Under the Orange Roof

Along with the celebrations that took place this past week (which you can hear in our two bonus episodes), two other events took place for the Tampa Bay Rays that both stirred up controversy.  

Steve Carney gets into his thoughts on "Cardgate," and why he thinks the whole thing not only got blown way out of proportion but also saw anger and rage pointed in the wrong direction (1:45), as well as "Signgate" and the sign that will be going up for the playoff that shows that the ownership group is still looking to split the season between the Tampa Bay region and the city of Montreal (16:45), which Steve thinks is stupid but hopes the message was miscontrued and does not place the blame on the fanbase but rather on other aspects that have caused problems in the region.

Also, Tuesday marks the tenth anniversary of Game 162, which has been dubbed the greatest night of regular season baseball ever, and Steve gives you his memories of being at the Trop on that Wednesday night in 2011 and the craziness that went on all evening with the Rays coming back to snatch the Wild Card away from Boston (39:35).

The Tampa Bay Rays earned their second consecutive American League East championship so that means another champagne celebration and more comments from the team after the festivities.  Hear from manager Kevin Cash, catcher Mike Zunino, pitcher Shane McClanahan, infielders Yandy Diaz, Joey Wendle, and Brandon Lowe and outfielders Kevin Kiermaier and Austin Meadows, plus president of baseball operations Erik Neander talks about putting together this championship squad.

On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Rays did something they had never done before in franchise history: they made it to the playoffs for a third consecutive year.  Hear comments from manager Kevin Cash, outfielders Kevin Kiermaier, Brett Phillips, and Randy Arozarena (translated by Manny Navarro), as well as infielders Brandon Lowe and Joey Wendle.

Monday is he big day for Rays fans who have been clamoring for the callup of top pitching prospect Shane Baz, as the 22-year-old will make his Major League debut at Tropicana Field against the Toronto Blue Jays.  Hear Baz talk about his callup and how excited he is to reach the top of the mountain.  Plus, Steve Carney gets into the $10 ticket sale promotion the Rays have been running for this homestand, and why it may not be a good thing for fans.

Tampa Bay will go to Toronto for the first time in nearly two years Monday.  Steve Carney gets into the questions the fanbase have been bringing up about the bullpen because of a rough weekend in Detroit, and goes through the matchups we'll see at Rogers Centre.

We've reached the final milestone marker for the regular season -- Labor Day -- and the Rays start their penultimate road trip of the 2021 regular season in Boston.  Steve Carney talks about Tampa Bay getting another shot at Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez after losing to each last week, and the interesting weekend upcoming in Detroit.  Plus, Steve asked a pair of veterans on the team, DH Nelson Cruz and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, if there's a moment where a team like this truly believes they win it all.  Their answers might surprise you!

The Rays come back from an unbeaten road trip, one which finished with them tying the Major League record for wins against a single opponent, to begin a tough stretch where they face the Boston Red Sox seven times in the next ten games.  We also discuss which prospects who have not been called up this year could get a look in September with the rosters expanding.  One of them might surprise you!

The Rays just finished a fantastic conversation, going 6-1 against Baltimore and the Chicago White Sox.  Steve Carney discusses some of the new hurdles the team will have to face, and with Tampa Bay going to Philadelphia for an interleague series beginning Tuesday, it's a great time to revisit a converstion with actress Ellen Adair from earlier this year.

Most Rays fans feel that the reasons they don't want to go to Tropicana FIeld to see the defending American League Champions in person can be fixed in one step: by building a new stadium in Tampa.  But that doesn't help the team that's on the field right now.  So Steve Carney has come up with some ideas that could help try and get more fans into the stands in St. Petersburg.

Tampa Bay has come off a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, and Steve Carney gets into the late-inning heroics that took place over the weekend.  Brandon Lowe also explains why he believes he and his teammates have performed so well late in game, particularly in the eighth inning.  We then get into the upcoming series in Boston, and Steve believes that with the Red Sox reeling, the Rays need to not give them an opportunity to right the ship.