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  • Issue #693: Rays Turn Pitching Rejects Into Winners, Skipper Hosts Halloween Benefit, Lightning Strike Again In Overtime, Yankees Owner Faults Players For Drought

Issue #693: Rays Turn Pitching Rejects Into Winners, Skipper Hosts Halloween Benefit, Lightning Strike Again In Overtime, Yankees Owner Faults Players For Drought

10/22/2026

Author

Ted Grellner
22 Oct

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GOOD MORNING
The majority of this issue turns out to be sports topics; I think you’ll still enjoy it.

Dr Ted
USAF Retired

 
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In this issue of NewTampa | WesleyChapel Local Pulse

Of Interest

— Inside the Rays’ Pitching Factory: The Coach Turning Castoffs Into Champions

Entertainment

— Skipper’s Halloween Concert to Benefit Ailing Local Blues Star

Sports

— Lightning Strike in Overtime to Keep Home Winning Streak Alive

— Yankees Owner Blames Players, Not Boone, for Another Titleless Season

Inside the Rays’ Pitching Factory: The Coach Turning Castoffs Into Champions

As the Tampa Bay Rays prepare for Friday’s World Series opener in Milwaukee, pitching coach Kyle Snyder is earning recognition as a driving force behind their American League championship.

Since joining Tampa Bay’s major league coaching staff in 2018, Snyder has developed struggling pitchers into standout performers. Bryan Baker posted a 1.44 ERA, while Cam Booser lowered his ERA from 5.52 last season to 1.98. Freddy Peralta rebounded after arriving in August and earned AL Championship Series MVP honors.

The Rays finished the regular season first in the American League in WHIP (1.14), fourth in opponents’ batting average and seventh in ERA.

Manager Kevin Cash calls Snyder the best pitching coach in baseball, praising his combination of advanced technology, individualized instruction and personal relationships.

Snyder’s approach emphasizes trust, face-to-face communication and innovative pitching strategies, helping transform Tampa Bay’s staff into a championship-caliber force despite players’ earlier struggles elsewhere.

Skipper’s Halloween Concert to Benefit Ailing
Local Blues Star

Tampa Bay’s blues community is rallying around guitarist and songwriter Damon Fowler, who is recovering from a serious medical emergency and surgery that landed him in intensive care earlier this month.

The 47-year-old musician, a local favorite since age 14, faces additional medical treatment and significant expenses, including diabetes medication costing approximately $1,000 monthly. Fowler says he currently struggles to walk and cannot perform.

To help, Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa will turn its Halloween Freaker’s Ball on Friday, October 30, into a fundraising concert, featuring members of Fowler’s band and a bayou-themed costume contest.

All proceeds will support Fowler’s medical expenses, while an online fundraiser has already exceeded its $25,000 goal.

Tickets start at $15. The event celebrates a musician who has spent decades entertaining Tampa Bay audiences and offers local music lovers an opportunity to support him during his recovery.

Lightning Strike in Overtime to Keep Home Winning Streak Alive

The Tampa Bay Lightning kept their perfect home record intact Thursday night, defeating the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in overtime at Benchmark International Arena.

Captain Victor Hedman scored the game-winner just 2:07 into overtime, weaving through Seattle defenders before slipping a backhand shot past goaltender Phillip Grubauer. It was Hedman’s first goal of the season.

Brandon Hagel scored twice, bringing his season total to six goals, including five in his last three games. Ilya Mikheyev added Tampa Bay’s third goal after forcing a defensive turnover.

Seattle’s Matty Beniers tied the game late in regulation, forcing overtime despite Tampa Bay holding the lead twice.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy earned praise from coach Jon Cooper, who acknowledged the team still needs improvement on faceoffs.

The victory improved Tampa Bay’s record to 5-2-0, including 4-0-0 at home. The Lightning were scheduled to host Vancouver on Saturday afternoon.

Yankees Owner Blames Players, Not Boone, for Another Titleless Season

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner blamed his players, rather than manager Aaron Boone or general manager Brian Cashman, for another disappointing postseason and the franchise’s 17-year World Series championship drought.

The Yankees finished 93-68, second in the AL East behind Tampa Bay, before sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series. Their season ended when the Rays swept New York 3-0 in the Division Series.

Steinbrenner criticized the team’s inconsistent offense but acknowledged injuries to stars Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton significantly weakened the lineup.

Speaking from the Yankees’ spring training facility in Tampa, Steinbrenner defended Boone’s performance and confirmed Cashman will receive a new contract, extending his tenure as general manager into a 30th season.

Boone, entering the final year of his contract, acknowledged that winning a championship remains the ultimate measure of success. Despite regular-season success under his leadership, New York continues searching for its first World Series title since 2009.

Tampa Bay’s Best Live Music

Aug
Source:

Things to do Around Pasco this weekend:
Sept
Source:
Things to do Around
Tampa & WC
10/22- 10/28
Source:
tampabaybeacons.com

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