Longoria Studly, But Rays' Division Push Still Needs More Cowbell

It's getting more and more annoying to attend a game at Tropicana Field. The guy sitting to your right is wearing a mohawk. And the guy to your left is banging a cowbell. What happened to simply wearing a cap and keeping a scorecard? Evan Longoria walloped three homers on Thursday but it wasn't enough for the Rays in an 11-8 loss to the Twins. Playoff implications abound. Alexi Casilla homered in a five-run ninth for the Twins, who pulled within 1 1/2 games of the AL Central-leading White Sox. The Rays, meanwhile, lost ground to the Red Sox, and are 1 1/2 games in front of Boston in the East with 11 to play. I blame incorrect usage of the cowbell, which is the latest craze at Tropicana. Yes, they're actually selling the things there, but unfortunately fans have not yet mastered cowbell technique.

A constant cowbell can be a bit obnoxious — especially if rung at the wrong time — So Rays organizers are asking fans to follow "cowbell etiquette": Respect the team, other fans, and most importantly, respect the bell. "When a Rays pitcher has two strikes on an opposing batter, when a Rays player reaches a base or scores a run, or when prompted to do so by our Rays vision scoreboard, whenever you are prompted or those incidents occur — we want more cowbell," explained Rays Fan Experience Coordiantor Ray Liston.

Yes, the Rays are calling for more cowbell. But more importantly, the team has a Fan Experience Coordinator. That is awesome. Longoria had a two-run homer in the first and solo shots in the fourth and seventh for an 8-6 Tampa lead. He joined Jonny Gomes as the only Rays to hit three homers in a game in the club’s 11-year history. Gomes also did it as a rookie, hitting three against Kansas City on July 30, 2005. Need More Cowbell [Fox Tampa Bay]