Rays White Sox ALDS Game 1
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After fending off the Indians, Tigers, and Twins in three consecutive days to make the playoffs, the White Sox face off against the Rays, who are coming off a 97-win season, or the most wins in franchise history by 27. You have to admire Chicago’s entrance. To beat three different teams in three straight days is quite an accomplishment. Then again, none of that would have been necessary had they not been swept by the Twins a week ago.
On the pitching end, former Yanks Javy Vazquez goes for the Sox. He didn’t have a great year, posting a 4.67 ERA in 208.1 innings. He did strike out 200, though, while walking 71. His WHIP was 1.32, which is his highest mark since 2000. James Shields gets the call for the Rays. He tossed 215 innings this year to the tune of a 3.56 ERA. He’s not a strikeout artist, but his 4:1 K/BB ratio (on the nose) makes him a formidable starter.
The game starts at 2:30, so right about nowish. If you’re looking for a more Yankee-centered discussion, check out the last post on the Matt Holliday rumors.
Lineups:
Chicago
1. Orlando Cabrera, SS
2. Dewayne Wise, LF
3. Jermaine Dye, RF
4. Jim Thome, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. Ken Griffey Jr., CF
7. Alexei Ramirez, 2B
8. A.J. Pierzynski, C
9. Juan Uribe, SS — yeah, I dyed me goatee, too — when I was 17
Tampa Bay
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. Bossman Junior Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Cliff Floyd, DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Gabe Gross, RF
9. Jason Bartlett, SS
First thing I need to do when I get home tonight is set my DVR. I forgot to do it yesterday and today, so I missed Gallarod-Hamels and now those fun to watch Rays. Blast.
It is great to know that Harold Reynolds is a part of the broadcast team.
Go White Sox! Griffey is going to have a monster series.
Man, I don’t know. Griffey looks toast to me. He’s a shell of his former self, he looks old. That being said, I hope the Rays leave 2 or 3 pitches up for him this series.
I went to the NYY-CWS game at the stadium where Griffey hit #601. Landed a section away from me. Awesome. I got chills.
He’s the Mickey Mantle of our generation. Had he stayed healthy, he may have ended up the greatest of all time.
yup
I’m so glad we get to see yet another former Yankee who managed to be good after leaving New York on the mound today. Cashman is teh sucks for trading Javy.
I still can’t believe people think that Javy was a dumb acquisition.
Yea he was tremendous in 2004. So good that he didnt crack the playoff rotation. He was great in relief in Game 7 too. He’s been so good this yr his own manager called him out for not having any stones. No one had a better Sept than Javy.
Should he have been traded for a 42 yr old head case? No.
HE FAILED IN TEH POSTSEEZUN
He was a trade you had to make, and I thought so at the time, but damn it hurt to trade away Nick Johnson. I have no problem forgiving anyone who is better towards him for that reason.
WHY THE FUCK IS MY BURRITO TAKING THIS LONG TO COOK IN THIS MICROWAVE!!?!?!?!?!
On the first pitch, Longoria hits a blast to left field.
First pitch Evan Longoria sees in a postseason game: Home Run.
Fucking A-Rod.
That kid is all sorts of awesome. If it wasn’t for A-Rod, he’d be the best player in the division by 2010.
Better than the sweat machine Youkillis?
How the hell does someone sweat like that playing baseball?
(Kidding about fathead being great)
I can’t believe the Yankees drafted 50 players instead of Longoria in 2003 when he was coming out of high school! Cashman is so STUPID!!111!!
By the way, have you seen what a wonderful job Damon Oppenheimer did with the 2006 draft?
Oh, AND CASH IS STUPID FOR TAKING ERIC DUNCAN OVER TEH LONGORIA IN THE 2003 DRAFT!1!
Well, now that you mention it…
A short list of players that Brian Cashman should be fired for failing to acquire:
Evan Longoria
David Price
B.J. Upton
Justin Upton
Rick Porcello
Cameron Maybin
Scott Kazmir
Jacoby Ellsbury
Jesus Christ
Yeah, but Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball
On ESPN.com, I’m watching Word on the Street: Panic at Wrigley, and it showed how fans are freaking out about the Cubs game one loss. Also, the clip showed a preacher blessing the Cubs clubhouse with holy water. Wow!
