Rays Sweep the Jays - Akinori Iwamura sighting!

The Rays finished an impressive series against the Blue Jays that included 2 walk-offs and a gut wrenching 3-2 win. I have to tip my hat to the Blue Jays for a gutty series even though they leave empty handed (too bad for them).

BUT, the real story is the resiliency of the 2009 Rays team! They gutted out a huge walk-off win in Game 1, battled relentlessly in Game 2 (despite losing 3, 3-run leads) and carried that into game 3 against arguably the best pitcher in the American League in Roy Halladay. Not to mention that the Rays have now beaten Halladay twice this year.

I'm not going to get into a bunch of details about who pitched really well (Shields and Price) and who did not pitch so well (Kazmir), but I do want to give some props to an improved defense (still some issues there, but seems to be improving) as well as a very solid bullpen (despite Grant Balfour's issues in Game 2 - he made up for it today). Overall, I like the way this team keeps battling back after a rough stretch in Texas. I'm not ready to say that I'm having more fun that I did last year at this time, but I am really starting to have a lot of fun again with this team! I also want to give some props to Pena today for finally breaking through with a clutch double to drive in the 2 winning runs today. I've already voted for "Los" for the ASG and I threw a few more votes in today just for that play.

Finally, Aki was spotted on the field today (see pic below) playing catch and moving around with a knee brace on his leg. It is AMAZING to me that he's already out on the field and will be doing some agility drills with the Rays right after the All-Star break. I am a HUGE Aki fan and can't wait for him to rejoin the clun. Talk about depth when he returns!