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I know I am a little late to the party on this one, but why do the Rays get to raise TWO championship banners?

Seriously!

I know it was a great achievement winning the Division and then winning the pennant... but I thought you raise a banner for the highest honor the team got for the season.

The 2007 Red Sox don't have a flag for the Division, the Pennant and the World Series.

OK, fine... the Rays don't have a lot of practice raising banners.

I'm sure they don't have a "70 Wins!" banner to commemorate the 2004 team.

I'm pretty sure they don't have a "Did you see The Rookie? He played for us" banner.

And raising the two banners was probably great for Pat and Christin and anyone else who was there.

But after this season, just keep the 2008 A. L. Champions banner up.

(And yes, I am bitter that they beat my Red Sox for both flags!!!)

WAIT A SECOND!!! Joe Maddon's Manager of the Year award WASN'T unanimous?

What the hell?

There were 28 votes for AL manager of the year and all 28 first place votes DIDN'T go to Joe Maddon?
Look, no disrespect to Ron Gardenhire.
He did a terrific job! He took a team that had Johan Santana and Torii Hunter stripped from them and got them to a one game playoff for the AL Central... and if they scored 2 runs in that game, they would have been AL Central Champs.

Great job.

Joe Maddon did the baseball equivalent of bending time and space.

The Rays were so bad and had NOTHING going for them
No tradition
No history
No fan base (save for Pat and Christin)
And in a division with the Red Sox and Yankees, no hope.

They had the smallest payroll in the AL.
They were the laughing stocks of baseball.

Their 71st win was the highest the franchise had ever climbed.
And he took on a Red Sox team that defending their World Series title with 95 regular season wins...
And the Rays STILL won the division.

And they didn't go nuts in the free agent market and buy it either, a la the 1997 Marlins.

Moses midway through parting the Red Sea would have said "Wait the RAYS are in first place? Are you f---ing kidding me?"

It is one of the most mind boggling turn arounds in the history of American sports.
And Joe Maddon helmed the team to the single least likely division title EVER!

And someone felt he did the second best managing job of the year?

REALLY?

I'm guessing it was a sports writer named Lou Gardenhire

Who I Feel Good For...

It's hard not to feel good for people when a team wins the World Series.

I bet even somewhere in our dark and uncaring hearts we Red Sox fans felt good for a player or two during the Yankees World Series titles.

(Or do you really have that much venom towards Mike Aldrete?)

So here are the people I feel best for with the Phillies World Series title...

1. CHARLIE MANUEL
This is the baseball lifer you can't help but love.
A career in baseball with a few years as a player but the rest of the time as a minor leaguer, in the Japanese league, managing and coaching in the minors. A stint in Cleveland and tons of people wanting his head in Philadelphia.

And all the while he was a calming force with that Southern voice and baseball brains... he is the real life Joe Riggins, the manager from Bull Durham. (You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball.)

Guys like that should have a ring.


2. JAMIE MOYER
When Jamie Moyer first broke into the major leagues, I was a 14 year old freshman in high school living in the suburbs of Boston.

I am now a 36 year old father of twin 3 1/2 year olds living near Los Angeles.

That's a long damn time.

Let me put it another way... when Jamie Moyer broke into the bigs, Cole Hamels was a 2 and 1/2 year old baby.

He now has a ring.
Guys like Jamie Moyer deserve a ring.


3. MATT STAIRS
I've already written a Valentine to Matt Stairs, but 16 years in the bigs have come to this.

He wasn't even a Phillie until August, but like Dave Roberts in Boston, he has permanently etched his name into the sports narrative in Philadelphia with his off the bench heroics in the League Championship Series.

Now he has a ring.

It's a good thing you didn't retire Matt!


4. BRAD LIDGE

Maybe he'll never live down the Pujols homer completely.
Hell, Eckersley clinched a World Series in 1989 but people always link him with Gibson.

And I maintain that the Pujols homer was a little overrated since the Cardinals lost the next day... but don't forget Lidge also lost games 2 and 4 of the World Series including a walk off to Scott Podsednik of all people.

