The Tampa Bay Rays ticket wish list for 2009

December 24, 12:59 AMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

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This may be the first time in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays that people are actually anticipating the upcoming season in DECEMBER. For those of you out there making early plans to get to the Trop in ’09, here is your list of ten must-see games.

1. Monday, April 13 – The home opener against the Yankees.

With six everyday position players set to earn $13 million or more after the acquisition of Mark Teixeira, the Yankees will be under an unbelievable amount of pressure to get back to the playoffs. Well, the road to the pennant now goes through St. Petersburg and it will be oh-so-satisfying to raise the 2008 AL pennant in front of team Wal-Mart.

2. Thursday, April 30 – The ALCS rematch.

The Red Sox come to the Trop for the first time since losing Game Seven of the ALCS there in October.

3. Tuesday, June 23 – The World Series rematch.

The World Champion Phillies will come to the Trop and the Rays will look to take some measure of revenge for their defeat in the Fall Classic.  The only question is which, if any, uniform will Pat Burrell be wearing?

4. Sunday, October 4 – The finale.

In what could be a deciding game in either the AL East race or the wild-card race, the Rays and Yankees will get it on in game number 162. Oh, what it will do for Rays baseball if this series ends up being meaningful.

5. Saturday, September 5 – Tigers come to town.

Come out to the Trop for a Saturday night to see a possible homecoming for Edwin Jackson. If Jackson can help the Tigers rebound from a hugely disappointing 2008 campaign, this could be a great September matchup of playoff contenders.

6. Saturday, April 18 – Meet the AL Central Champs.

The White Sox come to town in a rematch of the ’08 ALDS matchup won by the Rays in four games. There will probably not be a chance to resurrect the dust-up between Grant Balfour and Orlando Cabrera due to the fact that Cabrera is an unsigned free agent right now, but this should still be an interesting series.

7. Saturday, June 27 – The battle for Florida.

The fierce, fierce in-state battle is revived as the Marlins visit the Trop. Admittedly, this is not a marquee inter-league matchup, but it would be great for Florida if these two teams could inject at least a tiny amount of spirit into their rivalry.

8. Tuesday, September 1 – A September showdown with Boston.

If things go anywhere close to planned in 2009, this September battle with the Red Sox should prove to be great theater.

9. Saturday, June 13 – They don’t come around often.

The Washington Nationals visit the drop in the Andy Burns grudge match, and I know, they are one of the worst teams in all of baseball, but there are storylines here. You could easily see an Elijah Dukes meltdown in his return to the Trop. Also, the Nats don’t get to St. Petersburg very often, so you probably should catch them while you have the chance.

10. Tuesday, June 9 – Old friends, good teams meet at the Trop.

Mike Scioscia’s Angels lost Mark Teixeira but will still be on a mission in 2009 after flaming out to the Red Sox in the 2008 ALDS. Joe Maddon’s former boss will have his team hungry to make the playoffs again.

As Christmas approaches, add those games to your 2009 ticket wish list and I look forward to seeing you all at the Trop for another great season!!

Comments are appreciated or e-mail me at raysexaminer@live.com