Good job Rays!

[MikeG]

Let's hear it for the Rays-- they swept the Orioles (edit-- the stupid ass on the radio this morning said it was the Rangers) yesterday. Maybe this has not registered with you guys but the Rays are playing great baseball this year. Maybe not good enough to finish over .500 but you never know. Lou's got them firing on all cylinders. I'm hopeful for next season. He's really made a difference in attitude of these young players.

That's the beuty of baseball. Unlike basketball which IMO is a freaking yawn fest once your team sucks or football where you can pretty much tell when a team just doens't have the ability to compete week to week (Bengals)-- baseball is a game that has plenty of opportunity for excitement. It may be a bit slower than the other sports in terms of field action but each game can be pretty interesting in itself.

oh sorry-- I forgot this board has turned into the smazza trivia corner... my bad.

[KnightsRule]

They swept the Orioles last night.  They are playing good ball. Lets see how they finish the season.  They have a very very tough schedule at end of year.

[smazza]

how many years in a row have devil rays lost 100 games?

[MikeG]

most of them?

[S p e n c e]

The Rays have been one of the most exciting teams to watch in the past month in my opinion.  They are closing in on 50 wins already, and equally as impressive I believe nearly 20 of thier losses were by 1 run.   I honestly believe if they had some better pitching this season they could have won a majority of those 1 run games and be closing in at 70 wins at this point of the season.

If they are smart they will let Pinella sign who he wants to in the off season allowing him to continue to improve on this team.  He has made me a believer and I agree Mike next season they will be playing .500 ball.  Unfortunatly I believe with NY and Boston in the division it will be a long time before they win the division but they can make a legitimate run at a wild card spot in the next couple of years.  They need to surround these talented young players they have i.e. Baldelli, Huff, Hall, Carter ect with a couple of veterans in this off season, I am really looking foward to next season.

[MikeG]

I think we are getting some good work from Carl Crawford as well. Lugo and Travis Lee have made some impact.

They are fun to watch and going to the games is getting better. I'm kind of used to the warehouse they play in. Pinella has made a difference- anyone who says he hasn't or wants to dwell on past performance is being extremely short sighted.

I agree-- Winning the division (or finsihing second/wild card) is the biggest problem these guys will have. Who know sthough-- put enough successful seasons together, increase the attendance/merchandise sales, and they might have enough money to get the missing players to over come that difficult obstacle. Some injuries ot he Yankees could send them into a tailspin-- it's really about luck and timing. I like the Rays chances in the next few years.

[72bull]

I think Pinella has done a good job with what he has to work with.  The trouble I have with the Ray's (get rid of the "Devil" it sounds too AAA)  is that they trade away all the good players that I'm interested in, such as Randy Winn, and the sightlines at the dome are bad.  Even though at 5' 7'' I tower over smazza, I still have trouble seeing the field well.  They eliminated my favorite seats in the upper deck behind the plate, the best place for a good view.