Looks like Kyle Farnsworth ought to retire. I wonder if Maddon has lost confidence in Jake MaGee? Can the new faces really help our beleagured pitching? Lueke and Torres have so far. Now we await the arrival of young Odorizzi as we await the return of Gomes and Price.

I’m loving the hitting but I worry about a team slump without first an improvement in our pitching.

Don’t know about anyone else, but I find it hard to root for or praise an accused rapist!!!! Instead, I’ll commend Alex Torres for a gr8 stint (4 scoreless innings!!), barely out of AAA!!!

Go for the SWEEP, now Rays!!!!

I guess that’s just the way it is in baseball—-except for the Yankees. They should be in last place with all their injuries and over-the-hill players.

I awoke around 4:00am Saturday from a horrific dream. I dreamed the Rays were in a final game to decide the AL champion. We win this game or go home. Taking the mound for us was our old friend, Andy Sonnanstine. After the first seven batters in the first, I awoke. It wasn’t Andy on the mound after all and I was relieved. Then I could see it was Hellickson. What’s the difference? He’s my biggest disappointment so far this year.

An interesting quote from Charlie. Because if the Rays had actually used this philosophy the past few years, they’d have had much, much more success. Swinging to be the grand slam hero, or swinging for a walk-off homer has ended many, many a game the wrong way for the Rays. (picture the swing of Upton or Pena with 2 runners on, two outs and down by 2 in the 9th). And don’t come at me with your examples of “walk-off homers”, because for every ONE you can recount, I’ll give you TEN examples of the opposite result.

You’ll notice this season that Rays batters seem to have FINALLY gotten it. Guys are going opposite field and laying down seeing-eye ground balls at an unprecedented rate. THAT type of cerebral, unselfish batting has been absent the past few years and this season’s offensive numbers have alot to do with turning that philosophy around. You can see it in Longo’s swing, you can see Loney walk to the plate with that mentality every time a runner is on.

I understand that Longo and Scott are in the lineup to hit for power, and that’s obviously important, but with 2 strikes, in certain situations, don’t take it from me, listen to coach Montoyo, “We stress it all the way from rookie ball to the big leagues: You have to shorten your swing with two strikes, try to put the ball in play. You would think it makes sense, man…”