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Lou Pickney's Online Commentary

Devil Rays Fun

Friday
June 25, 2004

Tonight the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are playing at home against the Florida Marlins, and I'm planning on going to the game (along with Scott Massey and possibly some other people). But get this: if the D-Rays win, they'll move to 34-34. A .500 mark in late June. If Boston loses tonight, that would put Tampa Bay just four games behind the Red Sox in the battle for second place in the AL East.

Now, for me baseball is not a sport that I get particularly excited about during the regular season. Without a salary cap, there is no competitive balance. And that sucks, but it is how it is. And here in Tampa, the Devil Rays have been the punch line of a joke as long as I've known them. They took the place of the Yucs when the Buccaneers went from also-rans to contenders (and finally Super Bowl Champs in the NFL).

Devil Rays blowout win
The Devil Rays scored 19 runs yesterday in Toronto.

But last season, Devil Rays management made the best move possible: they brought Lou Piniella in as the team's new manager. The guy is a proven winner, from his wire-to-wire World Series champs in Cincinnati in 1990 to his competitive squad in Seattle at the turn of the century (yikes, did I really just use "turn of the century" in a sentence?) This year, with veterans like Fred McGriff and Tino Martinez on board for leadership, the D-Rays have turned around a slow start and stepped it up. Since May 20, the team is an amazing 24-7. Last night they gave up 13 runs to the Blue Jays... but they scored 19 runs of their own in a rout. For Tampa baseball fans... this is just not normal.

Barring something worthy of the silver screen, the D-Rays won't make the postseason this year. But they're interesting to watch play for the first time perhaps ever, and they're winning. Yes, the Devil Rays are winning. It feels strange to write that. But it's true.

Now before I overextend myself, let me reaffirm that I am a New York Yankees fan through and through. But, if the D-Rays can be competitive, that's good for the entire Tampa Bay area. And I'm all for that. Plus if somehow the D-Rays finish ahead of Boston this season, that would make my year. Get me one of those cheesy bumper stickers that says: "I cheer for the Yankees and whoever's playing the Red Sox!"

After all of the build-up, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling turned out to be a disappointment. As my brother Matt pointed out on the phone last night, that's what I get for trusting Acclaim, a company that's been producing sub-standard wrestling video games for the past decade. But at least the game has some great graphics and an excellent fun factor. Glitches and poor collision detection aside, it is enjoyable to play. And, really, that's what matters.

How's this for a bizarre situation: Shauna and I had talked about meeting up in Las Vegas this weekend to see the Counting Crows in concert and to hang out and party in one of the coolest cities in the world. But she ended up not being able to get off from work (up at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia), and as it turned out I didn't know what my travel schedule would've permitted with the impending BTLS situation. Meanwhile, Franca (who I met through Regions Bank) hit me out of the blue a couple of weeks back with the stunning news that she was getting married in Vegas at the end of this month. So it goes, eh?

But this should be a fun weekend nonetheless. Between the D-Rays game tonight with Scott and partying in Ybor tomorrow night with my friend from high school Bill Cunningham, it should be a good time.


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