Tuesday BP: Go Rays

Hello and happy Tuesday.

Today marks the start of yet another World Series, and it’s the sixth straight World Series that doesn’t have the San Francisco Giants.

In one corner are the Tampa Bay Rays, who are seeking to win their first championship in the short history of their franchise, and who have returned to the World Series for the first time since 2008.

In the other corner are the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are making their third trip to the World Series in four years, but still looking to win their first title since 1988.

Root for the Rays. Please, root for the Rays. Here are 11 reasons why you should do so:

1. They’re not the Dodgers.
2. They don’t play in the NL West.
3. They’re not the Dodgers.
4. They’re a lot of fun.
5. They’re not the Dodgers.
6. They’re leading the charge of analytics and helping evolve the game.
7. They’re not the Dodgers.
8. They have some really cool people on their team.
9. They’re not the Dodgers.
10. They have a former member of the McCovey Chronicles community working for them.
11. They’re not the Dodgers.

Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?

He absolutely did.

October 20, 2002: In Game 2 of the World Series, against the Anaheim Angels, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 9th inning off of Troy Percival. It cut the Giants deficit to 11-10, which was the final score, and tied the series at 1-1. It was his 6th homer of the postseason.

Old, random MCC article for you to read

Remembering Game 5 of the 2012 NLCS and Barry Zito, three years later (Oct. 19, 2015 — Grant Brisbee)

Giants links

• Roger Munter on last week’s layoffs (There R Giants)
• Grant Brisbee on why the Rays are your new favorite team (The Athletic, subscription required)
• Maria Guardado’s mailbag features some free agency predictions (MLB)
• Alex Pavlovic looks back on the Giants catchers in 2020 (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Steve Berman on some A’s who might join the Giants and some Giants who might join the A’s (The Athletic, subscription required)
• John Shea on the World Series having more of an A’s slant than a Giants slant (SF Chronicle)
• Marcus White on Evan Longoria clarifying what he meant when he tweeted that bad tweet about masks (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Dalton Johnson on how Gavin Newsom is rooting for the Dodgers (NBC Sports Bay Area)

How many days until Opening Day?

There are 163 days until Opening Day.

I hope you have a tremendous Tuesday.