And once again Sonnanstine gives them a chance to win. He looks deceptive with terrific off-speed stuff and a solid plan. I really think the Rays now have a #1 in Kazmir and a #2 or 3 in Shields and a #3 or 4 in Sonnanstine. And maybe the bullpen is going to take shape with Wheeler, Reyes and Salas in place. I am not sold on Dohmann or Glover yet and there is nothing more to say about Stokes or Fossum, but Balfour has a chance to be worthwhile.

A great game to win!

After scouting Reyes again tonight I imagine that if its going to happen the Mariner's will try to pull the trigger sooner rather than later.
If I was the NDRO I would force the issue by stating that we are not going to put Al thru the waiver process, that way the deadline is a real deadline and we either keep what we have and go with that next year until this time or we get started with seeing what the younger guys have.
The Pen improvements look good so far and should continue to pick up the team morale.

Great job by the pen today and the team, lets keep this going.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!

Yknow, it's games like this one that make the rebuilding and trades start to look worthwhile, isn't it?

I want to point out that Maddon made another smart decision yesterday by moving Harris to second base. It is generally acknowledged that Maddon has a terrific eye not just for talent but also for the details that make a player effective or not. A week or so ago he commented that he considered Wilson a fine fielder, implying that he was a better shortstop than Harris (who has little range and may be partly responsible for the poor bullpen results, particularly by Camp). While Wigginton was here, he had to leave Harris at shortstop, preferable to moving him back and forth when Wilson played. But now, with Zobrist and Wilson both available at short, he can keep Harris in the lineup at second where he should be better suited. Perhaps not a big deal, but the manager is proactive and adaptable.

Man, Those guys were good defensively last night.