Who could have guessed that Houston would be too tense a place for him to pitch but he'd be perfect in the pressure cooker of Philadelphia?

He has a clip for all time... clinching the second ever World Series title for the Phillies.
(Not that that is a consolation for Astros fans.)


5. COLE HAMELS
He's 24... he's about to become a millionaire many times over... he's impossibly handsome... he's now the darling of a passionate sports fan base... and tonight, despite the weather's best efforts to deprive him of the award, is the first MVP of both the LCS and World Series in the same year since Livan Hernandez in 1997.

And let's face it, Hernandez didn't deserve the World Series MVP. That should have gone to Moises Alou.

But the only ones to win the LCS and World Series MVPs in the same year have been Willie Stargell of the 1979 Pirates, Darrell Porter of the 1982 Cardinals, Orel Hershiser of the 1988 Dodgers and Hernandez.

Not bad company to be in.

6. SHANE VICTORINO

We are not in a glory age for nicknames in baseball... we need more cool nicknames.
So how's THE FLYING HAWAIIAN?!

That's a great nickname folks!
And guess what, with a nickname like that and the hard nose play he gave in the World Series (not to mention the grand slam off of CC Sabathia) it doesn't matter if he stinks the rest of his career or never plays in another game.

He will get standing ovations in Philadelphia as long as he is alive.

Philadelphia fans love players who play hard, win titles and have great nicknames.
Just ask Bake McBride!


7, 8 & 9. JIMMY ROLLINS, CHASE UTLEY and RYAN HOWARD

All are under 30.
Rollins and Howard each have an MVP on their mantle.
Utley will probably have one soon enough.

They, along with Hamels, are the faces of a home grown Philadelphia team that has the chance to be one of the most loved teams in that city's history.

And none of them will EVER have the "He never won the big one" label that hung over Barkley, Lindros, Cunningham, Iverson and still hangs over McNabb.

Oh yeah... all three are millionaires who play baseball for a living.


10 and 11. SCOTT EYRE AND PEDRO FELIZ

They were members of the 2002 San Francisco Giants who came so close to winning against the Angels.

At least they got rings now... not that that is much consolation for Giants fans.


12. MILT THOMPSON

He had a fine career over 13 seasons but his only post season experience was with the 1993 Phillies, who lost to the Blue Jays in the World Series.

Now, as a coach, he finally got a ring.



13. PAT GILLICK

Talk about knowing when to fold em!

His third ring as a GM (albeit using a lot of Ed Wade's pieces).
I wonder if this merits Hall of Fame discussion.







14. PHILLIES FANS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE LISTENING TO HARRY KALAS' RADIO CALL OF THE GAME

Joe Buck's call on TV was flat and disinterested.
Kalas? Full of passion and is no doubt the ring tone of many Phillies fans starting today.


15 and 16. TAMPA SUPER FANS PAT AND CHRISTIN

I'm sure there are a lot of bandwagon, cow bell buying, mohawk getting Rays fans wandering around Tampa these days.

But Pat and Christin have been Rays fans since they were the Devil Rays.
(OK, that only goes back to 2007... but how many die hard Devil Rays fans do YOU know?)

And yes, their team didn't win the World Series, but going into this season the goal was a 71-91 record (which would have been the best in team history.)

If the Rays have indeed put together a powerhouse team for the future, you know Pat and Christin will enjoy every inning.
They've earned it!


17. JOHN OATES

With fellow Philadelphia native Darryl Hall out with the flu, John finally got a solo!

NO PRISONERS!

Last Thursday, I wrote that Joe Maddon would win the AL Manager of the Year even if the Rays finished the season 0-25. Little did I know the Rays would try to test my theory.

On the last day of August, the Red Sox were 5 1/2 games behind the Rays.
With a win tonight, they can go to bed on September 9th 1/2 a game ahead.

Last night was a tremendous performance by Jon Lester as he continues to be a walking argument against the insane babying of pitchers.

Hey people coddling starters.
Hey people demanding Joba Rules... check out Lester.

