From a Yankee fan

Thanks for the congrats, I wouldn't say we have kicked your butt, we are 4-5 against you but have played well.  9-9 against the Yanks is fine and believe me, all Rays fans will take 9-9 against the Sox, we have to beat up on the O's and the Jays though, those games will be the key and we have done a good job at that so far.

Go Rays!

Hopefully the fans will start to fill the ballpark up so you can keep these young stars that you have. If not, they will follow the money.

Wow, a Yankee fan with class. Hard to come by most of the time. It means something when other fans are starting to notice to play of the Rays. This is a promising young ball club, and could compete in the AL East for years to come. The Yankees have never been a team short on spending. This year they have a 209,081,579 million dollar payroll. That is 6,744, 567 average per player. Of course Alex Rodriguez eats up a lot of that. Tampa Bay has the second lowest payroll in baseball at 43,820,598 or 1,460,687 per man. I just like to see a team be able to compete without all the overpriced players. The Rays have suffered for a long time. Losing at least 90 games every year of their existence. They tried to buy a winning team one year and look what it got them. Wilson Alvarez? Vinny Castilla (CashSteela), Jose Canseco? What did it get them? Another 90+ loss season. They have had good draft picks, and have developed from within. They are playing good fundamental baseball. Lets hope they can keep it up till the end of the season.

Thanks for the props YankeeFan

Thanks, Hammer. It's nice for a change not to have to bury our collective heads in the sand. It's great to see some very competitive series with the Yanks, too.

As for filling the stadium, it will come. You don't go from less than 10,000 on an average week night in the last few years to mid-week sellouts. Actually, there was a pretty solid crowd in the house for a Wednesday game last night. It will only get better because these guys are definitely worth rooting for.

Unfortunately for Yankee fans, they have proven that spending money does not equal winning a world series title. It will keep you in the mix but there is no guarentee. I like the way the Rays play. They scratch for runs by great baserunning/hitting and have excellent picthing to keep them in the game. They show alot of confidence out there. Looks like Kaz is also excited about this team since he signed for an extension. We'll see how the rest of the season plays out and lets just hope that The redsox dont win the title again. I definitly will be rooting for the Rays to do well.

Nice posts, Hammer. 

I'm a die-hard Rays fan, being masochistic and all, but I do think that Derek Jeter walks on water when all things are taking into  account (his team loyalty, respect for umps, respect for other teams especially the Rays where they were down in the cellar, his clutch hits, and not to mention he has been Mr. October like no other, given the number of years he has played).   Plus he owns a home and is building a new home down here in Tampa not too far from where I live.  I can't wait till he invite me over for a neighborly beer and barbeque LOL.

Adding you to my favorites.

Gonzo, what do you mean the owners have finally put up? These guys aint the Vince Niomili (Im sure theres a special place in hell for that fat SOB , and culverhouse for that matter).

Since Ste