CHEESE & WHINE: I Hit it Farther in Church League Softball

Rays: 3
Yankees: 5


CHEESE:

• Evan Longoria. Dirt McGirt was back from his tweaked hammy, and is hopefully the first in a long string of players returning from injuries (are you listening JB and PB?).
• Carl Crawford. Another day another pair of hits. CC was 2 for 4.

WHINE:

• Carlos Pena. El Gato had better find his stride again real soon if the Rays expect to get on any sort of run. Last night Pena was 0 for 3 and was hit by a pitch for the second game running.
• BJ Upton. I was all ready to come in today and finally take BJ "off-notice", but with another 0 for 4 performance his stay at the On-notice Hotel (free robe included with every stay) has been extended.
• Little League Ballparks disguised as MLB parks. You'll notice that Sonny isn't in the "Whine" section, and rightfully so; he allowed 6 hits against the Yankees at their house, 4 of which were homeruns, the problem is that 2 of those homers would've been flyouts at any other major league park, so I don't hold Sonny accountable at all. Take those away and he pitched 7 innings allowing only 4 hits and 3 runs, and he'd be in the "Cheese" section without a second thought. This new park is a joke. Its no exaggeration to say that it is within the realm of possibility for a strong player to accidentally hit a check swing homerun over the RF wall. Seriously. Like Dwayne and Ken said during the broadcast, that's not baseball that's slow-pitch softball.

CRACKERS:

• Word on the street is that Pat the Patient will be back in the lineup by the end of the week, and JB should be back before long as well. And not a moment too soon.
• Quick shout-out to our own writers, Dustin and Brian. Thanks for holding down the fort on the weekends. Much appreciated.

CAVIAR (game ball):

Gabe Kapler. No he's not in the "Cheese" section. Yes I'd still dance a jig if he were DFA'd right now, but his 2-run homer was a bright spot on an otherwise regular day.