What happened to Peña? I’m following through Gameday…
TBS broadcasters don’t know either. I did see Pena have a conversation with Maddon last inning.
Is the tilde necessary? Or are you showing off your typing skillz?
Actually, how do you type it? That’s what I want to know.
Quoting from today’s New York
RepublicanPost article on one of the things Joe Biden should do in order to win tonight’s debate against Palin:“Lay off the Ivy League-sounding pronunciation of the names of foreign countries and their leaders.”
The sad thing is, they’re right, he probably will lose some voters simply by sounding too “smart”. The persistent strain of American anti-intellectualism is depressing and scary.
Now, what was I saying about how sabermetrics is voodoo science?
I’ll say this about Boston, the Sox fans are quiet right now. I think they’re trying to delude themselves enough to think that the sweat machine and mini-me can win a title this year.
Knock on wood.
What did the Angels do last night to make you think they’ll even take a game off them??
It was one game, and the Sox had their best pitcher going. The series is far from over.
We’re quiet because we know we’re not the best team in baseball and grabbing one game in Anaheim doesn’t mean a thing. Well, that’s why I’m quiet anyway….
Wow DeWayne Wise
Wow, Wise hits a three-run homer on a line drive. Shields gave him a fastball and Wise killed it.
The White Sox sure aren’t lacking power.
Three pitches; two dingers.
damn…
Evan is ridiculous right now.
Evan Longoria hit that second Home Run (Curveball) flat-footed. I have only seen Alex Rodriguez do that.
Holy shit is that kid good. I may have overshot my “best non-A-Rod player in the division by 2010″ prediction.
Undershot?
Eh, same difference.
Javy Vazquez getting hit hard in the playoffs… somethings never change
Damon’s ball still hasn’t landed yet.
One of the most obvious ROY seasons.
It landed a knife in my heart is what it did
Heh, I was playing an online game of The Show yesterday, I was the Reds, and my opponent was the Mets.It was a pitcher’s duel throughout, I (Edison Volquez) held him to two runs through six innings; he (Johan Santana) held me to a single run through six. So what happens next? He has to bring in his bullpen to close out the final three frames, and I proceed to score seven runs over the final three innings to win 8-4.
Mets’ video game bullpen fail: http://failblog.files.wordpres.....n-fail.jpg
some things never change, video game or not…
And these are the current Reds from the latest roster update. So that means no Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn or Brandon Phillips.
was he without Wagner (not that it would matter that much)?
Yeah, no Bluetooth Hick. Updated rosters from September 29th.
lol, unless Johan was completely outta steam he would have been better off leaving him in there until the end
Yeah, it surprised me as well. In the bottom of the sixth I issued an IBB to Brian Schneider to bring Santana to bat with a runner on third and two out. He kept him in, Santana made an out. Next inning is started by a single by Joe Keppinger, he takes out Santana. Didn’t see much wisdom in going batter-by-batter with Santana if he left him in to bat in the previous half-inning with a runner on third and two down.
I haven’t played that game in a long as time. The season’s are far too long, and I’ve never really been one for simulating.
NHL 09 is where it’s at. I’ve got about 15 games left in my season, and I started the franchise like, 2 weeks ago. The games go by so fast, you can sit down for an hour and bang out 4. I’ve battling with like, 5 other teams for the final 2 playoff spots. It’s a blast.
I played the demo, it was fun (even though I allowed three goals in the only period)/ For some reason I just don’t have the urge to buy it.
I see what you mean about Madden. I’ve played it exclusively online and still have no urge to start a franchise. Other than baseball (and probably basketball. Can’t wait to get my hands on NBA 2K9), I have no interest in playing sports games against the computer.
