TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Talking Points: Some Not Impressed By Series

ADVERTISEMENT

TBO.com Staff Report

Published: October 26, 2008

A look at what others are saying about the World Series and the Rays from newspapers, Web sites and blogs around the country:

Introductions Lacking

Was it Fox Television's fault that all players and staff for both teams were not introduced before World Series Game 1? It's a baseball tradition that was conspicuous in its absense, and some veterans on the Phillies were not happy about it, ESPN's Amy K. Nelson reports:

"All non-starters were allowed to walk out onto the field, but they were never publicly acknowledged -- not to the TV audience, not even to the crowd.

" "It's disappointing and some guys were extremely mad about it," (Matt) Stairs said early Friday evening after the team's workout at Citizens Bank Park. "I think it's bootleg when you have the World Series and guys are jogging out to the line and they don't take the extra five minutes to introduce the players." "

The Rays, lacking in 40-year-old veterans, were less bothered by the ommission:

"The Rays' reserves and coaches also were not announced. But their player rep, Evan Longoria, said he was unaware of any displeasure about the slight. Scott Kazmir also said he wasn't aware of any players discussing it, but did agree that both teams should be introduced in the first home game of the series, which is normally what happens."

Noise? What Noise?

Todd Zolecki, Phillies beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, was not blown away by the noise at Tropicana Field during Games 1 and 2 of the World Series:

"I mean, it was loud. But it's not like I needed ear plugs or anything. And I found Rays fans mostly cheered and rang their bells when prompted. I can't imagine they would have cheered Brett Myers' at-bat against CC Sabathia like Phillies fans did because many wouldn't have known what they were looking at.

"I think Rays fans want their team to win, but they don't really care if they win. Most of them have been fans for a few weeks. How much could they care? Phillies fans care. They're dying for a championship. If the Rays don't win the World Series, they'll just head to Clearwater Beach next weekend."

And The World Shrugged

People in Tampa Bay and Philadelphia may be loving it, but the 2008 World Series has not, thus far, captured the nation's attention according to The Associated Press:

"FOX says the Tampa Bays Rays' 4-2 victory Thursday night received an 8.1 fast national rating and 15 share on the network. That is the second-lowest rating for a World Series game. It's ahead of only the 8.0 for the St. Louis Cardinals' 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 opener.

"The first two games averaged an 8.7/14, a 19 percent drop from the 10.8/18 for last year's Boston Red Sox-Colorado Rockies series."

Don't expect Saturday night's Game 3, which started at 10:06 p.m. after a 90-minute rain delay, to help those ratings numbers. We'll still be watching, though.

Blame the RayHawk on B.J.

Like it, love it or loathe it, the Rayhawk haircut will go down in baseball history as one of the defining themes of this year's Rays team.

The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan went looking for the origins of the Mohawk on the Rays, and landed at B.J. Upton's locker:

" "I just needed a little change, something to kind of loosen these guys up a little going into September," Upton said. "I decided to get a Mohawk, and it started to catch on, and here we are."

"Upton's hairstyle soon became a fashion trend in Tampa Bay. Not only do several of his teammates now have Mohawks, but the entire Tampa-St. Petersburg area is full of people running around wearing crazy haircuts.

"Did Upton create a monster?

" "Yeah, maybe," he replied."

Rays Get First World Series Win Playing N.L. Ball

Another Chicago Tribune writer, Steve Rosenbloom, was impressed by the way the Rays won Game 2 of the World Series:

"The Tampa Bay Rays bunted, stole bases, and made productive outs that scored runs -- the little things -- to win Game 2 of the World Series. The Rays are an American League team that is supposed to be a softball team the way the White Sox are. But they play National League baseball. How do the Rays look compared to your local National League team? Yeah, trick question. The Rays have an actual leadoff hitter who gets on base."

Up In Boston, They Like The Rays

Boston Globe columnist Nick Cafardo thinks the Rays have the edge in the Series because of the depth of their starting pitching:

"The Rays are a deeper team, a better team, and all the Phillies' weaknesses have been exposed. The only way out of it is for Moyer or Blanton to somehow come up with a win, hand it over to Hamels for Game 5, and hope the offense starts to click."

Keeping Hope Alive, Even On The Rink

The Rays even come up in hockey talk, like this column by Anthony Rieber from Newsday.com about the Columbus Blue Jackets:

"If the Blue Jackets need inspiration, they can look to another formerly anonymous team in a questionable market -- the Tampa Bay Rays, who are in the World Series after 10 years of expansion-franchise futility.

" "I think any team that hasn't had success can look at that," Peca said.

"Said Sharrock: "You have growing pains. We've had more than our share. But when you look at a team like Tampa, I guess it's an overnight success story. But in other ways it's an overnight success story that took 10 years." "

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT