What a Day
I had to catch up with my sleep after that late night Saturday night, so I went to bed a lot earlier than usual Sunday night and woke up kind of late Monday. I really needed that after that long game the night before.
Today’s game was really fun. To get the win was huge for us, obviously, but most importantly, I loved the way we were in this clubhouse before the game. We were so loose, music was blasting. It looked like we were very comfortable, relaxed and poised for today. Then we went out and executed.
Rocco Baldelli hitting that home run was the best moment, because I know how much Rocco has battled so many things this year and has had health issues. I love him like a brother. And it was nice for him to come out and get a huge hit, which I thought was the biggest blow. Because before that, the Red Sox were hopeful, but he seemed to take away all of their energy with that home run. And for it to be him, I could not even write it even better. That was a huge hit after all that’s happened to him.
Carlos Pena's Postseason Blog 
When you guys have beaten the sox, how about celebrating with a sit-down meal of baked beans?
I, too, loved the Baldelli home run. Not only because it iced the game, but his playoff home run also helps cap off an amazing recovery from career purgatory. Hopefully he brings out a repeat performance.Speaking of repeat performances, another win at Fenway Park almost ices the series for the Rays. Keep it going and you’ll be playing for all the marbles.Brentonhttp://braverays.mlblogs.com
Hey Carlos! Congrats to you and the team on a job sooo well done!! I’m really proud of you guys! Today was my nephew “Ray’s” Birthday. What a great gift, for his team to win tonight! He lost his father “Ray” last year to cancer. He was a huge Rays fan too. You definetly have angels in the outfield watching over you guys. We are so blessed to have a wonderful, caring and amazing team! Thank you for all the inspiration you and the team give to others.
Good Luck tomorrow! D2
I couldn’t agree more as to Rocco’s homerun. Right before Rocco came up to bat, the announcers mentioned how he was the only starter who hadn’t gotten a hit yet during game 3.. Well, myself and my family all said at the same time that was about to change because Rocco was going to come up and show Boston how it’s done and sure enough, HE DID! With everything he has been through, he deserved that moment. I can only imagine how he felt doing that there in Fenway with his family witnessing it.
Keep the energy alive! You guys are amazing! Finally the community is realizing what a great team we have here in St. Pete. Driving around town, every other business sign has “GO RAYS” on it.
Way to go guys, this is your moment for the taking!
Carlos,
Do not underestimate your blast too in this game. It gave you the chance to tie the all-time ALCS single game mark for in a game (4) record that the Red Sox also got against us last Sat. night.
It was a sweet victory, and also puts us in a great position with 3 wins in the last 3 games at Fenway Park.
Home field advantage is not an option in this series this year. Both teams have played great ball, but the cream always rises to the top. Also to give you some more positive energy. The road team that has won Game 3 has gone onto the World Series in 8 out of the last 10 ALCS.
Rocco’s shot was pure joy to watch, but yours off the light tower was also a sign of things beginning to happen for you at the plate. Becuase you are sandwiched between B J and Evan, they have been pitching you a bit inside and giving the duo better pitches in recent games. But you took what Paul Bryd gave you tonight and deposited it in the perfect spot to highlight this game.
Stay strong and I was proud to hear your Dad was in the audience today to see that huge homer. Keep the guys loose and bring this thing home for all of us in Tampa Bay.
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!
….Oh, Did I say “WOW”!!
SHAZAM!!
Carlos!!!! That was probably THE GAME of the Postseason, but hey, perhaps you RAYS can even Be more AWESOME!
EVERY, YES Every RAYS player had atleast one hit! 4 RAYS PLAYERS Flew HOME RUNS over the GREEN MONSTER, and probably over the rainbow and met up with Dorothy, Lion, Scare-crow and Tin Man somewhere in OZ!
I called it when they announced Rocco was the only one in the line up to not have a hit, I told my friend this was it as Rocco had a poor throw awhile before and usually afterwards the player over-compensates for a poor play on the field with a great at bat and then WHAMMY, we know the rest!!!! Over the “Green Monster” again goes a RAYS home run ball!!!!
Way to go Rocco, or should we call him, “ROCKY”, atleast for a while!!
🙂
Oh what FUN that was!!
“What a Wonderful Life”…. Isn’t that the wonderful Jimmy Stewart film we watch at Christmas time?? Ok, What I meant is “IT SURE FELT LIKE CHRISTMAS!!” ….Oh, Jimmy Stewart in a baseball uniform, that might make me hit a Home Run!!!! Christmas Came Tonight, what a GIFT!!!! Maybe somehow I will find a 40 year-old Jimmy Stewart alive and wrapped up under my Christmas Tree…. Ok, can’t be greedy. That game was such a gift to all of us in Tampa Bay area and baseball fans All around the WORLD!!!! Except for Red Sox fans.
You RAYS are Smokin’ HOT!!!!
Keep it coming RAYS!!!!
Great Home Run Carlos!
