Retro Night at Tropicana

Al:
I know the recession was bad and all but even the Tropicana Mall was empty last night.

 

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Mike:
Seriously. I haven't seen that much fan apathy since Conan moved into the 1130 slot.

 

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Doug:
So much for the Ray Hawk craze.

 

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Al:
And I'm guessing that's true for both the male and female versions as well.

 

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Doug:
Yep. For the guys in Tampa going downtown, it's goodbye bikini wax and hello rumble in the jungle.

 

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Mike:
Here's to hoping this retro craze lasts. I mean I could live with a return to the days when games at the Trop were a gimme.

 

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Al:
Hell, yeah, and what about the throwback last night to the halcyon days of Paps being 1-2-3 / 1-2-3?

 

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Mike:
And it looks like once again Theo has proven why he's Theo and we're Not-o. Billy Wagner isn’t just striking guys out, he’s blowing them away.

 

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Doug:
Forget OBP, it's all about the HBD.

 

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Comments

[Rob in CT]

17,600 in attendance for a must win series for the Rays?

Pathetic job by the Tampa home crowd. Looked as though it was a retro "mostly Red Sox fans" night in the seats, too. Bet they're missing Kasmir.

[Bob]

The Mall is actually in St. Pete, H.B. In a very iffy neighborhood. Although there's a lot of nasty bars around there, so I never had a problem.

As for last night's game, I have to quote the immortal Jackee on 227:

"Ohhhhhh, LESTER."

[Scott]

Lester was good last night but Ellsbury saved his ass with 2 amazing plays. Game could have ended quite differently.

I'm not a fan of Billy Wagner. I really don't want to see him in a big game come October.

[Bob]

It's the fielders' job to save pitchers asses.

And then pickle them in a salty brine with fennel and pink peppercorns.

[Matt of CT]

My ears are happy for the lack of cowbells last night.

[Scott]

Just made a Jimmy Fund donation. Thanks for reminding me guys & girls.

[Ray in MD]

Scott, about Billy Wagner, did you not follow the link? and if you did, what would it take to get you on the B-Wags bandwagon?

[jack]

"I'm not a fan of Billy Wagner. I really don't want to see him in a big game come October."

How true. You really don't want an experienced closer with over 300 saves and a 95 mph fastball coming into a pressure situation. Much better to bring in delcarmen.

Now you are free to return to bizzaro world.

[louclinton]

If you really wanted to go retro in the Flop, you'd have to go get the leather-lunged guy who would scream at the RS in their atbats. He used to sit right behind home plate and, with6-9k in the stadium he was really easy to hear. Hilarious.

Now, it so happens that I am re-reading Moneyball presently, which is really interesting since the people they were talking about back then are now either in or not in the big leagues.

Also, a big part of Billy Beane's thesis is/was that defense is overrated. Maybe so, but not last night.

lc

[pablo in nh]

I for one was getting tired of Maddon's nanomanaging. If roster expansion means more pitchers and more options...blehh. It's unthinkable.

[Scott]

Did any of you watch the All-Star game last year? Did you see how many games this guy has blown? I think he's done. Hopefully he will prove me wrong but pitching in the AL is a bit different than the NL.

[Kaz]

Seriously, Baltimore, please try to win a few. I know your staff ERA is 5+ leaving you only better than Cleveland and Washington in that category this year. But come on, even losers have those David and Goliath games where everything goes right and the other team takes it in the nose.

We could completely demoralize the Yankees by taking the division back in the final month here, but we can't do it all alone. Come on LA, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Kansas City! Prove your more than just a bunch of pretty faces! Your season is almost over! Go out with some influence and not as road bumps!*

* - Rallying cry not applicable when Boston is in town. No refunds. Void in 30 states, AK, and HI.

[buckner was framed]

Bob-

do you really want to go aroung correcting hb? remember what happened last time- he went and changed his "fuck with Bob" attribute to 'true' and you were on the shelf for 4 days. just sayin'

[Bob]

Oh, shite...my back...my baCK!

