Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Tagged the Yankees For 11 Runs, and the Sun Came Out Again

The Rays came from behind to beat the New York Yankees in grand fashion Friday night, beating up on the Bronx Bombers by a score of 11-5 in front of 26,079 fans at Tropicana Field. The Rays put a halt to their four game skid, while the offense reasserted itself. Since I live blogged the game from section 143, the following recap will be of the game peripherals sort.

The New What Next: Enter the Evil Empire — A Series Preview of Sorts

The Tampa Bay Rays return home Thursday following a 3-0 loss to the Orioles, and an abysmal 3-5 road trip. Suffice it to say, after going a combined 11-for-52 wRISP (21%), the Rays bats may have been in the dugout, but they certainly weren’t in the batters box. Tampa Bay has now dropped three in a row, while averaging under two runs per game over a ten-game span. Look at the bright side: The Rays are 7-8 after the first 15 games. Compare that to last season when Tampa Bay went 5-10 in the first two weeks of the season.

Stu Sternberg Makes A Comment, and the Media Goes Bananas

A verifiable statement isn’t an unsubstantiated rumor; not in the least. In the case of Stu Sternberg, his tells are quite obvious. Sternberg isn’t happy in Tropicana Field (for a few reasons), and he wants his team to have a new facility. I can’t blame him. Furthermore, he would like the opportunity to vet a few different locations, throughout the region, for a new facility — not just, as many would have you believe, Tampa. I can’t blame him for that either.