Attendance is Fun

If you've been on the internet then you will recognize the face of an FSU degree, Jenn Sterger. I'll wait while you Google..

The 1998 inaugural year boasted 30,942 average attendance but by the following year only an average of 19,214 fans trickled in to to see the 69 and 93 Rays get last place. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TBD/attend.shtml

Well the rays can actually put 20,000 plus into the Trop even when the douchenozzle yankees or redsox aren't in town which is trending in the right direction.

It seems that if you build it they won't come, unless some hotties are on the sidelines and big bat swingers are on the field.

So ladies, please come to the games in mass and if you happen to be a MILF bring your kids so we'll actually have a next generation of Rays fans.

Just imagine a world were a kid can grow up in NY or LA and be a Rays fan because his pop's believed that a small market AL East team can win!

Bucs games are fun too....

Rays and their All-Star chances

It’s getting to be that time of the year again. We are just about a month away from the 2009 All-Star game at the new Busch Stadium, and what better way to get things kicked off around here then to assess the chances of some of our beloved Rays and being invited to join the party in The STL. But before I begin, let me introduce myself. I am Cougar Bait. The name explains itself; however, it does NOT apply to the "cougar" who posts on this site. I'm a lifelong Devil Rays/Rays fan, born and raised in the Tampa Bay area. I once met Evan Longoria in a bar, touched him on the shoulder, and said "good game". He said "thanks". I also witnessed him call a group of girls who cut him in the bathroom line "sluts". My life is complete. Now back to the All Star stuff....

The way I see it, none of our pitchers really have a shot because all of them have been too inconsistent. Matt Garza has the best shot of anyone, but he has started to look shaky in his past few starts and has too much competition ahead of him to get the nod. One thing on the Rays side is the fact that they are the reigning A.L. champions, and thus, Joe Maddon is the A.L. All Star manager. After the fans (Boston and New York) vote in all the best players (Yankees or Red Sox, regardless of talent {see Jeter, Derek}) as the starter, Maddon is assigned the task of picking the reserves. This could bode well for Tampa. Let’s take a quick look at the players deserving of a trip to STL.

1b - Carlos Pena - The reigning AL Gold Glove winner at first base, 'Los is leading the league in HRs with 21, is 7th in RBI, 2nd in walks, 3rd in runs scored, and 8th in slugging. What he doesn't have going for him is that he does not play for the Yankees or Red Sox. Kevin Youkilis currently leads the race by the slimmest of margins over Mark Teixeira. Youkilis missed a month of the season already and barely cracks the top 10 for first baseman in most offensive categories. If he makes it, Pena doesn't have a good chance with Tex and Justin Mourneau having great years. However, if Teixeia slides past Youkilis, Pena may be able to sneak his way in.

Chances: 33%

2b - Ben "Zorilla" Zobrist - This is an interesting debate right now. Zobrist has been on fire basically the entire year so far. Once Aki went down for the year, Zorilla stepped in and exceeded everyone’s expectations. With most of his time now spent at second, one would have to assume this is where he would be selected to play. There isn't a chance in hell he is voted in to start, mostly because of the fact that 95% of people have no idea who he is, and that he isn't even on the ballot. But this is where Mr. Maddon comes in to play. Zorilla is currently leading the league in slugging percentage.....yes, you read that correct. He is 3rd in HRs, 5th in RBI, 4th in avg, and tops in OBP among second basemen. Kinsler is leading the votes right now by about 200,000 over that little horse jockey on the Red Sox. Aaron Hill is also enjoying a breakout season in Toronto and rightfully deserves a spot on the team. That most likely leaves 1 spot for either Zobrist, Cano, or the Jockey. I would pay money to see the faces of Red Sox Nation when Joe Maddon announces Zorilla as a reserve second baseman over Mr. MVP.

Chances: If Gabe Kapler can hit a home run in 4 straight games, then Zobrist can make the All-Star Game. Oh look, a pig just flew by.....

