling on non-Mets threads

since when is the stating the fact that the Mets collapse of 2007 was the greatest choke in the history of recorded sports considered to be trolling?

Barring any 2007/2008 Mets style collapse...

Employing Tuomas' rhetorical strategy for your own faux-naive Morb-baiting purposes isn't a good look for you, Steve.

what is a troll?

what?

http://www.hardballtimes.com/images/uploads/432080630016_Red_Sox_v_Rays.JPG

They have won an absurd 73.4% of the games they've played at home.

ROCCO ROCCO ROCCO

so they've got a kid from Columbia and he's named Fernando? hott

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55332

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080921/capt.0c294def029640849a371e79aa901c08.twins_rays_baseball_spd108.jpg

Note to NESN Sportsdesk: it's DAVID Price, not DANIEL Price. DAVID. DAY. VID.

The biggest stumbling block for them right now? They can't think of anyone to throw out the first pitch for their first home playoff game. The Washington Post (via Sports By Brooks) interviewed the Rays' shell-shocked president Matt Silverman , who amusingly relayed the team's quandary: "MLB asked us who it'd be. We realized nobody in the history of the franchise had done anything to be worthy of the honor."

http://deadspin.com/5054228/the-tampa-bay-rays-are-still-adjusting-to-success

Wade Boggs wept.

WTF Kazmir?

HR: R Santiago 2 (3); M Hessman (5); D Ryan (2)

WTF baseball?

1st B Zobrist homered to right. 1 0
1st R Santiago homered to left. 1 1
3rd R Santiago homered to left. 1 2
4th M Hessman homered to left. 1 3
5th D Ryan homered to left. 1 4
7th E Longoria homered to left. 2 4

these guys

Too exhausted to think of Grant Balfour/Rays aussie croc hunter joke.

WTG TAMPA BAY RAYS

I wish they played in a cooler stadium with better uniforms for real fans, but the dudes on the team are awesome.

except for the fauxhawks

You misspelled "especially," Morbs.

oh, ironic apprec of jockhead trends?

More like non-ironic love of camraderie, Mr. Wilson.

Daver, get off that old man's lawn before he calls the authorities.

or before I have jocks in fauxhawks take your lunch money!

j-j-j-j-jocks? in b-b-b-baseball?

there's a scale, just like for trolls.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/oliphant/oa048.jpg

lol from Michael Kay on Yankeecast, first week of season:

"Baseball Prospectus, a very respected website in the industry, forecasts 88 wins for the Rays. Now, they're in the AL East; where are those wins going to come from?"

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, May 27, 2008 3:12 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark

DO NOT FEED THE TROLL

Fernando Perez, otoh, seems awesome:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8129

(also, I chatted with David Laurila for 5 minutes at the SABR convention this year and didn't remember his bylines til afterward, duh)

Perez tempts me to root for the Rays - if he's got an AmStud degree, that means he's studied with Andrew Delbanco?

does anyone know what the pre-season/spring training vegas odds were for the Rays to win the world series?

nobody? hmmm...

okay, just got two separate sources: 40-1 and 50-1 as of late march 2008.

Believe it was 50-1.

Tonight, Let It Be Kazmir

googled some more:

Some baseball odds as the season begins
March 29th, 2008, 7:01 pm · Post a Comment · posted by jackmagruder
Some baseball odds entering the season, courtesy of bodog.com …
Odds to win the World Series:
Boston Red Sox 4/1
New York Mets 9/2
New York Yankees 13/2
Detroit Tigers 9/1
Chicago Cubs 10/1
Los Angeles Angels 11/1
Cleveland Indians 12/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 14/1
Arizona Diamondbacks 16/1
Philadelphia Phillies 18/1
Seattle Mariners 22/1
Colorado Rockies 25/1
San Diego Padres 28/1
Atlanta Braves 30/1
Toronto Blue Jays 30/1
Milwaukee Brewers 30/1
Chicago White Sox 40/1
St Louis Cardinals 45/1
Minnesota Twins 50/1
Cincinnati Reds 60/1
Houston Astros 60/1
Oakland Athletics 70/1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 75/1
Texas Rangers 75/1
San Francisco Giants 100/1
Washington Nationals 100/1
Kansas City Royals 125/1
Pittsburgh Pirates 150/1
Florida Marlins 150/1
Baltimore Orioles 200/1

