Notes from the game

I was able to make it out to the game for the first time this year, so I thought I would jot some of my notes from the game:

-I am really sick of Foley. He has made some truly bonehead decisions this season and continued this trend tonight. Why would he send Bartlett home? Even if Aybar threw to first, they most likely would've still had time to get Bartlett.

- While I'm on baserunning, what was Aki thinking in the first inning when he wasn't tagging up on the flyball to the warning track? That could have ended up costing us a run...luckily Pena drew the walk so we could have the opportunity for a 1-out sac.

- The fans were great tonight. Driving home they said there was 25K there and they were mostly Rays fans. One of the most fun atmospheres I have been to since inception, outside of home openers.

- I was able to grab a "Let's Build A Ballpark" sign for my front yard. Anyone else who wants to see the stadium happen, look out for one of these next time you are at the game. They had them at booths spread out across the stadium.

- Kaz didn't have his best stuff tonight, but his changeup was on. For me, his changeup has always been the difference maker in his pitching. When his changeup is on, it makes all of his other pitches that much better.

- After RJ's post this morning, it was even more concerning seeing Maddon bring in Miller in the 7th. The first batter was not only a right hander, but someone who is tied for the AL lead in homeruns. You don't put yourself in that type of situation in a 1-run game.

- Wheeler was again got himself into a jam, but for me at least, I never really got too nervous. This is strange because I definitely should have been, but Wheeler has just been so good lately...you just expect him to get the outs.

- The MVP of tonights game in my opinion may very well have been Carlos Pena. His diving grab was most likely the difference between a Rays win and loss. If he doesn't get that, both of their runs score and we are down by 2. Couldn't be more fitting on Carlos Pena figurine night.

-  It was International Night at the Trop and the organization did a few things to celebrate this. One thing they did was have a different person every inning announce the batters as the came to the plate in a different language. The first inning I noticed this was in Japanese, and in the end it was just really stupid as no one(outside of Aki) had any idea what was going on. On a interesting note on this topic, the person who announced the batters in French was the Rays own Darcy Raymond.

- Last Thing! The team also announced after the game they would be playing the move "Ice Age" on the jumbotron for anyone that was interested. I have no idea why they were doing this and I doubted anyone would stick around, but the FO is continuing to find innovative ways to get butts in the stands and you have to give it to them for that.