The Morning After: Rays Tie Sox

Tampa 3 (9-3-1), Boston 3 (I hate hockey)

Back when I was a little kid there were no professional baseball franchises in Florida. All we had was spring training baseball. These were the only "pro" games I got to attend and thus they held a special importance for me. Well, one time I went to Clearwater with my Dad to watch the Phillies play. The game was tied at the end of the tenth inning and there were about 100 people left in the stands. To my amazement, everyone walked out and started shaking hands. I didn't even realize what was going on, so i asked my Dad. He told me that the game was ending in a tie. I was, understandably, pissed. 1) These games were important to me so I assumed they were important to everyone else (despite seeing players jog around the warning track), and 2) it was way past my bedtime and I had envisioned an amazing scenario in my head where I was up past midnight, defying the laws of the bedtime, watching live baseball. Both of my fantasies were crushed. Ever since that day I have detested the spring training "tie" ballgame.

Tie games: ruining kids childhood innocence since 1988.

Highlights

• Garza looked good for the second outing in a row. He went 4 and two thirds and allowed no runs. His spring era is now below 2.
  

• Howell also pitched well. He went 2 and a third inning and gave up no earned runs. I really think he has a good shot of making the bullpen as a long reliever.
  

Lowlights

• The game ended in a tie (see above).
  

• Bartolo Colon pitched decent for the Red Sox. Just what the Red Sox need: a rejuvenated Colon. The starting pitching was the one question mark I saw on their team. If Colon regains his form of three years ago that question mark turns into a strength. Seriously, I don't know if I can take another Red Sox championship.
  

• Not to be outdone by Longoria, Joel Guzman made his first error of the spring.
  

Analysis

Can we just start the season already? What do we have left? Let me check. Two weeks plus a couple days. It is getting harder and harder to try and extract meaningful information from these games. Especially since none of them are on TV. But I suppose they are helping the players round into form. Practice is a good thing, especially for a young team.

It sure seems like Longoria is playing a lot. At this point, it would be a surprise to me if they sent him down. The starting rotation is rounding into form and the everyday lineup is pretty much set now that we know Rocco is going to start the season on the DL. What about backup catcher? It sure seems Riggans has that locked up. There are really only two topics of interest anymore: 1) the race for the last couple of slots in the bullpen and 2) whether or not the Rays are going to sign someone to play right field. I'm guessing not, but who knows.

PA