Anyone watching this Devil Rays Yankees game on ESPN? This has been one of the most incredible baseball games I've seen in a long time.
Tampa Bay is leading 10-2, and the main reason they are winning is intangibles. Up until the 6th or 7th inning, the hits were about even. (Tampa had a few more but it was close) But the score was 6-2 Tampa Bay. Incredible performance by Tampa Bay rookie starting pitcher Wade Davis. 5 and 2/3's innings. 2 Earned Runs, but he had to work hard for it. He threw 107 pitches in less than 6 innings. It didn't come easy. He started with fast balls, then transitioned to curves and sliders. He picked off a yankee runner early on a move that was close to a balk. Hard to tell if it was. But he had command.
And the thing about this game that makes this game amazing to me is how the Devil Rays did it. They did it by stealing bases, timely hitting, and most importantly, strategic infield positioning. Every time Teixeira comes up, they shift the infield to the right of second base. The shortstop moves to the right of 2nd base, the 3rd baseman shifts to where the shortstop traditionally is.
And Teixeira even had a great ball up the middle, but that shortstop was right there. No team in baseball does infield shifts to the extent that Tampa Bay does. It totally threw the Yankees for a loop. When a lefty comes up, they shift the 2nd baseman to the left of 2nd base. And they seem to always know exactly where to shift the infield so that the Yankees have to kind of think of new ways to get the ball in play.
Tampa Bay has become one of the best teams in baseball over the last few years adding dimensions to the game that most teams don't even try to do. It worked like a charm tonight and Joe Girardi looks totally confused as to how to beat the Devil Rays. Yankees may figure it out against the Rays in future games this season, but in this particular game tonight, Tampa Bay did an absolutely incredible job of team baseball.
These Rays infield shifts make the game of baseball so much more interesting to watch. I rarely watch an entire game of baseball, but tonight I've been watching this whole game and I felt the need to give Tampa Bay some credit. What a performance by the Rays tonight.
Tampa Bay is leading 10-2, and the main reason they are winning is intangibles. Up until the 6th or 7th inning, the hits were about even. (Tampa had a few more but it was close) But the score was 6-2 Tampa Bay. Incredible performance by Tampa Bay rookie starting pitcher Wade Davis. 5 and 2/3's innings. 2 Earned Runs, but he had to work hard for it. He threw 107 pitches in less than 6 innings. It didn't come easy. He started with fast balls, then transitioned to curves and sliders. He picked off a yankee runner early on a move that was close to a balk. Hard to tell if it was. But he had command.
And the thing about this game that makes this game amazing to me is how the Devil Rays did it. They did it by stealing bases, timely hitting, and most importantly, strategic infield positioning. Every time Teixeira comes up, they shift the infield to the right of second base. The shortstop moves to the right of 2nd base, the 3rd baseman shifts to where the shortstop traditionally is.
And Teixeira even had a great ball up the middle, but that shortstop was right there. No team in baseball does infield shifts to the extent that Tampa Bay does. It totally threw the Yankees for a loop. When a lefty comes up, they shift the 2nd baseman to the left of 2nd base. And they seem to always know exactly where to shift the infield so that the Yankees have to kind of think of new ways to get the ball in play.
Tampa Bay has become one of the best teams in baseball over the last few years adding dimensions to the game that most teams don't even try to do. It worked like a charm tonight and Joe Girardi looks totally confused as to how to beat the Devil Rays. Yankees may figure it out against the Rays in future games this season, but in this particular game tonight, Tampa Bay did an absolutely incredible job of team baseball.
These Rays infield shifts make the game of baseball so much more interesting to watch. I rarely watch an entire game of baseball, but tonight I've been watching this whole game and I felt the need to give Tampa Bay some credit. What a performance by the Rays tonight.
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