Thanks Buck. Now I'm going to become a Brett Fav-rey oxycodone addict.

I blame SDU.

[Bob]

Scott, despite his early successes, I tend to agree with you. Watching some of those Skanks-Mets interleague games over the past few years have been painful to watch when he came in to close. (My back...my bACK!)

I think he'll be fine for us for the rest of the regular season. But the big game choke factor scares the shite out of me for the playoffs.

(Yes, I know that playoff reference is a gooch. But by knowing it, it becomes a reverse gooch.)

[louclinton]

I'm prety sure that acknowledging a reverse gooch reverses the gooch again, and then further commenting on it...aw never mind

[Ray in MD]

Last year's all-star game = small sample size.
385 saves = large sample size.
Granted, there's a Tommy John surgery since his last one, but I feel pretty good with Wagner as "Plan C".

[Go Sox. Go Heels. Yankees Suck. Dook Sucks.]

Really, what it comes down to is that nobody knows what the hell is going to happen in the playoffs. I doubt in '04 before the post-season people were saying that Mark Bellhorn, Dave Roberts, and Derek Lowe were going to get us to the WS.

The lesson is that it's good to have options, and Wagner is an option...

[Steve in MD]

Billy Wagner - the anti-Gagne. So far, very good.

I was only half paying attention in the 8th until the Rays scored. To me it seemed like Oki has an incredible run of bad luch there.

[vancouversoxfan]

Now if the blow jAAAys would just stop lying down for the rangers.

[vermonter]

Do the Sox REALLY only have 4 home games left?

[Devine]

Eh, they laid down and took it for us, too, did those Jays. At least they won a game vs. the Rangers day before yesterday (by the skin of their teeth, if you can imagine an 18-10 game involving teeth-skinning).

[Devine]

Nah, vermonter, it's 15. 6 against good teams (LAA, TB) and 8 against awful teams (BAL, TOR, CLE).

The remaining road games are 16, two teams good (TB--the series we're in, NYY) and three bad (CWS, BAL, KC).

They play 20 in a row to end the year and 23 of 24. Texas plays 17 in a row and 23 of 24.

[Devine]

D'oh. I meant 9 vs. awful teams on the home games.

[Bob]

Anybody want two tix to the Pats game -v- the Giants tomorrow night?

Cost me $234, yours for a fast bid. I'll even throw in a free beer at Pete's today or tomorrow when you pick them up.

Did I ever mention how much I hate moving day? Yesterday, the North End looked like Jordan's Furniture threw up on the sidewalk.

[Rob in CT]

Bob - is "Moving Day" a semi-official day of note in Boston? I've noticed it too on several occasions moving my kids into the dormitories on Commonwealth.

Actually in thinking about it, I imagine most leases run Sept 1 to Aug 31 given how the student population swells as school starts. Hence the vomitorium look of the curbs throughout the city. It's no Truck Day, that's for sure.

Oh, and just to keep the RS talk going, I hope Garza lays a big fat one tonight. Something about just looking at that guy just pisses me off.

[louclinton]

You Have been Warned

[Bob]

L.C., from the Book of Revelations:

"And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not."

That explains it all, right?

[Bob]

Oh, and Garza can go to hell. I hate that guy. I want Youk to go all Ted Bundy on him with a lead pipe on-deck bat.

[Kaz]

Gonna throw this out there. I'll probably repost it tomorrow morning too since most people don't check in this late.

If Eric Hinske plays for the O's next year, he'll have played for every AL East team during his career. Not an easy feat, even in this era of free agency.

Trivia question: What current MLB player is the only one to have played for every team in an entire division?

[soxdownunder]

//I blame SDU./

I'm innocent, innocent I say!

[Bob]

SDU, the funny thing is, I'm going to hire you in the civial trial against you.

[soxdownunder]

So I can cross-examine myself! Cool.