2 years ago this guy had f---ing cancer and now he consistently gives 7 innings, will pitch into the 8th like last night and every once in a while complete a game. (GASP!)

Well the Division is in our sites... and I want it.
I know the Sox pretty much have the Wild Card sewn up, but I want home field advantage.

Hell, at this point the Sox are not just 1 game in the loss column behind Tampa but only 2 in the loss behind California... or Anaheim... or Los Angeles of Anaheim.

I want this running at full speed Sox train to barrell through the AL and have the "we're the defending champs" swagger to them again.

I don't care about how cuddly the Rays story is. I know we are the bad guys.

I don't care.
The Rays can't pull a Sarah Palin and run and hide and demand everyone treat them with kid gloves.

This is a pennant race folks! Tampa, you want to win? Well guess what? These games in September count.

I want no Mercy from the Sox nor from our fans.
Hey Professor at Rays Index... hey Pat and Christin... hey Dirt Bag Fan...
Everyone I live blogged with in Tampa.

This is what a September stretch drive feels like.
Teams don't give a damn about your story. Think you can't blow a big lead in September? Talk to the 2007 Mets.

Hey Red Sox... you really want to be the new Yankees?
Then tonight, with Dice-K on the mound, act like Lawrence of Arabia and scream NO PRISONERS!!!!!

RAYS-ing Cain

OK folks... things are getting odd.
It's now July 2nd and the Tampa Bay Rays are the best team in baseball.

They beat my beloved Sox again last night and are 51-32... 2 1/2 games up... 4 up in the loss column in the AL East.

The team whose lone highlight prior to this year was the movie The Rookie is now the standard of baseball.

And you can't even say "It's early."
"Ahh it's a fluke... it's only April... Sorry May... Sorry June... Sorry July."

It's late and I should be in bed, so why not look up some stats on Baseball Reference, the single greatest website on the internet?

OK, let's see what happened to the team that was the best team in baseball going into July 2nd since the Divisions expanded from 4 to 6:

1995: Cleveland Indians - Won AL Pennant
1996: Atlanta Braves - Won NL Pennant
1997: Baltimore Orioles - Won Division
1998: New York Yankees - Won World Series
1999: Cleveland Indians - Won Division
2000: Chicago White Sox - Won Division
2001: Seattle Mariners - Won Division
2002: Atlanta Braves - Won Division
2003: Atlanta Braves - Won Division
2004: New York Yankees - Won Division
2005: Chicago White Sox - Won World Series
2006: Boston Red Sox - Missed Playoffs
2007: Boston Red Sox - Won World Series

So since the first completed year of 6 division play, the best team after July 1 made the playoffs 12 out of 13 times.

The one team that didn't, the 2006 Red Sox, had a perfect storm of injuries (Papi, Varitek, Manny, Nixon, Wells, Lester, Foulke, Papelbon and Schilling) that leveled them in the second half. (And they rebounded ok in 2007.)

So guess what folks... this team has a damn good chance of not just having a winning record.

Saving a rash of injuries Tampa Bay will in all likely hood be playing in October.
They'll be playing BASEBALL, not golf... or shuffle board.

Forget the ambition of trying to get to .500.
They just need to go 31-48 to reach the once unthinkable winning record.

If the Rays play 17 games under .500 the rest of the way this year, Joe Maddon will win Manager of the Year.

If they play just 1 game over .500 the rest of the way, the Rays will go 91-71... or better than any National League team in 2007.

The Rays winning 90 games and making the playoffs? Forget Manager of the Year... Joe Maddon might win the Nobel Prize.

What I am saying is you can not say "It's a fluke" anymore.

The Tampa Bay Rays are now a legitimate playoff front runner.
Read that sentence again.

"Horsemen, party of four. Paging Horsemen, party of four."

Tampa Bay... knock it off

Hey Rays... it's been a nice story.
But cool it, will you?

It's fantastic that you have turned things around and had a great first 3 months.

But being in first place going into the last day of June?
And facing the Red Sox where a win will make you up 1 1/2 games (3 in the loss column!) in July?

