Rays, "Not That Impressed" With Braden's Stuff

One day after Oakland LHP Dallas Braden became just the 19th pitcher in MLB history to record a perfect game, the Rays have managed to deflect the attention away from Braden's performance.

"The bats, definitely the pink bats," Rays SS Jason Bartlett said in an interview after the game.

Asked to comment on Bartlett's assertion, Rays All-Star 3B Evan Longoria agreed. "I mean, as a kid I used to watch The Sandlot and I remember that fat kid talking about playing ball like a girl. I have to admit, I felt like a girl swinging a pink bat."

Rays slugger Carlos Pena, who only saw seven pitches in the game, said he had been against the use of pink bats from the beginning, "But I wanted to show that I support breast cancer. Well, I don't support it...but, you know what I mean."

Braden had a different theory on why he was successful. "I felt like my success was related to my location and ability to change speeds, moreso than the color of the bats."

Braden added, "Because those were regulation bats, right? I want to make sure I get credit for this game."

Rays RF Gabe Kapler recorded the final out of the game, hitting a soft ground ball to A's SS Cliff Pennington.

Being interviewed in the locker room after the game, Pennington whispered to the crowd of reporters around him, "I didn't want to say anything, but that last groundball was a lot softer than the balls normally hit to me. The only explanation I can come up with is the color of the bats."

During Monday's practice session, Braden was seen mumbling to himself and approaching anyone who would listen, asking if yesterday's game was, "Still going to count."

"I have to tip my cap to him. He pitched a great game," said Rays RHP James Shields, the opposing pitcher in Sunday's game.

"But in the grand scheme of things, it's just one game. We're putting this game behind us and getting ready for the Angels Monday."

Shields added, "Besides, I like to look at the bright side of things. We both struck out six, and [Braden] needed three more innings than me to do it."