Not in Tampa’s House!
Tropicana Field. A convoluted mess of concrete, canvas, and steel. The horribly deformed 10-year-old child of Major League Baseball. You can see the years of pathetic futility and apathy infused in the off-white ceiling, like stains from prolonged cigarette use. Yet, the 2008 Boston Red Sox, the Defending World Champions, will walk away from St. Petersburg’s puss-filled whitehead with just 1 win in 9 games.
The most frustrating aspect of the entire regular season see-saw between Boston and Tampa Bay? In my (hopefully) objective opinion, Boston has the better baseball team. Tampa might have a “sexier” team; they’re younger, they run faster, and they’re the feel-good story of baseball. But, the Red Sox have a stronger offense, and (this is open to debate) a better pitching staff.
In head-to-head match ups, however, the Rays simply got the job done, while the Olde Towne Team wilted. This includes some guys who you’d normally expect to rise to a higher level against a divisional rival such as Tampa Bay. For instance…
Against the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays:
- David Ortiz hit .212/.278/.424
- Kevin Youkilis hit .133/.233/.300 at Tropicana Field
- Manny Ramirez (while he was here) hit .200/.308/.311
- Mike Lowell hit .245./298/.472
- Tim Wakefield has a 5.87 ERA
Hey, my hat goes off to the Rays. What they’ve done this season is amazing, and they deserve to be the story of baseball. It’s a shame that they don’t have much of a fan base (no offense to those who actually do support them), and they play in such a hideous venue. This fledgling team went toe-to-toe with the imposing Boston Red Sox and their army of travelling white-collar drunkard fans, stared them down, and outfought them. With only 10 games to play, it looks unlikely that the Red Sox will repeat as Division Champions, and this is all thanks to Tampa Bay.
The Red Sox should breeze into the American League playoffs via the wildcard. And with that, there is a chance I shall be served my favorite meal this October. A dish called “revenge”.
NOTES:
- Mike Lowell was out last night, and an MRI of his labrum is being analyzed by his specialist today. We’ll see what comes of it.
- Coming up next: I’ll tell you why Daisuke Matsuzaka will be getting a ~4 million dollar raise after this season.