This is starting to scare me a bit.
So do us all a favor... and start LOSING AGAIN!

(But still finish ahead of the Yankees)

But guess what?
It's time for the new chapter in the best new rivalry in baseball!
Boston vs. Tampa Bay!

Are you ready Dirt Bag Fan?
Sadly no live blog with the Professor this time, but it's the first meeting since the Brawl!

Who knew this Tampa game would be so big?
Now let's try to avoid any more 11-10 losses and recapture first place from Tampa.

Man even typing that sentence looks odd.

LIVE BLOGGING WITH SULLY!

Well, I wanted a rivalry between the Red Sox and Tampa... and it looks like I get to do my best to pour gasoline on the fire!

After praising the Professor at Rays Index for the anti Red Sox shirts and having my jaw drop at Dirt Bag Fan calling out Sox mediocrity... evidently the stakes have indeed been raised.

The Professor has invited me to take part in their Live Blog of the Red Sox/Rays first place showdown.

We'll both be commenting on the game live and giving our thoughts, insights and goofy comments.

It's an early start today.
If you are around 6 PM EDT, or 3 PM PDT.... click on Rays Index and join the live Blog!

I hope to see Pat and Christin there!

Now if you will excuse me, I need to brush up on my Tampa Bay baseball history.

SHOWDOWN!

OK, raise your hand if you thought that on June 3rd, the Tampa Bay Rays would be in a first place showdown with the Red Sox.

OK, those with your hands up, keep them up if you thought the Red Sox would be the ones chasing the Rays and would have to sweep them in order to take over first place by the second weekend of June.

Anyone who raised their hand for those questions is an F---ing liar!

The feel good story of baseball doesn't feel so good when it is your team that is doing the chasing.

I am EXCITED about the Rays series... and not because I am expecting 3 easy wins but because it should be some good baseball. The Rays hit late homers, they have terrific starting pitching and Evan Longoria's is still hilarious.

It's the David and Goliath story and I'm rooting for Goliath.
It's the heart warming story where I want the mean rich man to crush the good willed
underdog.

I am rooting for Mr. Potter to crush George Bailey.

My God... do you know what this could be?
A RIVALRY!

Don't laugh. There's already bad blood between these franchises with all the bean ball wars and the Red Sox smacking Tampa around over the years.

But this could be a terrific rivalry this year. I know, I know. The Red Sox only rivals are the Yankees.

But there are times a smaller rivalry can break out.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Red Sox and the Blue Jays had a solid rivalry.

Between 1985 and 1993 the two teams won all but one Division Title (the Blue Jays lost the 1987 AL East to the Tigers on the last day of the season.)

Also in the 1980s the Red Sox had a rivalry with the A's, but it was pretty one
sided as Oakland swept the Sox in the 1988 and 1990 playoffs.

In the 1990s the Red Sox and Indians had no love lost and they played in 3 post
season series in 5 years.

So it is possible to have a subrivalry

And why not the Rays?

And with Papi hurt and the Rays riding high on some dramatic wins, it should be a more evenly matched series than expected.

Hell the Red Sox have the younger and less experienced pitcher in Masterson against the relatively more experienced Matt Garza.

I for one am one pumped up Red Sox fan saying BRING IT RAYS!

But does anyone in Tampa Bay care?

The crowds are just now starting to crack 20,000 a game.

COME ON RAYS FANS!!!

For the first time in your teams history you are going into June with a winning record...
hell you are the best team in the AL. You can stick it to the big bad defending champs who have treated your team with less dignity than a pinata.

I want to hear more than just Pat and Christin cheering.


I'm looking at YOU Tommy Rancel


I need the DRays Bay blog and Rays Home Plate to be buzzing tonight.

This is the time that Marc Topkin, Joe Smith and everyone at the St Pete Times has
been waiting for at the heater.


You want your fan base to not be considered a joke?
Then show up... cheer... and talk a little smack.

Start with this Red Sox fan.
GIVE IT TO ME!

