The Blue Workhorse

In this “B-Ray-ves Report,” we discuss the Braves come-from-behind victory over Milwaukee and Chipper Jones having possibly the greatest game of his career. We also discuss the Rays formerly reliable bullpen blowing a game against the Yanks and a chance to close the gap in the division:
Current Series:
Atlanta -

Friday: Brewers 4, Braves 0 (WP - Gallardo, LP - Jurrjens)
Saturday: Brewers 3, Braves 0 (WP - Suppan, LP - Vazquez, SV - Hoffman)
Sunday: Braves 8, Brewers 7 (WP - O’Flaherty, LP - Villanueva, SV - Gonzalez)

On Deck: Four game series vs. Pittsburgh Pirates beginning Monday
Tampa Bay -

Saturday: Rays 9, Yankees 7 (WP - Howell, LP - Rivera, SV - Choate)
Sunday: Yankees 4, Rays 3 (WP - Aceves, LP - Balfour, SV - Rivera)
Monday: @ New York (A) - 7:05 PM EST (Sonnanstine - Pettitte)

On Deck: Three game series @ Los Angeles of Anaheim beginning Tuesday

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In this “B-Ray-ves Report,” we discuss the Braves and Rays both winning via a walk-off. The Braves blew a lead in the 9th and rallied in the bottom half of the inning while the Rays made the largest comeback in team history:
Current Series:
Atlanta -

Friday: Braves 4, Arizona 3 (WP - Gonzalez, LP - Pena)
Saturday: vs. Diamondbacks - 7:00 EST (Max Scherzer - Kenshin Kawakami)
Sunday: vs. Diamondbacks - 1:30 EST (Jon Garland - Derek Lowe)

On Deck: Four game series vs. Colorado Rockies beginning Monday
Tampa Bay -

Thursday: Indians 11, Rays 7 (WP - Carmona, LP - Shields)
Friday: Rays 8, Indians 7 (WP - Wheeler, LP - Vizcaino)
Saturday: vs. Indians - 4:10 EST (Carl Pavano - Matt Garza)
Sunday: vs. Indians - 1:38 EST (No Starter Named - Andy Sonnanstine)

On Deck: Four game series vs. Oakland Athletics beginning Monday

In this “B-Ray-ves Report,” we discuss both the Braves and Rays clutching up late in the ball game. Too bad only one of them succeeded in winning their ball game:
Series Scores:
Atlanta -

Monday: St. Louis 3, Atlanta 2
Tuesday: Atlanta 2, St. Louis 1
Wednesday: vs. St. Louis - 7:00 PM EST (Wainwright - Vazquez)

On Deck: Three Game Series vs. Houston Astros Beginning Friday
Tampa Bay -

Monday: Tampa Bay 7, Minnesota 1
Tuesday: Minnesota 4, Tampa Bay 3
Wednesday: @ Minnesota - 8:10 PM EST (Kazmir - Blackburn)

On Deck: Three Game Series vs. Boston Red Sox Beginning Thursday

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In this “B-Ray-ves Report,”we look at a tough night as the Braves and Rays both lost for the first time on the same day this season. Starters Javier Vazquez and Matt Garza were both outdueled despite solid outings:
Yesterday’s Scores:

Florida - 5
Atlanta - 1

New York (A) - 7
Tampa Bay - 2

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The Blue Workhorse 2009 Outlook:
In 2008, Tampa Bay went for a near complete overhaul. They jettisoned the Devil out of their name and cancers Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young out of their locker room. Combined with making quality moves, and Tampa Bay was a brand new team with a brand new sunny outlook to match their sunny uniforms.

Seems like a huge advertising gimmick, right? Might have in March, but then when the (no longer Devil) Rays came out strong at the beginning of the season, they started to catch people’s eyes. They continued to catch eyes (and fights with perennial AL powerhouses and division rivals Boston and New York) all the way to their first winning season in the club’s history… and then all the way to their first playoff appearance… and then all the way to their first AL East division title… and then all the way to their first playoff series win over the White Sox… and then all the way to their first World Series appearance after a 7-game thrilling series with the Red Sox.

AND…more…including why the Hometown feels…The Tampa Bay Rays WILL win the World Series…

Let’s play a quick game of name those numbers. Who has produced these incredible statistics?

151.1 IP / 9 W / 2.28 ERA / 195 K / 1.13 WHIP

Jake Peavy? Johan Santana? Many of you might see the line and figure it must have been a line from Peavy, Santana, or one of the other top-flight starting pitchers 151 innings through the season.

However, these stats were the combined 2007 season statistics of Carlos Marmol and Jonathan Broxton, two of the most dominant middle relievers in the game.

In terms of fantasy baseball, middle relievers are often forgotten when they can be a huge weapon as an added bonus to your pitching staff. They can be the secret key to lower WHIP and ERA, and many of these guys also pile up the strikeouts:

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