Friday, when conversations drift from quotas and meetings to who in the office is cheating. Where faxes can take up to 20 minutes and lunch hours deteriorate to happy hours. Good times. So let's get this party started so you can get back to enlightening your Facebook friends with gems like "I'm soooo super-psyched it's Friday!"
Don't be sad, 'cause 2 out of 3 ain't bad
It came down to the final pitch, but unfortunately Hank Blalock (think a nicer and reasonably priced Pat Burrell) struck out in 3 pitches, stranded tying run Carl Crawford on second, and sent Rays fans home feeling pretty silly about holding the sawed-off brooms they brought as the Rays lost the game 3-2 but won the series against the Blue Jays. The upside? Rookie Wade Davis pitched himself a helluva game, Carlos Pena tattooed another baseball straight though center field breaking a franchise home run record, and our Rays are still in first place with the best record in baseball for damn near 2 months now; all with a payroll that couldn't cover A-Rod's skin-care product budget. The downside? The Go-Go's won't be playing during the Cleveland series on July 10th because one of the guitarists tore an ACL. Seriously.
Post game odds and ends: Rays kick-off the series against the Miami Marlins Friday night at 7:10 with James Shields on the mound. No I do not, nor will I ever refer them to the Florida Marlins. That pathetic and futile marketing ploy made by that douche Huizenga who tried to block the Rays from even coming to Tampa Bay in the first place doesn't fly with me. Miami is about as Floridian as a snowball…Carl Crawford is okay. According to Skipper Joe Maddon, Crawford was out of the lineup for the second time in three games for a little "preventative maintenance" due to the home field turf being tough of his legs over the course of a long season. Also? Artificial turf sucks…Dick Vitale, a long time Rays season ticket holder got hit in the gut by a foul ball during Thursday night's game. But the 71 year old legend is okay, folks. After icing the bruise, Dickie V stayed to watch the rest of the game. Get me some TUMS, baby!
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This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2010.