Dein erstes Forum » like Wrigley.The guys seated

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay bullpen came through on a day when the Rays strong rotation had a hiccup. Wil Myers homered and four relievers allowed one hit over 4 1-3 scoreless innings to help the Rays beat the San Francisco Giants 4-3 on Sunday. "Our offensive has been struggling a little bit lately, but I just think as a team our pitching has held us in the game," Myers said. "It gives a lot of confidence." Alex Torres (4-0) started the bullpen parade by replacing Roberto Hernandez with two outs in the fifth and struck out two over 1 1-3 innings. Jake McGee worked a perfect seventh and Joel Peralta left Hunter Pence stranded at second after a two-out double in the eighth before Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 27th save. "The guys are fantastic," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "The bullpen, theyre going to be the best in the American League. I think theyre close to that right now. A lot of good stuff out of the bullpen." Tampa Bay took a 4-3 lead in the sixth on Sam Fulds hit against Jose Mijares (0-3) to help the Rays win for the 25th in 31 games. The Rays took 2 of 3 from the defending World Series champion Giants and improved to 11-0-2 in their last 13 series. San Francisco, last in the NL West, has lost 10 of 14. Manager Bruce Bochy said lineup changes are likely forthcoming, with Pence or Marco Scutaro possibly moving to the leadoff spot. "Were not getting any production from our leadoff hitters," Bochy said. "Were definitely going through a tough time and were going to change things up here a little bit. Weve talked about Pence going there. (Pence) says hes done it before, and Scutaro has experience there, and hes done a good job of it." Brandon Crawford drove in two with a triple off Hernandez as the Giants grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Evan Longoria, mired in an 0 for 19 slide, pulled the Rays even at 3 on a run-scoring single during the fifth. Tampa Bay went up 2-1 when Myers hit a two-run shot off Guillermo Moscoso in the first. Buster Posey had put the Giants up 1-0 on an RBI single during the top of the inning. Myers has been the Rays most potent bat since the All-Star break, hitting .417 with five homers and 15 RBIs. It was Moscosos initial start this season, taking the place of Barry Zito, who was moved to the bullpen, and first since last Aug. 15 while with Colorado. The right-hander allowed three runs, four hits and four walks over 4 2-3 innings. Hernandez gave up three runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings. NOTES: Rays CF Desmond Jennings was out of the lineup due to a sprained left middle finger. ... Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (fractured right hand) allowed one run and five hits over six innings for Double-A Richmond. It hasnt been decided if he will need one more rehab start. ... Tampa Bay LHP Matt Moore, on the disabled list with elbow soreness, played catch. ... Giants CF Gregor Blanco tripped and went down on a knee running back to the dugout after grounding out in the first. ... Florida State University baseball coach Mike Martin threw a ceremonial first pitch. Posey played for the Seminoles.Vince Carter Jersey . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Terrence Ross Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-melvin-frazier-magic-jersey/ .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Jonathan Isaac Magic Jersey .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Shaquille ONeal Magic Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield.As much as were loyal to Section 416, its great to see the Cubs play away from home. Rich, Old Style and I went to St. Louis in 2015, and this year, we journeyed to Milwaukee.For better and worse, Cubs fans are never lonely on the road.Our trip to Americas Dairyland was, like everything else about the 2016 season, different. Last year in St. Louis, we could have used a modern Moses to part the sea of red shirts and caps. A distinct and gently heckled minority, we watched the Cardinals beat the Cubs not long before Maddons team began its hot streak into October, and we didnt have a lot of fellow Chicagoans to commiserate with.At Miller Park this year, Cubs fans werent just a few stray visitors. We were an invading army. Our downtown hotel lobby teemed with folks in Arrieta, Bryant and Banks jerseys. Whole families in matching Cubs caps huddled in corners, trying to figure out the shuttle to the park. The restaurant was jammed for pregame chicken wings, burgers and beer.Only the preponderance of children and the vast parking lots around Miller Park kept Milwaukee from feeling wholly like Wrigleyville.Cubs fans dont just travel. They live everywhere. Thanks to the Rust Belt Diaspora that has sent so many people from Chicago to cities in the South and West, Cubs players can count on cheering and autograph-seeking fans at any ballpark from Atlanta to Phoenix to San Diego. Baseball fan identity is as much about who your mother or father rooted for as it is about where you were born, so the children of Cubs fans who moved to the Sun Belt are just as genuine as any born and bred on the North Side.Beyond relocated Chicagoans, cable TV superstation WGN helped to create a nationwide Cubs fan population during the 1980s and 90s, much as TBS did for the Atlanta Braves.Transplanted fans clearly seek the Wrigley experience, even when in remote places such as Denver, as the recent controversy over a young fan throwing a Rockies home run ball back onto the field suggests. Security came and escorted the lad and his family away, which showed that Wrigley bleacher traditions dont exactly translate to other ballparks. Luckily, some common sense prevailed, and the family was able to return to their seats.One key difference between the experience at Wrigley, with 2016s high expectations and great record, and other ballparks: You can get great seats out of town without dealing with scalpers. Rich scored tickets in the 10th row behind home plate. Officially obstructed view because of the protective netting, these were among the best seats weve ever had at any level.But things werent perfect, and the worsst part of this particular experience was something peculiar to a Wisconsin road trip: high expectations about sausages.dddddddddddd I have had nothing but good encased meat experiences north of the Illinois border. But the crowd was apparently more than the Miller Park concessions workers were prepared for.Lines were long and slow, and when I finally got my brat, it was cold. And it wasnt cooked all the way through. No amount of mustard and onions could save it.I threw it back like an opponents home run ball -- not onto the field, though, as that wouldve been ejection-worthy -- and headed to our seats.It soon became obvious how many Cubs fans were there. Based on the volume of cheering at Dexter Fowlers leadoff home run in his first at-bat after being on the DL, at least half the place wasnt pulling for the Brew Crew. This sort of split crowd changes the dynamics of a game.Usually, theres a rhythm to crowd reactions. When the home team gets a hit or a strikeout or makes a good defensive play, the vast majority of the crowd cheers. When the visitors do well, its boos or stony silence. The intensity ratchets up in the late innings of a close contest, but the noise ebbs and flows.Not so with the Cubs on the road this year. Every play, whatever its result, gets raucously cheered, either by Cubs fans or by the home teams rooters, and so the noise is pretty much constant. As the Cubs cruised to a 5-2 victory, the Brewers fans got quieter and the rhythm of the crowd noise felt more like Wrigley.The guys seated directly behind us, though, made clear the potential negative of Cubs fans taking over opposing ballparks.There are lots of varieties of Cubs fans, and the guys behind us were of the drink-an-inning/know-it-all variety. Besides loading up on beer and Long Island Iced Tea, one of them loudly questioned every decision made during the game. Whatever pitching or defensive move Maddon made, whatever pitch Miguel Montero called, whatever pitch a Cubs batter took or swung at, this mope would ask, What was that?! What are they thinking?! When the move worked (Justin Grimm got the third out in the seventh, striking out the only batter he faced), well, then he cheered for what was obviously the right move all along.Nine innings of that got a bit tedious. But unlike the experience with season tickets -- you get to know and love, or know and not love, the people sitting around you -- you can put up with almost anything for one game.Except an under-done bratwurst. ' ' '