MLB: AL East Excitement
Posted on | September 9, 2008 | No Comments
The Tampa Bay Rays look like a tired team. Or maybe they look more like a scared team. Maybe they’re both.
On Monday the series between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays went the Red Sox way (by a score of 3-0) thanks to a pitching gem by Jon Lester. But with no disrespect meant toward Lester (because he was awesome) the Tampa Bay bats has as much to do with the big goose egg as Lester’s performance.
The Rays suddenly look like the team that many expected them to collapse into most of the season. They look like they can’t believe that they’ve played such great baseball and yet there are the Red Sox still just a half game back. And they look like they’re even doubting whether they can the division.
Now, it certainly isn’t time to count them out. I’ve certainly written them off before, and after doing it for the second time I vowed I wouldn’t do it again. So I’m not. But I am certainly concerned. And they better be too.
But if they win these next two games then all will be well again. They’ll have a 1.5 game lead again and there’ll be just 18 games left in the season.
The other excitement in the AL East took place with the New York Yankees playing against the Anaheim Angels (a team that’s about to clinch the AL West). No, the Yankees didn’t suddenly start to play good ball. And yes, the Yankees are still tanking (they lost last night 12-1).
The excitement took place when Torri Hunter pushed Pudge Rodriguez in the back. There was a minor play at the plate (no ocollision), Pudge tagged him out, then kinda shoved Hunter away a little bit and then Hunter came-up behind Pudge and gave him a huge shove.
It really wasn’t called for. But at least put some drama into a game that was very boring. And at least it fired up the Angels during a time when they are coasting to a division title.
Related posts:
- MLB: National League Excitement
- MLB: Analyzing the BIG Trades
- MLB: NL East is Awesome
- MLB: It’s Back On in the AL East
- MLB: Big Games in the AL East
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