I might just trade Madden in towards a purchase of NBA 2K9.
love NHL games, but with classes (which I’m in one right now) I haven’t had much time to play any games. Have you tried NHL 2k9 or whatever? Heard it improved alot, although I’ve always been an EA guy
No, NHL 09 is the first hockey game I’ve played since NHL 98.
CLiff Floyd can crush foul balls.
God harold reynolds sucks
Apparently he gropes too.
Man i guess we don’t have a shot at Longoria for A-rod anymore…ugh
…….is this a serious comment?
When were the Rays going to trade for a player making $27 million a year? lol
it was sarcastic
Ok….its hard to tell on here these days……
Evan Longoria’s first three at-bats in postseason play has produced three hits, three RBI and two Home Runs. All on just seven pitches. Nasty.
These Rays are fo real !!!
Harold Reynolds sounds like the token black guy on some second-rate sitcom.
“What am I doin’?
Did they ever figure out what happened to Pena?
He was deemed not to have enough “gamer” in him to play in the playoffs.
Ah, Alex Rodriguez Syndrome. No one’s immune.
they said on espn.com that he had blurred vision in his left eye.
Did he get hit or something?
freakin laptop battery doesn’t even last an hour 15 minutes anymore. piece of shit died on me in class while I was trying to keep track of the game! how dare it…
My laptop is maybe 9 months old, and for the first like, 8 months the battery would last only about 2 hours. I was pissed, I couldn’t figure out why, and I thought it was broken or something. Then I figured out it was because I was jacking the screen brightness all the way up.
Now that I’ve stopped doing that, the battery lasts a good 4 hours.
Mines going on 13 or 14 months, but the battery only lasted about 2 hours when I bought it and has steadily declined, but all the reviews I read about it before I got it were the batter life wasn’t great
ST. PETERSBURG — Rays first baseman Carlos Pena left Thursday’s Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the White Sox prior to the third inning due to slightly blurred vision in his left eye.
Pena accidently scratched his eye at home on Wednesday night. The problem is not believed to be serious and he is expected to be back in the lineup for Game 2 Friday night.
Pena struck out swinging in against Javier Vazquez in the first inning, but played the field in the second inning. When the Rays took the field in the third, Willy Aybar was inserted at first base.
In his second season for the Rays in 2008, Pena hit .247 with 31 home runs and 102 RBIs. His 77 home runs over the course of the 2007-2008 seasons are second in the AL to Alex Rodriguez’s 89 over that period.
sorry meant to link this with Mikes comment.
You should have changed the dateline to “STALINGRAD”.
That would be “LENINGRAD.”
Whatever Mr. Smarty Pants Elitest. Only a Commie would know the right answer.
Not that this will be read by anyone….but it was both. In their respective regimes.
You are even a bigger Smarty Pants. GENIUS PANTILIANO!
Does Don Orsillo have to relate EVERYTHING to the redsox.
yes they are the best team on earth of course
everything revolves around the red sox, how could u not know that?
That pitcher for the sox is nice
Yeah, Griffey still has it. The other night when he threw the runner out at home against the Twins (even though they were testing his arm on a 200 ft. fly ball to center).
Griffey is definitely retiring after this season, right?
Bush league celebration
Balfour would’ve beat the brakes off Cabrera if they ever fought.
Orlando Cabrera is a little bitch, he’s always whining about something.
Balfour to Uribe: 95, 95, 95, 94
Balfour to O-Cab: 96, 95, 97, 95, 96
That’s downright Jobanian right there.
Lol he has his own race now
I think Balfour proves the importance of a dominant “8th inning guy” in the pen. Thats why the yankees should put Joba there if it shortens the game its better for the team…—–Steve Philips tonight on baseball tonight
They’re scared of Longoria now. Can’t say I blame ‘em.
Chi-sox make a comeback here ?
Not a chance. These aren’t your grandpa’s Rays anymore.
This Tampa bullpen is pretty nasty.
And David Price is the long-man…
That’s a nice AB for Paul Konerko. Better finish, obviously.
I thought we were gonna have our first postseason replay, I had no idea where the hell that went