Lovin' the DOME! Rain Expected Tonight and Saturday in Philly

First of all, I don't have much to say about last night's game. Their Ace pitched like an Ace and Kazmir made 1 big mistake. That was the ballgame. Their best (by far) pitcher beat our (currently) 3rd best pitcher. I do like the way the Rays match up over the next 3 games and give the starting pitching edge to our boys. I also recall being shut out in Game 1 of the ALCS only to see our boys put on an offensive display in games 2, 3, 4 and 5. So, for those of you that are all worried about the Rays, chill out. This team is the most resilient team in MLB, we have VERY STRONG starting pitching and our bats will come alive.

Secondly, for all the hating Fox did on the Trop last night, they are thanking their lucky stars for the Dome (image above is what the weather might look like come Saturday - it's not actual radar). With an 80% chance of rain tonight and a 90% chance of rain on Saturday night in Philly, how messed up would the TV schedule be with 2 rainouts? If you are a Rays fan planning to travel to Philly for the game, you should read this article as it gives you some good detail on what happens if Saturday is a rainout.

RAYS WIN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE! We're Going to the World Series!!!

Can you believe the Tampa Bay Rays are going to the World Series? It's truly a dream come true. I have a few things I'd like to write about, time permitting, so stay tuned. In the mean time, I promised pictures from Game 6 and 7, so here they are (starting with Game 7 since it was so exciting).

ALCS Game 7 - the loudest sporting event I've ever been to!

ALCS Game 6 - much less exciting, but still a lot of fun.

GO RAYS!!!!

ALCS Umpiring Crew is Set: What do you know about these guys?

MLB just announced that Tim McClelland will be the crew chief for the ALCS and he will be joined by Derryl Cousins, Brian Gorman, Brian O'Nora, Alfonso Marquez and Sam Holbrook.

I would love to hear your thoughts on these guys as well as any stories as it relates to any Rays games they worked over the years.

Here are some useful links if you want to learn about these guys:

Tim McClelland
Known to be a shoebox umpire. Could this be an edge for Game #1 when TM is behind the plate? Shields = 40BB in 215 IP vs. Matsuzaka = 94BB in 167 IP.

Derryl Cousins
Kazmir blows up at Cousins, Maddon ejected (Story HERE)

Brian Gorman

Brian O'Nora

Alfonso Marquez

Sam Holbrook

Rays Attendance Discussion Continues: 9=8's Response

Lack of attendance at recent Rays games has garnered much media attention including:

The Heater: Where are the fans?

Tampa Tribune: Rays Churn Through Empty Seat of Blue

St. Pete Times: Pennant Fevor? Not Around Here

I recently wrote an article trying to put some context on the Rays attendance issue that has been much discussed recently (especially in light of the 13,000 and 12,000 "strong" crowds for the currently ongoing home stand - I'm proud to say I was one of the 13,000 and will be going tonight as well with my son). The piece was called "Understanding Attendance: Tampa Bay Rays and the Trop 2008" and I tried to explain why our attendance figures are not all that great (or why they are actually pretty good, all things considered). In short, there are a number of reasons discussed and data shared to put things into context. One that I did not discuss was the impact of school starting (August 18th in Hillsborough Cuunty and August 19th in Pinellas County). Below is a comment I made on The Heater blog earlier today. I'll track attendance and post an update at the end of the season.

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Since everyone keeps saying "other cities have school, too" here are the actual facts (not sound bites with no backup)

Boston 1st day of school: Sept. 4, 2008
http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/node/797

New York 1st day of school: Sept. 2, 2008
http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm?mo=9&yr=2008

Chicago 1st day of school: Sept. 2, 2008
http://www.cps.k12.il.us/calendar.html

Tampa/St. Pete 1st day of school: Aug. 18-19, 2008

The fact is most schools in the US start after Labor Day, but TB area schools started Aug 18-19th. It's too easy to say stuff without backing it with the facts (a common thing on this board). Our attendance is still really low, but this is a big factor as the data show. More data for you to solidify the point:

Last weekday home stand BEFORE school started (vs. Cleveland Aug 4-6th)

• Monday Att ~ 17,000
• Tuesday Att ~ 20,000
• Wednesday Att ~ 27,500
• TOTAL Att ~ 64,500

Still not great, but you can see that school has a 5,000-10,000 PER GAME difference in attendance.

