Bucs pulled out a late win, but there is work to do

September 10, 2021 general

Friday, 4 a.m. The comeback was perfect. The Tampa Bay Bucs are not. Oh, the final score worked out, all right. The winning kick was flawless. And 1-0 certainly looks better than the alternative. But for most of the night, you could hardly suggest the Bucs resembled the defending Super Bowl champions. “As I told […]

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Boston’s Renfroe comes back to haunt Rays

September 9, 2021 general

Thursday, 4 a.m. Just asking, but is it too late for the Tampa Bay Rays to rethink that decision to designate Hunter Renfroe for assignment last November? Renfroe, who left after an abysmal season a year ago, has taken his revenge this year, but never more than Wednesday night. Renfroe hit a two-run homer in […]

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Bucs must recapture their hunger to win

September 9, 2021 general

Thursday, 3 a.m. For months, they have been conquering heroes. They have been praised, and feted, and admired. They have signed rich contracts. They have preened and posed and enjoyed their championship. Now come the biggest enemy of them all. Themselves. Content beyond this point is for members only. Already a member? To view the […]

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Rays homer their way to big win over Sox

September 8, 2021 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. The finish line, evidently, is somewhere over the fence. More and more, the Tampa Bay Rays seem to be closing in on it. The Rays powered their way to yet another win over the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night,12-7, expanding their American League East lead to 9 1/2 games over the New […]

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Bucs’ road won’t always be a smooth one

September 8, 2021 general

Wednesday, 3 a.m. The expectations were high then, too. The Bucs were champions, finally. Surely, they would make another run. Right? It was fall of 2003, and the Bucs had the feel of a dynasty. I supposed all champions are that way to a degree, but the Bucs had a dynamic young coach, and a […]

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Rays’ latest comeback defeats Red Sox

September 7, 2021 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. You have seen it before. By now, the image of the Tampa Bay Rays is that of a battered boxer, bruised and bleeding as he leans against the ropes. He seems to be barely holding on as he absorbs the beating. And then the music starts, and he starts to fight back. […]

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Rays can’t hold late lead as bullpen wobbles

September 6, 2021 general

Monday, 4 a.m. This time, no one turned out the lights. This time, no one slammed the door. The bullpen of the Tampa Bay Rays, so good all season, let a game slip away Sunday — and a chance to widen the lead in the AL East along with it. Mainstays Andrew Kittredge and Pete […]

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Measuring success: Rays clobber six homers

September 5, 2021 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. How do you measure just how good the Tampa Bay Rays are? Well, you can check out the AL East standings, where the Rays now lead the Yankees by 7 1/2 games and the Red Sox by eight games. Or, perhaps you can check out the flight of their home runs. The […]

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Rays win as Wacha pitches well again

September 4, 2021 general

Saturday, 4 a.m. Michael Wacha lives. Wacha, whose status as a starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays appeared to be in jeopardy not long ago, once again pitched as if his job depended on it — and it might have. Wacha led the Rays to a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins Friday night, […]

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Punchless Rays lose once again to Red Sox

September 3, 2021 general

Friday, 4 a.m. In September, how big of a lead do you need to relax? Evidently, it is more than the 6 1/2 games the Rays lead the New York Yankees by. It is probably more than the eight games they lead the Red Sox by. On nights when they do not hit, no margin […]

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