Your home run was the cherry on top of a delicious, multi-layered, extra yummy cake!!
xoxoxoxo
Carlos,
I have to echo Raysgirl81; your homer was the reall nail in the coffin, and a record tying blast also. It was a great game this evening, I think you guys continue to show how you can not be underestimated when you Believe!
I know you all appreciated each other turning it on tonight, & so did I and All Rays Fans. I could tell that none of you were taking the lead for granted, each half of each inning was brand new and you all showed it with the work you put in each time you took the field.
Keep up the excellent work, it’s great to see you never forget how tough it is to get where you are.
Excellent job, See Ball Hit Ball!
NGBlake3
Oh my gosh!! What a game!! We are all so proud of you guys! I sell tickets at a local high school and I was signed up to sell tonight. I did not want to go and not see your game but I had made a commitment. My son got a radio and ear things ready for me so I could at least listen. When I got to the gym, the coach moved the table to the other side right in front of a TV showing your game. I was so happy. During our game, the coach held up his fingers to those fans who wanted to know the score. There are Rays fans all over this city. Go Rays!! Good luck on the game tomorrow. We love you all. Oh and the girls won their volleyball game too.
How refreshing to have discovered this wonderful blog!! Carlos, your insight and thought processes are positive and upbeat. The fans who leave comments also seem to mirror your feelings. What a super way to end my day, after the second installment of “AWESOME” playoff baseball by the creators of the “Magical Summer of Baseball”, The Tampa Bay Rays-our team draydeb
Everything was super in that game, I can’t point out one single thing better than the other!
Overall, after spending the day reading about Lester superiority and about the “Monster Wall” and the hard that was going to be over it – smile B.J. -, this result (9-1) just showed, as always that in baseball you never now with a great and spirited TEAM as the Rays. Go Rays! (cling-cling-cling, the cowbell ringing) 😀
Way to play them Carlos- great game. Let’s not get too cocky, as far as I am concerned, sure- I would love to see you win at home but if you can put it away in Boston- I’m happy – keep up the good work – glad to see you hit that homer Carlos, we were saying it was your turn – each time you came up we would say, when is Carlos going to hit a HR? LOL, no more questions except, when is Carlos going to hit ANOTHER HR??
GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG! What an awesome game!! I was listening to the radio on the way home and when BJ hit his 3 run homer I started cheering just like I was there I know anybody in their cars next to me heard me because my windows were down, but I didn’t care. My “boys” were off to a great start. Then you just kept it going great job to all!! I agree with what you said about Rocco I was so estatic when he hit his HR! Way to go Rocco!
After the wonderful win Saturday night, (which I was there for), this was a great momentum booster to keep the team going. I would love to see you come home and win the series in front of the home crowd but if you can take care of business in Boston the do it!!! GO RAYS!!!
I couldn’t go to bed. I was so tired and saw the kids in the grandstands sleeping, but the game had me on the edge of my seat. I was hoping with all hope and even prayed that you guys would pull off the win so that you could go to Boston basically with a new series and tied 1-1. And you did! Praise God. Go Carlos, Go Rays! I Believe, I Believe, I Believe!
Awesome homer in the 9th Carlos!
First, I would like to praise Matt Garza for pitching an awesome game. He came out like the professional he is, and that set the tone for the game. Second, how about Longo hitting a homer to the lone Rays fan on top of the monster?! I think he did that on purpose! Great game to showcase what the Rays have put together all season. And finally, give Rocco a high-five for me. I was on the verge of tears when he hit that homerun. He is as great a ball player in our eyes as there has ever been. God bless you all for a good game tonight! Go Rays!
Congrats Carlos! You all did so great. Garza was ubelievable! To have the media sit and say Lester was unbeatable and bla bla bla, it was great to see him come out from the backdrop and say Hey he’s good but I can be even better. Which he is! You all rocked it last night and really silenced Fenway. I couldn’t have been happier! Rocco really deserved that homerun, he’s a great inspiration. I was in class when I got a text saying you hit a homerun too and I almost jumped out of my seat. So much for that Red Sox nation that you sent packing before the game was even over! You guys are putting everyone in awe, and one of the TBS reporters for last nights game said the reason you guys are so great is because you care about the name on the front of the jersey rather than the one on the back. He couldnt have been more right! I love you guys, and if you don’t take the series in Boston, we will Looove to have you take it at home at the Trop =). Boston has their dwindling Red Sox Nation, but you guys have the rest of the baseball nation cheering you on. GO RAYS! xoxo
GREAT GAME GUYS
Do not forget it is a TEAM effort that got you this far. Everyones execution to the game plan is the key to winning.
Lets do it and take at least one more out of the two remaining games at Boston. Heck just win them both!
The only thing I do not like is the broadcasters favoring the Boston players and saying how great they are and that they had a bad game. NO WAY they came up against the BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL and got beat. No if , ands or buts about it. Garza and Howell were awesome.
Remind Andy the redsox cannot hit the offspeed pitch, so really mix it up!!!! Silence their fans again. GO RAYS!!!!
