Stung by the Devil Rays

Last Thursday night, I was listening on my local 99.5-WBXY talk station to the Greg Knapp show when, suddenly, it was time for Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball! I said to myself, why not just check out this team (which I’ve never followed before) and see what they’ve got going on this season. So, I stayed tuned in.

Aside from the announcement of that night’s game in Boston against the Red Sox, the main issue being discussed during the pre-game segment was the fact that the Devil Rays had lost ten games in a row. Their manager, Joe Maddon, was on the show and talked about it, saying that he was encouraging his team to go out there and act as if they’d won ten games in a row. I can just see somebody like Tony LaRussa with that kind of attitude toward his players’ substandard performances. But just the same, I realized beforehand that Tampa Bay historically has had losing baseball teams and that it might be healthy for me, after the recent dazzling successes of my Florida Gator football and basketball teams, to follow a team with a more humble record and outlook.

So, I attentively listened to the play-by-play at the beginning of the game. The top of the first inning saw the top of the order in the Devil Ray batting lineup. The first batter struck out. The second batter struck out. The third batter struck out. Then it was the bottom of the first inning and the Red Sox were at bat. They proceeded to score six runs in that inning and I switched stations, swearing off the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a team that even remotely merited my following. Later I checked the final score and they lost that game, their eleventh in a row, 15-4. I guess the Rays went into their game last night pretending to be riding an eleven game winning streak! But they did win, 6-5, against the lowly Kansas City Royals. I have a proposal: they should only broadcast games that the Devil Rays play against lower division teams!