6/19: RAYS 8, Chicago 3

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Jun 19, 2008 10:18 PM EDT in Game Threads

RAYS 8, Chicago 3

Tropicana Field
St. Petersburg, FL

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	L
Chicago	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	9	2	7
RAYS	0	1	0	0	0	0	7	0	X	8	10	1	8

Win Probability Table and Stats Courtesy of Fan Graphs

Three Up
Player	WPA
LF Carl Crawford	.175
2B Akinori Iwamura	.140
C Dioner Navarro	.129

Three Down
Player	WPA
RP Trever Miller	-.117
CF B.J. Upton	-.047
RP Grant Balfour	.002

RAYS SWEEP!!!!!!!!!

Poll

Who was the MVP of this evening's game?

LF Carl Crawford

190 votes

SP Jamie Shields

13 votes

RP Grant Balfour

30 votes

233 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 13 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

These may have been my favorite games that I have watched

The first two games I got to see live and they were definitely the best games I’ve gotten to see live, and tonight was exciting too! We drew 97k for the series in attendance as well!

Blake
USF--Class of '09

by usfraysfan on Jun 19, 2008 10:36 PM EDT reply actions

How many would have been at that series...

... had the Rays been playing, say, the Pirates instead of the Cubs?

At least half that 97K was Cubs fans.

Al, visiting from Bleed Cubbie Blue

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jun 20, 2008 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions

You do realize we drew the same number for Garza/Hendrickson that we drew for Zambrano/Kazmir's starts, right?

Or do you want to play the generalization game?

by R.J. Anderson on Jun 20, 2008 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions

I generally don't think the pitching matchup matters, under normal circumstances.

With regards to attendance. What matters is Wednesday afternoon game vs. Saturday night game with a concert. That’s what drew the two games even, attendance-wise. There is no question that the Cubs are a draw beyond what we usually get, and that is nothing to be ashamed of, but it is a fact. It happens everywhere else too. This weekend’s numbers against Houston will be very interesting.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Jun 20, 2008 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Yes they're a draw beyond what we get

But I don’t think it’s very important to compare the Cubs to the Pirates for attendance here. Look at the Orioles series, we draw around 60k as you said.

by R.J. Anderson on Jun 20, 2008 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't think it's important either

I was just responding to an inquisition. The problem with comparing weekend series to weekday series as you do is that it is an apples to oranges situation. Weekend series inherently draw more because the constraints of the average workday don’t exist, and people have more leisure time. Add to that the Rays’ focus on giveaways and supplemental entertainment, and pretty much any weekend series will draw, particularly Saturday nights.

Weekday games are another matter, and there is no question that the Cubs are in a league of their own as far as weekday draws go for us. Their infrequency in the area, their quality play this year, and their large fan base just combine to make them a draw unlike any other team here. They just completely blow away every other weekday series in attendance totals, and there is no shame in that. It’s just how things are.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Jun 20, 2008 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Just to jump on board with what you said

I typically go to all the games over a weekend, at worst 2 of 3. However, I’m never able to go during the week.

by matthan on Jun 20, 2008 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey, Al

Good to see you over here. The midweek attendance in the past definitely depended on the opponent. I would say that with school out now and the Rays doing well, the team probably could have drawn 60k for three games against Pittsburgh, maybe a little less. Somewhere around 20 per. A lot of people avoid the stadium when the Cubs or some other big ticket rolls through because the prices are higher and the stadium is more logistically difficult. I know I try and avoid the big teams.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Jun 20, 2008 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions