The sun did rise today.

The birds are singing, and things seem to be OK.

After watching the Red Sox get out-hit, out-pitched, outplayed and out-cheered the last three nights, I wasn’t so sure that was going to happen. But here we are - it’s a new day and we have the damn Yankees to focus on.

There’s a lot of baseball left to played. Let’s turn this thing around.

Thefoulline.com quick hits

• After receiving threats in the mail a few days ago, Sox players avoided fans in the stands like they had the ebola virus (with David Aardsma being the exception, but I think he may have a few screws loose anyway).
• Walking into the game last night and seeing ex-Sox player Bill Lee in attendance signing autographs I thought was going to be a good omen. It wasn’t.
• Evan Longoria is a great ballplayer, but after watching him interact with the young fans in the crowd, I think he is an even better person. Within two years, this guy is going to be the most popular player in baseball.
• With Terry Francona picking the reserves for the All-Star Game, I think Longoria just secured a spot on the roster.
• Funny observation of the night: The Red Sox coaches warm up as if they are playing that night. I watched as Brad Mills and Luis Alicea played some long toss before the game. After watching the Sox bullpen implode last night, they could have used them.
• Three games, three dumb moves by Francona. Game 1: Not pinch hitting Sean Casey for Lugo in the 9th inning. Game 2: Having the ice-cold Jason Varitek pinch hit. Game 3: Keeping Craig Hansen in the game too long and having him walk half the Rays lineup.
• Bonus dumb move from Game 3: Having the above mentioned Varitek do a hit and run with the slowest guy on the team standing on first base. It was a recipe for failure.
• Manny sucks.
• What a relief, Boston has four games against the Yankees.
• 3 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay Rays feels like 100 right now.
• Thanks to the Rays fan who jump started my truck in the parking lot after the game. I take back some of the bad stuff I’ve said about their kind in the past.

Thefoulline.com would like to congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays on winning the 2008 World Series. Tampa has shown that with hard work and determination, anything is possible. Kudos to the Rays and their fan.

What’s that, there are still 80 games left to be played?? Are you sure? I was listening to Sports Radio 620 WDAE this morning and according to them, this season is over.

On Tampa’s Ron and Ian show this morning these guys could not say enough about how the Rays are going to kill the Sox this week, and how Boston is a bunch of chumps. These are the same guys that predicted during the pre-season that the Rays would finish below .500. What I don’t understand is how the Rays will win the World Series and still finish with a losing record.

Could this be yet another Florida newspaper/talk show/news reporter jumping on the Rays bandwagon? This is nothing new for this area. After all, the same thing already happened when the Bucs and Lightning were suddenly contenders, so why not jump on the Rays’ wagon? What I find really funny is last year the Tampa Tribune and St. Pete Times had absolutely zero Rays coverage. It was difficult to even find the box score. Now these sports sections are all Rays, all the time.

I wonder what they are going to replace this section with when September rolls around. Oh, I know, the Buccaneers will be getting ready to start their season. Crisis averted.

Everyone loves a winner. This is evident by every Tom, Dick and Harry that is suddenly a “lifelong” Rays fan. Some of these fans can even tell you the names of a a few of the Devil Rays that were on the team last year.

But a true fan follows their team and voices their support regardless of their record.

I look forward to seeing and hearing how this all plays out in the Tampa media when Thursday rolls around, and once again the Rays are looking up at the Red Sox.

The Tampa Bay Rays have had an impressive start to their tenth season, a season that has shown a lot of promise, hope, and potential for a successful future. After 68 games the Rays are finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, with a winning record and hopes for a possible playoff berth.

Despite the large amount of stress that this could cause, it’s refreshing to see that the Rays have been able to keep their sense of humor. I was reading the newspaper the other day and came across this quote from Rays pitcher and part-time comedian James Shields, referring to Coco Crisp charging the mound during their game last week: “If he wants to come out and charge the mound, he’s going to feel the wrath. That’s just bottom line. If he wants to go cry about it, that’s fine.”

After closer examination of the brawl, I noticed a few things. First, Shields threw the worst punch that I’ve ever seen. He really should look at what he’s swinging at. Secondly, when involved in a fight, you really should take your baseball glove off.

Now I’m not a boxing expert, but when Shields missed his punch by six inches, was that the “unleashing of the wrath?” His punch did nothing more than dry out Coco’s contact lenses from the wind blowing by.

These two teams meet again June 30th at Sam’s Wholesale Warehouse… I mean Tropicana Field. It’s going to be an exciting series that should provide some fireworks. Let’s hope that with all the bad blood between these teams, that they will sell this place out (for the the 12th time… ever).

I’ll definitely be there along with the other 20,000+ Red Sox fans.

I just hope Shields will keep his wrath contained.

Baseball fights are stupid. It’s essentially a pig pile of grown men. No one ever lands a clean punch, and all it does is increase the hostility between the two teams. Players’ egos are getting out of control.

With that being said, 3rd base coach DeMarlo Hale body slamming James Shields was awesome.

Thefoulline.com Quick Hits:

• I would trade Coco Crisp for James Shields/Jonny Gomes any day of the week.
• The Red Sox are a close-knit team, but you have to figure if anyone is going to fight in the Sox dugout, it’s going to be Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez. Youk is an intense, hardworking, blue-collar player. Manny is a naturally talented, lazy idiot. I’d be surprised if this was the first fight between the two.
• With Manny’s contract up at the end of this season, I think Boston should make a serious run at Colorado Rockies Matt Holliday. He’s younger than Manny, would have a comparable salary, can play left field, and would absolutely destroy Fenway Park.
• Please, please, please…. let’s hope Jacoby Ellsbury didn’t break his wrist in last night’s game. If he did, the Sox are in big trouble. Ellsbury has been doing a great job as Boston’s table-setter.
• After last night’s basebrawl game, the Rays are now neck-and-neck with the Yankees as public enemy number one at thefoulline.com
• Jonny Gomes, Carl Crawford, and Akinori Iwamura are a bunch of punks. These three are the biggest cheap-shot artists I have ever seen. Punching Coco when he was being he held down by Dioner Navarro was cowardly. These three should receive longer suspensions than both Coco and Shields.
• I have to mention Joba Chamberlain’s performance the other night at Yankee stadium: 2.1 innings, 148 pitches, 4 walks, 55,000 dejected fans, one foolish looking owner. Question: If a guy is playing great in the set-up role, why mess with that? Answer: Hank Steinbrenner is a friggin moron.
• I hope the Rays enjoyed their 22 days in first place of the American League East. It will be the last time they sniff first for the rest of the year.

Thefoulline.com quick hits:

• For the record, I wrote a few months ago that the Red Sox should make every attempt to trade for Johan Santana. This included dealing Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, pretty much anyone. Obviously the Sox front office is smarter than I am.
• In case you missed it, Jon Lester threw a no-hitter against the K.C. Royals the other night. I’ve always figured that Lester would be a solid contributor for the Sox. He’s a guy that I thought could go out and win 12-15 games a year and be a solid #3 guy in the rotation. After Monday’s performance, I think I’ve underestimated his ability.
• Watching the Sox as a kid, they were always a slow, prodding team that relied on the long ball. They rarely manufactured runs, and stolen bases were nonexistent. The 2008 team with Ellsbury, Coco, Pedroia, Youk and Lugo stealing bases and playing small ball is a lot more fun to watch.
• Speaking of Lugo, his tenure in Boston may be coming to an end. What kind of message is Terry Francona sending when Lugo gets a defensive replacement four games in a row? Paging Jed Lowrie…
• Jacoby Ellsbury stole 25 bases in a row to start his career, two short of the record set by Tim Raines. Ellsbury was thrown out on a pitch-out and a perfect strike from the catcher to second base, and he still was barely out. This kid is scary fast.
• Manny Ramirez stated that he has stopped hitting home-runs on purpose. He said that fans aren’t excited enough about it, and he is going to wait to hit them on the upcoming west coast trip. The reason fans aren’t excited, Man-Ram, is that you’re hitting .178 with 11 strikeouts over the last 12 games. And you’re an idiot.
• The Sox have had solid contributions this year from their young players: Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie, Justin Masterson, and Brandon Moss.
• The Yankees “top” young players have done the following: Phillip Hughes 0-4, 9.00 ERA; Ian Kennedy 0-3, 8.48 ERA; Jeff Karstens 1-4, 11.05 ERA; Melky Cabrera, .252 batting average; Joba Chamberlain, 10 holds, 2.66 ERA, 700 cheeseburgers eaten. Advantage: Boston.
• Bartolo Colon is wicked fat, but he pitched pretty well last night. He may make his Fantasy debut for the Yankeehaters next week.
• Joba Chamberlain is joining the New York Yankees starting rotation. This is going to be just the boost the Yanks need to leapfrog the Blue Jays and seize fourth place in the division.
• Ex-Sox and current freak show Eric Gagne is being sidelined with a shoulder “injury.” Have you seen this guy lately? Not only is he stinking it up in Milwaukee, but he may be the ugliest human on the planet. 7.45 ERA, multiple blown saves, $10 million… money well spent.

With the fantasy league going so well, I’ve forgotten that I started this blog to actually write about real baseball. So I’m going to knock off the rust, spew some opinions, and hopefully start some discussion.

Last year I wrote a post titled 5 Reasons I Hate the J.D. Drew Signing. This was one of the first things I wrote, and the interesting thing about it is that it was actually referenced on TheSportingNews.com.

So in an attempt to get thefoulline.com back out in the world of baseball opinions, here is an update on the same theme.

6 Reasons I Hate Julio Lugo:

1. He’s a career .271 hitter that’s being paid $9 million a year. The Sox could have kept Orlando Cabrera for the same amount of cash.

2. He looks like a velociraptor when he’s getting ready to hit.

3. A major league leading 11 errors so far in only 35 games played.

4. He runs like a bowlegged donkey.

5. He complains about the Boston media… to the Boston media… when they write negative things about him. Memo to Julio: You’re not in Tampa Bay anymore.

6. Julio wears #23. This number should be reserved for great athletes. Guys like Michael Jordan, Don Mattingly, Lebron James, Pete Maravich and Ryne Sandberg have all worn this number with a certain distinction. Lugo should wear #67 until he proves worthy.

This list could be endless. What would you add?

Thefoulline.com quick hits:

• Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia are the best 1-2 punch in baseball. It seems like every game Ellsbury slaps a single, promptly steals second, and then is driven in by Pedroia. They’ve made the top of the Red Sox order fun to watch.
• Miguel Tejada promised a sick kid with Muscular Dystrophy that he would hit a homerun for him, and then he went out and hit one. I don’t care how old Tejada pretends to be, that was a classy move.
• All is right in the universe tonight after the Sox bounced back and swept the Rays.
• That sound you are hearing is the sound of Rays fans jumping off the bandwagon.
• Announcers should be biased towards their team, but the Rays’ combo of Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane take it to a whole other level. Listening to these two idiots go on and on over all the calls that go against the Rays makes me want to cut my ears off. Not to mention, Dewayne’s hair looks like a rat’s nest.

• To further prove that Terry Francona reads thefoulline.com, after writing about the Sox’s offensive woes, they went and put up 26 runs on the Rays during the three-game series.
• Tomorrow is the most popular day of the week, Fantasy recap day! Let’s see if my predictions hold up.

After watching the Red Sox this past week, I was under the impression that their offense was still stuck in Fort Myers. The dynamic duo of Ellsbury and Pedroia have looked lousy. Big Papi is a shell of his former self and has resorted to diving head first into first base in an attempt to get on, and Manny Ramirez has more stolen bases than extra base hits. I’m tired of the 2-1, or 3-0 games. I want the Sox offense to look more like a beer league softball team.

I can understand the Red Sox struggling against Roy Halladay or James Shields, these guys are good pitchers. What bothers me is when Boston’s potent offense is held in check by the likes of Edwin Jackson and Jon Garland.

But all my worrying was for naught. After doing a little research I found that Boston’s offense is right where it should be. Check out these numbers:

Batting Average: 1st in AL
Hits: 1st in AL
Runs: Tied for 2nd
RBIs: Tied for 2nd

The Red Sox also have Man-Ram leading the league in batting average and slugging % and in 2nd in homeruns and hits.

If Boston can only stay healthy for the rest of the year, they have the potential to put up some great numbers.

