The Redemption of Walter White – Brian Spaeth discusses the Breaking Bad Finale – WFNY Podcast – 2013-10-01
September 30, 2013WFNY Stats & Info: Eight intriguing Tampa Bay Rays stats
October 1, 2013The Tampa Bay Rays held on to defeat the Texas Rangers 5-2 in a tiebreaker, advancing to play the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday in the AL Wild Card game at Progressive Field.
Despite a brutal umpire miscall that cost the Rays a run late in the game in Arlington, they held on with thanks to a final insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Ace David Price, who seemed to perhaps be done after seven innings, was left in the game to toss the 118-pitch complete game. It’s the fourth playoff appearance in six years for Tampa Bay and manager Joe Maddon.
Third baseman Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer, a double and a single in the victory. Delmon Young and David DeJesus contributed the other two RBI. Meanwhile, the loss completed an epic decline for the Rangers, who started September with a 2-13 stretch before catching fire to finish the regular season tied with the Rays for the second Wild Card spot.
Tampa Bay is expected to toss right-hander Alex Cobb (11-3, 2.76 ERA) against Cleveland’s Danny Salazar (2-3, 3.12 ERA). Cobb held the Indians scoreless in his only 2013 game against the team this season, earning the win with a sparkling 7.1 inning performance in his first start of the season. The rookie Salazar has not yet faced the Rays in his 10-game MLB career. He was announced as the Wild Card starter following Sunday afternoon’s clinching victory.
[Related: When a Win is more than a Win]
22 Comments
I’ll take our chances – no darvish is a good thing
I’d rather face Darvish than Cobb. Cobb has a better record and slightly lower ERA. Not to mention he shut us out in April. Add in the fact that we’re starting a rookie. I’m very nervous about this matchup….
Honestly, that’s what the Rangers get for activating Cruz.
Was going to be tough with either, so let’s get this playoff race started.
Did anyone see Fuld steal that base on Scheppers while he was still looking in for the signal? That was just smart, heads-up baseball… taking advantage of the fact that Scheppers has a weird knack for leaning really far forward while looking in. That’s something that definitely scares me… Maddon’s teams are very intelligent, just like their super-trendy manager.
Any playoff match-up was going to be difficult. They just need to come up with a solid game plan and execute at the plate. The thing that scares me the most is the fact that Tampa is a team that you just can’t give extra outs to; and the Indians defense has had it’s issues over the second half of the season. Good pitching coupled with a good defensive outing and we’ve got a very good chance to win.
we have not seen it as much lately and when it has happened, we have been up and it has not been a crucial moment in the game. I agree though. Need to play clean baseball and be patient at the plate.
It is going to be hard, but i am just going to try not to be nervous and enjoy the game. If we get our butts kicked, i don’t know how much enjoyment there will be, but I am not the one playing.
I’m already proud of this team. 92 wins is way more than anyone was expecting this season and anything they get from this point forward is delicious icing. Obviously, I want that icing, but I’m not going to sulk if I don’t get it.
BTW, did you realize the Tribe only finished a game behind the Tigers? Holy smokes… not sure how I missed that, but they almost won the central against the best roster in baseball (I will never be convinced that the Red Sox have the best roster this year… I don’t care what their record is and who they played).
I am hoping for a solid game in which we play our best and don’t do them any favors due to baserunning mistakes or errors. Has been a lot of fun.
I saw that when I was looking at the final standings. The Tigers did get swept by the Marlins. If we would have tied the Tigers, we would have played yesterday for the division. Now that would have been cool, and then if we lost we would have played Wed. I would rather play Boston then Det. Bring any of them on though. I am pumped.
MLB ought to be embarassed about PED suspension rules. Discusting
they are tougher than the NBA or NFL though. I agree that they should be out of playoff consideration, award consideration, and even the allstar ballot the next year.
They followed the rules to the letter of the law. I’m not sure why we think anyone deserves more than the agreed upon punishment.
Well Steve, if you actually took the time to read the comment instead of just lock and loading your sniper rifle you would see the debate being raised was that he felt the punishment was not severe enough; not whether or not MLB followed “the letter of the law”.
So maybe now you could grace us with your opinion on if MLB’s suspension policy for PED use is severe enough?
“that’s what the Rangers get for activating Cruz”
This seems a bit different than “PED guys should be recieve more punishment” though he does say that later. Should they have not activated him? His suspension is over, I don’t see why he shouldn’t be activated.
And I’m perfectly fine with whatever MLB and the players’ association agree upon. And I think fans should honor that agreement. If there is any indignation deserved, its for the way MLB treats guys with DUI’s, and rapists. If either team deserved to lose last night for who they put on their roster, its the Rays, with Josh Leuke.
“I think fans should honor that agreement”
my opinion is not bound by the MLB CBA.
Sure, I don’t have an issue with your second post, about what additional punishments you’d like, but with this idea that they shouldn’t have activated Cruz.
that was an opinion as well.
The Giants were upset that Melky lied to them throughout the process, and tried to cover up his actions. The Rangers seem to believe Cruz has served his time, and has done what it takes to earn his way back on the team. I can’t disagree with either team’s actions.
And? No one here is above having their opinion challenged. It’s my opinion that expecting teams to flaunt the rule book in an effort to hurt themselves even more doesn’t make sense.
We’re clearly done here, but this site keeps moving away from having one defend his own opinions to expressing frustration that someone else might have the audacity to challenge his opinion.
not sure where to even go? I mean, you are okay with the 2nd comment, which was just an extension of the 1st one. and I agree, the Rangers were within their rights to activate Cruz.
so, the only thing you are doing is challenging the wording of the first comment because it was too sarcastic, I guess?
The Rays are like a mirror image of the Indians and that scares me.