The Professor at Rays Index gets it


Look at these beautiful shirts.


Look at the back...



RAYS FANS ARE TALKING SMACK!

It won't take you 86 years to do what?
Put a .500 team on the field?


That's right!
The gauntlet has been thrown down.

I WANT TO SEE A RAYS FAN SHOW UP TO FENWAY IN ONE OF THESE!!!!



(The rivalry starts now!)

Imagine an all Florida World Series!

If I had told you that the best teams in baseball were in Florida, you would probably have thought it was still spring training.

But nope… 50 games into the season the Marlins are the best team in the NL and 51 games into their schedule, the exorcism of the Devil-less Rays has given them a ½ game lead over the Defending World Champion Boston Red Sox.

It’s early… but it isn’t THAT early!
The teams are roughly 30% through their schedule.
The Rays have to go 40-71 the rest of the way to have the best season in their teams history.

Not exactly an ambitious record.

What if the Rays actually have a winning season? Forget the temptation to see if the moon is dripping blood and Four Horsemen are on the horizon.

A 51-60 record the rest of the way… not even .500 ball… and a once inconceivable sight could be a reality.

As for the Marlins, the need to go 52-60 their remaining 112 games to post their 5th winning season in their history.

If the Marlins go 60-52 the rest of the way, they’ll win 90 games… which in this National League would probably mean a spot in the playoffs.

And who knows? This Marlins franchise has never lost a playoff series!
How would long suffering Cubs, Indians and Giants fans react if the Marlins won their THIRD World Series since 1997?

This should be the feel good story in sports!
Remember how everyone always bitches and moans about how the biggest payroll teams are the only ones who can compete?

Well guess what? It’s Memorial Day and the two best teams in baseball have the two lowest payrolls!

Also guess what?
The teams with the 3 highest payrolls have losing records! (Have fun Yankee, Tiger and Met fans!)

So everyone in baseball is going nuts for this story, right?
Fans in Miami and the Gulf Coast of Florida are in a frenzy, right?

Nope.
Nobody seems to care.


And if you thought TBS had a hard time selling the Rockies/D’Backs NLCS last year, imagine them gulping at the prospect of a Tampa Bay/Florida World Series.

Yeah yeah yeah, it’s early.
But guess what?
Going into May 27 of last year… 3 of the 4 eventual playoff teams were in first place.

Then again NONE of the NL teams that made the 2007 post season were in first or the wild card spot at this point last year… so maybe it IS early.

The Exorcism worked! The Devil has been cast out of Tampa

The Rays removed the Devil from their name... and next thing you know the team whose name was synonymous with a bottom dwelling fish looks like an actual team now!

Maybe they will put some legitimately memorable moments to go with my Top Ten moments of their sorry history.

Man, just a year ago I equated a series with Tampa with going to a spa.

Now they swept us... with pitching and timely hitting.
With the Orioles playing well and a post exorcism Tampa Bay, where are the tomato cans of this division?

Hope you are happy, Pat and Christin!

Where are my Tampa Bay fans at?*

I want to hear from Tampa Bay Rays fans today!

Everyone (including myself) is obsessing over the Red Sox and Yankees.
But I want to hear from some die hard Tampa Bay fans!

Come on! You've been a team for 10 seasons now. All three of the other expansion teams from the 1990s have been in a World Series and you guys are looking for a 71 win season.

I know there are some out there.
I know Pat and Christin love their Rays!
I know the folks at Rays Anatomy have Rays fever!
The Rays Index folks are selling Yuck the Fankees shirts. Looks like Red Sox Nation doesn't have a monopoly on Yankee hating.

Write in or make comments, Rays fans!
You are 4-5 and playing the Orioles tonight. A win will make you 5-5... and seeing that the Defending World Champion Red Sox and the Yankees are both 5-5 and playing each other, a win will mean your Rays will be ahead of either the Yankees or the Defending World Champion Red Sox in the middle of April!

Do you think you will add another great moment in your team's history?

Let me know you are out there!

*yes mom. I know that is grammatically incorrect.