Thefoulline.com quick hits:

• After the latest Roger Clemens scandal, it may be time for him to pick up Mike Tyson and O.J. Simpson and move to Siberia. America is officially sick of your crap. I can’t see how this guy could sink any lower.
• Thefoulline.com staff would like to wish Alex Rodriguex and Jorge Posada a speedy recovery from their recent ailments. Fourth place in the division just isn’t the same without them.
• Surprising no one, J.D. Drew is sitting out after nicking himself shaving. Or something.
• Boston faces Blue Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan tonight. McGowan has pitched really well against Boston in the past and has the best sideburns in the league.
• Dustin Pedroia’s diving stop in the 9th inning of last night’s game reminded me of when he saved Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter last year. D-Ped does not get the recognition he deserves for his defense. He’ll make the All-Star team this year.
• Has anyone else noticed that Jonathan Papelbon always gives a fist-bump to a Boston police officer when he enters the game? Anyhow, check out this article. It’s pretty cool.

Living in Southwest Florida, I’ve always felt that I should try and adopt the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays as my second favorite baseball team. After all, their tickets are cheap, parking is free, and they have a group of young players that could turn them into a winner in the years to come. But after attending today’s Red Sox-Rays game, I didn’t gain a newfound respect for this team. I found the complete opposite - disdain.

Just when I thought that the Yankees had the biggest fair-weathered fans around, here come the Rays to challenge them for the title. The Rays have sold out their stadium 10 times… ever. In past years, they couldn’t have filled the place even if they offered up free all-you-can-drink beer and the chance to play shortstop for the team. Even at the start of this season, the Rays were playing to half a stadium. But now that they’ve won a few games in a row, everyone and his sister are fans. And man, are they obnoxious.

For some stupid reason, instead of cheering when their team makes a good play, Rays fans ring cowbells. Why do they do this? I have no idea, but it sucks, and it irritates the hell out of me. Another thing that pisses me off is the retarded Rays fans that were talking smack like they just won a playoff game. The Rays just swept a team that was decimated by an Ebola-strength flu epidemic. They can stick their brooms up their asses. Let’s check out their record when the All-Star game rolls around.

Am I bitter that the Sox were just swept? Maybe a little.

Do I think that the Rays will challenge the Sox in the AL East this year? No way.

Are the Rays now public enemy #2 to Red Sox Nation South? Definitely!

Good teams find ways to win.

Sometimes it’s a pitcher throwing a complete game to give a tired bullpen the night off, or a great defensive play to keep your team in the lead. In the case of the Red Sox, it’s been back-to-back games with a game-winning home run in the 9th inning.

Thefoulline.com quick hits:

• It already sucks to be a Cleveland Indians fan. It must suck even more when the Red Sox come to town and you know that your team is going to find a way to lose. The Indians have a ton of talent and should be running away with the division, but with a 5-9 record they are one game out of the Central Division cellar. Maybe they need some Lake Erie Midges swarming around their heads to get them back in the groove.
• Did you see the lineup Terry Francona put out last night? Coco, Ellsbury, Lowrie, Lugo, and Cash. I thought they were mailing it in before another Yankees series. I guess even the Sox reserves can beat most teams.

• It was great to see yet another Red Sox prospect live up to the hype. Two years ago it was Jonathan Papelbon. Last year it was Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, and Manny Delcarmen. After last night’s 3 RBI performance in his first Major League game, it may be time to add Jed Lowrie to the list of legitimate prospects.

• Which reminds me, how are the over-hyped Yankees Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy working out for New York? Last time I checked, Hughes was was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA, and Kennedy was 0-1 with an impressive 8.74 ERA. Do you think the Yankees are regretting not dealing these guys for Johan Santana?
• Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano will make a combined $22,071,029 this season.
• Tim Wakefield and Jonathan Papelbon will make a combined $4,775,000 this season.
• To further reinforce how crazy the Steinbrenners are, these idiots actually dug up the “cursed” Ortiz jersey buried in Yankee stadium. News Flash, Hank! The shirt is not the reason your team stinks. It’s the lousy pitching pitching staff, over-hyped prospects, and $28 million cancer playing third base.
• The Red Sox are in first place. Woo-hoo!