Joe Maddon got tossed by home plate umpire Daryl Cousins after going crazy on a call that Kid K clearly thought was a strike. This was a game that the Rays could have clearly won. Even going into the 9th, they were only behind 2 runs. Normally, when Kazmir has 10 strikeout games, the Rays can coast into the 9th. Was it the road trip finally getting to the Rays? Was it the “squeezing” of Kazmir?
Outs Per Swing has the graphic of the call up on the top of the page. If the Mlb computer projects the call as a strike and the umpire says differently…then maybe, just maybe that’s a case for instant replay. But the old saying of you shouldn’t have to have the game depend on official’s calls holds true here. Nobody really did well on the Rays offensively other then Crawford, Longoria and Aki.
Tampa is still 2 games behind Boston as they took care of business yesterday in Camden Yards.
It’s time for a good home stand after a 3 – 6 road trip. There are some good games coming up this weekend against the Fish and The Cubbies. Hopefully the Rays can get over the jet lag and kick things back into gear.
Around the division:
As previously stated, Boston won in Baltimore 6 – 3
The NY Yankees lost in Oakland 8 – 4
Toronto lost in Seattle 2 – 1.
Interesting note: The AL East is the tightest division is all of baseball. The Red Sox have the division lead, our Rays are 2 games behind, and the Yankees, Baltimore and Toronto are technically tied for 3rd at 7 games behind each.