Rays 150/1 Shot to win world series!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the start of the season the Tampa Bay Rays were 150/1 Shots to win the world series. This is obvious but if you just put $10 on them your gunna be up 1500 bones (When they win). It just goes to show you how much things can change through a LONG season
ODDS
New York Yankees 9/2
Boston Red Sox 9/2
Chicago White Sox 35/1
Oakland Athletics 80/1
Los Angeles Angels 10/1
Minnesota Twins 55/1
Detroit Tigers 11/2
Toronto Blue Jays 35/1
Cleveland Indians 12/1
Texas Rangers 80/1
New York Mets 11/2
St Louis Cardinals 50/1
San Diego Padres 30/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 14/1
Philadelphia Phillies 16/1
Florida Marlins 150/1
Atlanta Braves 28/1
Houston Astros 60/1
Cincinnati Reds 65/1
San Francisco Giants 100/1
Chicago Cubs 15/1
Colorado Rockies 25/1
Arizona Diamondbacks 20/1
Milwaukee Brewers 28/1
Seattle Mariners 20/1
Pittsburgh Pirates 200/1
Baltimore Orioles 200/1
Kansas City Royals 200/1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 150/1
Washington Nationals 150/1

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Back before the season started, many bettors were placing wagers on who would win the 2008 World Series. Not many of them had the Phillies or the Tampa Bay rays anywhere near the top.
2008 World Series Odds
--Still in contention

New York Mets 4 - 1
Boston Red Sox 9 - 2
New York Yankees 5 - 1
Detroit Tigers 6 - 1
Cleveland Indians 10 - 1
Chicago Cubs 12 - 1
Los Angeles Angels 16 - 1
Arizona Diamondbacks 20 - 1
Seattle Mariners 20 - 1
Philadelphia Phillies 20 - 1
Atlanta Braves 25 - 1
San Diego Padres 25 - 1
Colorado Rockies 25 - 1
Los Angeles Dodgers 25 - 1
Chicago White Sox 30 - 1
Milwaukee Brewers 30 - 1
Toronto Blue Jays 30 - 1
St Louis Cardinals 50 - 1
Minnesota Twins 60 - 1
Cincinnati Reds 60 - 1
Houston Astros 60 - 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 100 - 1
Florida Marlins 100 - 1
Texas Rangers 100 - 1
Tampa Bay Rays 100 - 1
Washington Nationals 100 - 1
Baltimore Orioles 100 - 1
San Francisco Giants 100 - 1
Kansas City Royals 100 - 1
Oakland Athletics 100 - 1

from http://www.bettorsworld.com/world-series-odds.htm

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/20/tampa-bay-rays-come-out-for-obama/

RAYS STEP UP

So....................... world series. huh?

Finally, an article that does deserve to be published in ALL-CAPS.

http://www.abc6.com/sports/36277274.html

GREAT NEWS FOR ROCCO BALDELLI. A VISIT TO THE CLEVELAND CLINIC LAST WEEK REVEALED THAT DOCTORS HAD MISDIAGNOSED HIS ILLNESS.

BALDELLI MISSED MUCH OF LAST SEASON, AND WHEN HE DID PLAY, HE WAS LIMITED BECAUSE OF EXTREME FATIQUE. DOCTORS THOUGHT IT WAS MITOCHONDRIAL DISORDER WHICH CAN BE FATAL.
THE BALDELLI FAMILY TOLD ME TONIGHT THAT THE CLEVELAND CLINIC DIAGNOSED HIS CONDITION AS CHANNEL-OPATHY, A NON-PROGRESSIVE, HIGHLY TREATABLE DISEASE.

CHANNEL-OPATHY IS A DISEASE INVOLVING DYSFUNTION OF AN ION CHANNEL. CHANNEL-OPATHIES ARE KNOWN TO INVOLVE THE ION CHANNELS FOR POTASSIUM, SODIUM, CHLORIDA AND CALCIUM.

ION CHANNELS ARE CRITICAL TO THE MEMBRANES SURROUNDING EVERY LIVING CELL.

BY THE WAY, THE BALDELLIS TELL ME ROCCO HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED BY THE RED SOX.

October hero Price to AAA:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2009/news/story?id=4016400

(where's yr new thread?)

^makes no sense "saving him for a playoff push" b/c you get more points later in the season huh?