SS - Jason Bartlett - Barty was well on his way to being named to the All-Star game before going on the DL, but in his 2 games back he hasn't missed a beat. Although his stint on the DL took away the plate appearances he needs to qualify for the batting title, technicalities aside, he is still 1st among shortstops with a .373 average, 2nd in the AL to Joe Mauer who is hitting....wait, .425??? That has to be an error. Let’s just say Barty is leading the league. His defense is nearly flawless and if clutchness was a factor he would be way up there too. Since there is really no point in even voting for the starter every year since Derek Jeter is still alive, it comes down to Maddon's choice for backups. This is likely one of the easiest choices he will have to make.

Chances: 95%

3b - Evan Longoria - The leading AL vote getter with over a million more votes than A-Roid. There is no point in even debating this.....

Chances: 115%

OF - B.J. Up......ha, just kidding. No

OF - Carl Crawford - Crawford has enjoyed a bounce back season after a sub-par 2008. He is batting .313, and has 36 steals already. He is also 2nd in runs scored, which is important because those are what win games. The one thing going against Crawford is the competition. Ancient players such as Johnny Damon and Torii with 2 I's Hunter are having career years, and then there is always that Japanese guy who wears his first name on his jersey and never seems to hit below .350. But things look good for CC right now. He is 4th in voting behind Jason Bay, Josh Hamilton, and Ichiro. If the voting stays the way it is, CC may have a chance of not only making the game, but sliding in to a starting spot to fill the void left by Hamilton, who I assume will not be healthy enough to play.

Chances: 85%

Don't forget to go to MLB.com and vote for our Rays! Hopefully the 20 or so of you who read this blog before the deadline can make a difference.

Bongo for Longo

First off, I’d like to introduce myself. I am Cougar. I might be one of the people in the above pictures, but I’m probably not. I am probably a strange mix of the 3.

I will tell you that I am completely and utterly obsessed with Evan Longoria, or as the saying goes; I am bongo for Longo. He is one of the most talented players in Major League Baseball. I single handedly have voted for him at least 1000 times for this years’ All-Star Game. I won’t sleep the night before voting ends to ensure he is the AL leading vote getter. I won’t even go into how many times I voted for him as the last player voted into the game in 2008.

This will be the segment where I gush over our stud third-baseman.

It looks as though Evan has found his power stroke. He has hit the ball out of the park in each of the last 2 games. Anyone who has watched the games know those balls would have been out of any park, not just a homer friendly park like Coors Field. Heck, in the new Yankee Stadium those shots would have ended up in the upper deck.

I was a little worried after Evan hurt his hamstring a few weeks back. The ensuing 0-19 slump gave me nightmares. These last 2 games have shown that Longo is just starting to heat up and even when not playing the best ball that he can, he is a force to be reckoned with.

Longoria is the centerpiece of the Rays and he needs to continue to crank the ball. If he can keep up his power, then it will force opposing managers into tough decisions like whether they should pitch to Longoria or take their chances with AL homerun leader Carlos Pena. Pick your poison.

If Evan Longoria can really catch fire, he will thrust the Rays back to the top of the AL East. These last 2 games are the exact reasons why I am bongo for Longo.

And We're Off!

Welcome everyone, it's time to "Trop it Like it's Hot!" You have stumbled your way onto a brand new blog that is dedicated to serving the fan-base of the Tampa Bay Rays; but will also be good reading (also known as time killing at work) for anyone who wants solid baseball information or a good laugh. I welcome all sorts of comments, as long as you aren't a Yankee fan.

As for me, I am the Rocket Scientist. I have been posting for a few months over at Raysthestakes, and will move my shtick over here. Joining me will be a cougar and some cougar bait (both of whom you all probably know from Raysindex.com), along with Mr. Scrappy and other random guests. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as we like posting. We now invite you all to Trop it Like it's Hot! And remember, it's baseball, it's not rocket scienice.