Last Weekend homestand (vs. Detroit Aug 1-3rd):

• Friday Att ~ 26,400
• Saturday Att ~ 36,000
• Sunday Att ~ 33,400
• TOTAL Att ~ 95,800

The fans are here (check out our TV ratings and 75%-100% increase in merchandise sales), school being in session makes a difference as does location and lackluster 10 years of building no fan base. Watch attendance grow substantially beginning Friday vs. Baltimore and continue strong throughout the year as the race heats up and kids settle into their school routines (25,000+ avg. for the last 13 home games is my prediction). This Toronto series will prove to be a blip, in my opinion, and the Angels series was the first 3 days of school, so it's also a bit of a special case (again, just my opinion). We shall see. I will post this on my blog so it's easy to track and will report back at end of season.

Finally, all this talk about moving the team is way too premature. I venture to guess that if you had told "Stu and the Crew" they'd achieve the 2nd best attendance in Rays franchise history in less than 3 years from when they started, I think they might have been pretty happy with that prospect.

Last Chance: Sign Up For Our Email to Win Free Tickets

Congrats to "RaysFanGio" as he is the winner of 2 FREE Rays Tickets to the Sunday, August 31, 2008 Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles game.

He was selected at random from our list of verified email subscribers. It's not too late to sign up for another chance to win 2 tickets to see the Rays play in September. I will announce additional details of our next contest in a couple of weeks. Sign up now for a chance to win - click here.

How Do the Rays Keep Winning with So Many Injuries (sorry, Hank, I am not going to whine about it)?

SIGN UP TO RECIEVE OUR BLOG VIA EMAIL TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN WIN 2 TICKETS TO A FUTURE RAYS GAME!!! STAY TUNED...

How can the Rays be in the midst of a 5-2 road trip (3 more games to go) despite losing their #3 (Carl Crawford) and #4 (Evan Longoria) hitters, who were both getting hot right before their injuries (Carl and Evan accounted for a whopping 25% of the team's RBIs for 2008!!!)?

The answer lies in players like Ben Zobrist, Willy Aybar and Rocco Baldelli. Since being recalled on August 5th, Ben Zobrist has a hit in 8 of 9 games played (he's hitting .272 during this stretch - not huge, but respectable) and has an on base percentage of .400 (that's strong for a #9 rookie hitter). Additionally, he's had some clutch hits such as his double in Oakland that proved to be the winning run. For a rookie who doesn't know whether to unpacl his suitcase or not, this is a major contribution to a team at a critical time.

Another great story is Willy Aybar, who has also hit .272 during the same stretch (filling in for Evan Longoria). Not only has he played a very solid 3B having committed 0 fielding errors and turned a healthy number of key double plays, he also had hist first 2 homerun game (August 10th at Seattle) and drove in 2 key runs on August 14th (Rays won the game by 1 run).

Finally, the return of Rocco Baldelli has been an emotional lift for this team. Rocco has been working with the Rays training team for months trying to deal with his medical condition and his return is a true testament to his tenacity and strong will. He has also made a huge impact in the field running down two awesome diving catches in right field (including the #1 ESPN Web Gem on August 14th). Rocco's ability to deal with this adversity demonstrates the heart and character of this team, which is the clear reason they continue to win. Oh, and let's not forget great pitching - giving up about 3.5 runs on this road trip.

Welcome to 9equals8.com (9=8.com): The Unofficial and Unsanctioned Blog of the Tampa Bay Rays

Welcome to 9equals8.com (9=8.com, but you can’t use “=” symbols in website addresses), the unofficial and unsanctioned blog of the Tampa Bay Rays’ hunt for October! As an avid Rays fan and regular home and road game attendee, I thought it might be fun to share my perspectives on the Tampa Bay Rays quest for the “Holy Grail” of Major League Baseball. Thus far, this season has been one of the most memorable ones in recent baseball history and includes a special story of intense competitive spirit and can-do attitude, teamwork, heart and character. My goal with this blog is to inspire dialogue and provide everyday fans with a different viewpoint and perspective on this remarkable team and season. The MLB.com news and analysis is great, but I’ve found it to lack a personal touch and connection with this team. Whether it's Carlos Pena's recent 12th inning blast at the A's, Gabe Gross' right field wall shot to right field against the Indians (and Carlos' ensuing walk-off shot to center field), Evan Longoria's epic at bat against Roy Halladay for his 1st career grand slam home run or any one of the other tremendous wins this ballclub has experienced this year, this blog intends to cover and talk about it all. I plan to take this discussion much deeper and to a personal level with the coaches and players. I hope you enjoy this blog, please comment regularly and freely and GO RAYS!!!

For those of you that are Rays newbies, you might be wondering what 9=8 is all about. In summary, this symbol represents Joe Maddon's (the Tampa Bay Rays' Manager) philosophy that 9 guys playing 9 innings everyday, the Rays will be one of 8 teams in the playoffs. Joe distributed 9-8 tee shirts to the team and it has become the rallying cry of this remarkable team in 2008.