World Series Game 2: That’s More Like It!

October 24, 2008 at 12:58 am | Posted in Baseball, Rays, World Series | 4 Comments

I was more confident that the Rays would win tonight than I had been for any other game this postseason, mostly because I was thoroughly unimpressed with the Phillies starting pitcher, Brett Myers.  Myers wasn’t quite as bad as I thought he’d be.  He was awful in the first inning and decent after that.  On the other side, James Shields lived up to the “Big Game” moniker that both the TBS and Fox announcers have anointed him with.  Although it seemed like he put the leadoff man on base in every inning, Shields didn’t allow anyone to score.

We saw another impressive relief performance from David Price.  He did give up a home run to everyone’s favorite lumberjack, Eric Bruntlett, but the other run was the result of yet another 9th inning error by Evan Longoria.  Let’s hope that’s the last one.

Let’s also hope that Longoria can get a hit or two in this series.  It’s kind of amazing that the series is tied at 1-1 given that neither Longoria nor Carlos Pena have a hit yet.  I have a feeling that their luck will change on Saturday night against Jamie Moyer!  B.J. Upton’s bat did wake up tonight, although I’m still waiting to see some home runs from him.

The runs scored by the Rays tonight were all somewhat unconventional.  The two runs in the first inning were both the result of ground ball outs.  The third run was the result of a B.J. Upton hit that scored Dioner Navarro, but the inning ended when Rocco Baldelli was thrown out at the plate.  And the fourth run was scored by Cliff Floyd when Jason Bartlett laid down a bunt on a well-executed safety squeeze.

Is it just me or does this World Series seem a little bit anticlimactic after that great ALCS?  The rivalry between the Rays and the Red Sox made the ALCS incredibly intense.  I could barely sit still as I watched the games, and it seemed like the outcome of the series hinged on every pitch.  This series hasn’t come close to that level yet.  The Phillies don’t seem to be as dangerous of a team as the Red Sox, and the Rays have not had to play as well as they did against Boston.  Maybe that will change as the series goes on…

As a Rays fan, I really think that beating the Red Sox to win the ALCS and reach the World Series is a bigger deal than actually winning the World Series.  I know that may sound ridiculous, but hear me out.  Nobody expected the Rays to make the World Series anyway.  The Rays and their fans were focused on winning the division all year.  Once they won it, it became important to defeat Boston in the playoffs so that the division championship would still mean something.  Now the Rays are American League champions, and that’s far more than any Rays fan dreamed about this year.  The World Series is kind of a bonus.  Now that they’re there, it would be great for the Rays to win, but honestly, even if they lose, no one will be disappointed in the Rays.  It would actually give them a bigger goal to shoot for next season.  I mean, if they win the World Series, it’ll be tough to top that next season.  That said, I do think that the Rays will win.

Finally, I want to thank Patricia at Dinged Corners for keeping me entertained with some live blogging during tonight’s game!  I’d love to join in the discussion over there for Game 3, but I’ll be staying far away from the computer on Saturday night.  You see, the Penn State vs. Ohio State football game will be on at the same time, and I’ll be recording it to watch later in the night.  I won’t want to risk finding out any details about what’s happening in that game by looking at anything on the internet!

Tonight’s MVP for the Rays:

4 Comments »

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  1. I would think MLB would have an Umpire behind the plate that isn’t a flintcher! This is the World Series and this pathetic excuse of an ump had no concept of the strike zone! McCarver and Buck instead of harping on LOB stats didn’t even bat an eye about the blown calls by Danley. Hopefully he’ll spend the next couple of games on the lft/rt field line.

    Comment by CJYO— October 24, 2008 #

  2. I fully agree with you. The home plate ump made bad calls against both teams. But the most blatant ones were the at bat where Rocco should have struck out and the pitch that hit Rollins. But since my team won, I can’t be upset about it…

    Comment by Dave— October 24, 2008 #

  3. Go Rays! So far, so good. Its gone exactly how I expected it too. I fully expect another great game from Garza, and the Rays go up 2-1. Only thing I am hearing is the Sat game may be postponed due to rain. 😦

    Comment by JoeM— October 24, 2008 #

  4. This series is anti-climatic. I barely watched last night. I pretty much knew the Rays would win. I watched the last 2 innings I think. The first game is usually exciting and the elimination game(s). When it isn’t your team, the middle games are kind of snooze games to see who takes the 3 game lead and then you watch to see who finally wins. Plus there hasn’t been any back-and-forth lead changes, no come from behind victories or bullpen blowups.

    Comment by Peter— October 24, 2008 #


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