Nothing wilts faster than laurels that have been rested upon. ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
Did you watch that game last night? No, not the Jets/Ravens game, which turned out to be more than a bit of a letdown. (Yes, I'm bitter that Shonn Green, one of the starting RBs for The Ignorant Sluts had a terrible night. Grrrr.) And no, not the men's final of the US Open in which that adorable Rafael Nadal completed the career Grand Slam.
I'm talking about that game played at the Trop. The pitching clinic featuring the probable AL Cy Young Award winner -- both David Price and CC Sabathia were simply brilliant. The battle of arms and bats and wits between the two teams with the best records in baseball. The game that stretched into extra innings, decided by the only multi-base hit from either team.
Yeah. That one. Rays/Yankees, Round One.
Advantage: Tampa Bay.
With that win, the top of the AL East belongs to the Rays. But by only a half game. And the next round in this series with the Yankees starts tonight.
My Twitter feed blew up last night and through this morning with happy talk about the victory and the division lead and yay, aren't we fantastic! Rightfully so -- it was a hard, well earned win. My parents were at the Trop last night -- my dad, who has been involved with baseball the majority of his life either as a player, coach or fan, said this game was in the top tier of match-ups he's ever seen. Heady praise.
But tonight is another game. Against the team's current largest rival. And the need to win is not diminished at all.
Yesterday was great. But tonight it starts all over again. And resting on the walk-off laurels from last evening will not be enough. I'm just hoping what I call the Good Garza will be the one taking the mound -- when Garza's good, he's very very good. But when he's off and unfocused, well....
Let's go, guys. Go Rays.