Some Oakland A’s fans have called Blanton “cupcakes.” Whatever, he pitched a very good game (actually, he’s done pretty well against the Rays the past few years) – and that HR? As Blanton himself said “sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”

Longoria is a very special rookie player, but the Phillies have definitely scouted him well. But even though the Rays have tonight’s game stacked against them, I would caution against overconfidence. They have done well against adversity all season long. The Phillies cannot afford to lose their edge tonight…it wouldn’t be a good idea to let this series return to Tampa.

hey guys… i have a serious question here..

now i realize if anyone from the media asks the Rays players what they’re feeling right now and how they approach the rest of the series and all, the response will be something along the lines of, “Well, it’s not over yet. We’ve shown our character all season long. Now it’s win or go home. We have to take one game at a time and not worry about anything else” blah blah blah blah…

in reality, let’s be honest… how do you think they feel in that clubhouse today?? i mean, i’m sure some of them have to have the, “well, this is over…” feeling even if they won’t admit it out loud…

and what happens if they go 1, 2, 3 in the first and we come up and spot 3 or 4 runs… does the rest of their team pack it in at that point? i’m just curious as to how you guys think they feel right now… not what they’re telling the media

If you wanted to be a real dork, get a piece of paper and poke a hole in it and hold it up to your eye missing the lens. Your eye will refocus itself on the hole and you’ll be able to see (might need to move the paper around to get the distance right).