jung

Great win....

Hard to even have a discussion about this ump. I guess I would say I was OK with that last high strike to Pedey being called a ball cause that one was right at the very top of the zone. Can make a case for that one but so many he has called balls have been well in the zone and then he is calling balls 6" off the plate a strike. Consistent is a good thing but consistently that far off is tough. Nobody is going to hit balls 6" off the plate.

Oh good...heart attack kid now warming...don't think it will matter. punchless lineup

Farrell will probably wait to see if anybody gets on and will start somebody warming if a runner does get on. He is in no immediate threat of losing the game. As manager winning the game is his short term goal and preserving the pen a long term goal and ......so much for the no hitter.

I would not want to see 113 again if avoidable...not for Buch

Lester threw 100 last time out

105...maybe 110 max. Hopefully somebody gets a hit first. Not sure I even want to see him going 105 this early.

Don might be doing it to distinguish the no hit potential from the no-no potential or perfect game for that matter.

I would be kinda' surprised if the Rays have enough innings left with their lineup to come back in this one. This last inning may have been their last real shot.

Not even close to a strike but I have to say this ump has helped us more than he has hurt. He does blow though.

Escobar maybe struggling this season at the plate but has produced decent offensive stats over his career. He is providing a good example for how damaging s***** defense from SS can be.

So far this series his defense sucks worse than his offense. He played a ground ball into a base hit yesterday. Was loping to second base take the throw from the catcher that basically ended the game yesterday and throws it into the stands today. We might in Boston consider that solid defensive SS.

Escobar trying to redeem himself at the plate. No idea how he landed in Tampa. Rays must have been desperate for a SS. Rays simply do not have the horsepower to recover from the kinds of messes Escobar can get into almost daily.

Escobar was in the middle of a tailor made DP at second base and threw the ball into the stands allowing two runs to score. I am only shocked that Escobar did not find his way into a Sox uniform. He appears to have all the qualities we usually like in a SS.:D In fact Madden may leave him here...even without a job!

Escobar is going to find his way to Madden's dog house before they even finish this series. What a stiff!

Runs.....

Glad they did not send him. One rally inning could get it done today.

That works for us but what is this ump seeing

Sneaky bastard Madden, sends Looney unexpectedly. Must have had to give him a map to get him over. No steals in over a year.

Here we go again...another inconsistent ump behind the plate...apparently a graduate of the school of Dr Barrett.

If there was a benefit to hitting fly balls higher than the usual. we would have the league leader in Mr. Napoli.

Might have been the best 1st inning by either Lester or Buch so far this year.

Hanrahan injured.... a likely story. I doubt we will see him close his next time out. They need to get him an inning against a team where he can win out. Then maybe he might be able to go back to the ninth at some point. Clearly he is not used to facing the meat of these AL lineups. He is running out of pitch while there is still 9th inning left to go.

Buch steps up for another test today. The Rays are not exactly murderers row but their formula is still the same. Don't give up many runs and you don't have to score many to win. Lester's key so far this year....an insanely low number of mistake pitches. I have no figures to back this up but just watching him pitch, his location has been very good but the mix of pitches he has been able to command so far has been ridiculous. Sometimes he is just putting the ball in locations that are tough for the hitter to get to and other times he has them tied up with a pitch type they were just not expecting. Buch's stuff is a little bit better and he does not command the number of pitch types that Lester has been able to command. The result has been the same so far. Buch has made very few mistake pitches as well. If Buch pitches today as he has so far, I would expect the same result as the Rays are not the team you would expect to come up and bite you if you are not making mistakes from the mound. As for winning the game itself, these Rays games are frustrating games. The Rays are usually able to outpatient opponents that grow frustrated with the lack of success at the plate and start hackin'. It turns into a battle of attrition and the team that has its nerves crack first usually ends up on the short end. That is why I hate four game series with the Rays. By game four teams have usually had enough and just want it to end. That is probably the thing that we really do not credit Madden for that distinguishes him and his teams from others. Madden knows what his team is and he always has them playing within themselves. Escobar at SS is probably the one guy that does not look like a match for what Madden looks for as Escobar tends to go through the motions out there at SS. I think Madden is an arrogant prick and I hate him both for his annoying arrogance and for the way his teams play. However if you are looking for some in-game genius that defines Madden as one of the league's better managers you will likely be frustrated. Look instead for how well suited his teams tend to be to the war of nerves created inside these low scoring pitchers duals and that is where his "genius" lives. I hate his guts and I hate playing his teams. That said, beating them is very rewarding.

I think the point about Lester being surrounded by coaches that care about him and know him is a good one. A poor or less than optimal environment does not suit him. Some guys can fight past that. Some can't or at least don't well. I think he would want to stick with this bunch of coaches and would make a conscience choice to stay here as long as the coaches ere here.