Yo CP,
Great game last night!…NOW, swept those Dirty RED SoX and bring this AL Championship home!…As Rob would say-“YOU CAN DO IT”!
Ain’t it amazing the lack of TV coverage that the Rays get even when they smack the Red off the SOX? Oh well, they better get used to it because our RAYS are the real deal!.. Summer of 2008 will go down in history as Apple Pie, Chevrolet and OUR # 1 TB RAYS!
Rays win!…Rays WiN!…RAYS WIN!!
Raysfan922
What an exciting season of baseball! I am SOOOO proud of y’all. My dad and I have been going to the games, and sometime my mom too and it has been such a great experience to share with them. My dad is like a kid again watching the games, now I know where I get it from. After Friday and Saturday night I have come down with “cowbellitis”, that was a lot of hours ringing our bells and my upper arm really feels it. Every bit of that pain is so well worth it to see y’all play. If every there was a team with such good team spirit and comraderie (sp?) it is the TAMPA BAY RAYS!!! It is such a peasure to see such a nice, tight knit group working together to achieve a goa, you are an inspiration.
I just wanted to say that no matter what else happens, you are all winners! However, I just have a feeling that I might be getting my broom out Thursday. Not only do you all have great baseball skills but you play with you heart and you play for each other, not just for yourself.
Keep it going!
The day was going down but still enough light in the city that is home to the Red Socks Nation! It was a cool, yet bright Autunm day that brought out the Red Jackets and the Red wool head gear to keep the fans warm for the begining of game #4 of the ALCS! The wins, were even and the cool Red Dressed fans, who had eated their warm Chower and were feeling cozy because tonight’s game would be over in just a few short hours. If the ONE was really on then the game could be over before sunset that was only 90 minutes away!
They came to see the World Champions take the lead in their 1st home game! It would be a breeze! Maybe, a chilly one but a breeze never the less! For no one was as HOT as the ONE! No one was as Hot as the bats from Boston! No one was as smart as their catcher!
They had it all….Bellies full of chower, all decked out in Red, the ONE, the Bats and the smarts! To be there with others who thought like them was just like added warm butter to a Lobster! All of the flavor was there! They came to enjoy this meal and watch the Mighty Gorge themselves on the Fins of the Rays! No, fish was going to come into this Park called Fenway without being eaten alive!
When is was all said and done! By the 3rd helping of Rays hitting the Red Sox’s where hooked! It was just a matter of time and patience to reel them in! Reel them in slowly! No need to break the line! By the end of the ninth they were in the boat, flapping all around! The battle had been lost! Now it time to gut them and put them out of their misery!
I never knew Sox of Red tasted so good on the Grill! Much better than Cold Chower!
It was a great day, but one of the BEST things about the team is that even the guys that aren’t on the roster (and it would be great if they all could be) are right there cheering for the ones that are playing. That is a great team. I’m proud to have been a fan since the inaugural game–we knew our time would come! Thanks for the wonderful memories you guys are making for us.
Carlos,
Te quiero dar las gracias por el gran ejemplo que tu eres. Tengo un hijo de 13 anos que vive para el beisbol. Tu eres su jugador favorito. Con tantos malos ejemplos que hay hoy en los deportes, es refrescante tener un gran ejemplo como tu. No solamente en el terreno, pero tambien como hombre. Estamos muy contentos e emocionados con la temporada que han tenido los Rays asta ahora. Con el favor de Dios van a seguir hasta ser campiones mundiales. Pero si no, tu ya eres campion en nuestros ojos.
I have been following Rays baseball for the last 5 years- it’s been awesome watching a team evolved into a winner- Carlos, you and the guys have “heart” and that shows in every game. I had to move back to NY at the end of 2007, so I was not in Tampa for this great 2008 season- but of course i followed every game thru mlb tv. Yes. Carlos, staying loose, is the key- baseball is a tough game to play when you get tense- as you probably know. so keep loose- and let’s see how everything turns out- hopefully all the way to the top. congrats on your success jim
Hey Carlos,
Great news, when we get back to the Trop, those blue tarped seats will be open for another 5,000 plus fans to scream, holler and be totally nuts for the rest of the ALCS.
I love the T-shirt idea and plan on getting a few this weekend. I am thrilled to see the committment you have to our community, and to lend your name and hand into such a great charity endeavor.
You have been blessed at the plate, and you are doing it also in the community. If anyone else might like to see the T-shirt, and maybe help towards this fantastic organization, go to http://www.encoreselect.com to purchase a t-shirt or sweatshirt to help the Children’s Cancer Center in the Tampa Bay area.
And Carlos, if we win in either Boston or St. Petersburg later this week…………You got to Do That Dance brother
Great thing and best of luck tonight,
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU RAYS! OMG! WHAT A GAME!! Can you hear the cow bells ringing from here? We are all cheering you on back at home. Enjoy the day off.
PS-
Thanks for all the dounuts too! LOL! D2