No Ray(s) of Hope in '09

Last night, by losing 4-3 to Seattle, the Tampa Bay Rays were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Good fucking riddance.

I've never like the Tampa Bay franchise. Ever since its inception. It doesn't deserve to exist. Why have an expansion team in a city that already has a massive following loyal to another team? The Yankees have held spring training down there for decades, and built up a sizeable fanbase. So why send some low grade expansion team to try and compete with that?

Then there were the constant beanball wars. Every time the Sox played the Devil Rays, you'd anticipate Ortiz getting hit on the wrists, or Manny buzzed by a near-miss over his head. It was planned, and it was ridiculous.

They were also a financial drain on the League. They'd spend $25 million on payroll, and collect almost that much from MLB. They'd whine and moan about big market teams, but happily absorb the attendance boost when Boston and New York came down to play.

Last year they got good. But instead of being a plucky, blue collar, likable bunch; they were cocky and self-entitled. They felt like the World Series should be given to them, and the Red Sox tried their best to hand it over. There was no respect for their opponents, and I've never been happier to see a Philadelphia team have success than I was last October.

So welcome back to Earth, "Rays." Everyone had a career year in '08, no such luck in '09. The Red Sox and Yankees remembered how to play. And although you still beat the Sox, you couldn't beat anyone else. And down the stretch, you choked it away on your own. A nice 11 game losing streak in September was your cause of death. A record of 4-17 from August 26th to September 16th.

Bye bye Tampa.

-The Commodore

Red Sox 4, Rays 3

The Red Sox hadn't won a series against the Rays since last June. Pathetic, right? Finally, that streak came to an end.

Should the Red Sox just sign Jason Bay right now? Another clutch performance for Bay, who was 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and the game winning RBI.

Josh Beckett was good, not great, and we're still waiting to see that Ace reemerge. But putting two solid starts together in a row is a step in the right direction. And he gave the team a chance to win, which is the first job of a starting pitcher.

Jonathan Papelbon's save wasn't the prettiest, but it had its own appeal. He struck out the side while giving up some baserunners and making Fenway Park nervous. But maybe he saw Big Baby's dramatics earlier and wanted to outdo the Celtics.

Dustin Pedroia "tweaked his groin" and left the game in the 3rd. He should be back by Wednesday, though. I was a bit nervous, because it seems like the injury bug has removed the hottest Red Sox hitter from the lineup. First Kevin Youkilis, then Pedroia? Then Bay?

The Sox embark on their last West Coast trip of the year, first to Anaheim, then Seattle. Jared Weaver and his 3-1 record and 2.66 ERA take on Justin Masterson Tuesday night.

-The Commodore

Red Sox 7, Rays 3

When was the last time the Red Sox were the third story in the sporting news around here? 1988?

They did provide the only good news of the night. They finally beat the Rays, for only the second time since Opening Day.

Jason Bay continues to hit the crap out of the ball. He was 2 for 4 with another homerun, his 9th. That's good for 3rd in the AL. Manny Ramirez is still stuck on 7 HRs, and probably will be for awhile. Bay is also 2nd in RBI with 32.



Dustin Pedroia was 4 for 5, and continues his surge from an early slump. His average is up to .336. He's hitting .485 in May. He started the season 7 for 39 (.179). Since April 15th, he's 34 for 83 (.410).

Brad Penny had a solid start, 6.1 innings pitched and only 3 runs allowed on 8 scattered hits. That's what we're going to get from Penny, hopefully on a regular basis.

How nice was it to see Papelbon pitch a clean inning? 3 up, 3 down. Pair of strikeouts, 11 total pitches, 9 strikes. Lovely.

It's just nice beating Tampa. They're not that good. They're nowhere near likable. They're a bunch of cocky little punks, and we let them take control of the American League last year. Hopefully we can remind them that they are, in fact, a 14-17 team.

Scott Kazmir vs. Jon Lester at 3:40 on Fox. I'm probably not going to watch until the 6th inning. Wink.

-The Commodore