Just like how Bill Mueller knows what the Houston Astros are feeling right now, Tanyon Sturtze knows what’s going through the minds of Tampa Bay Rays players.
The Rays blew a 3-0 series lead in the American League Championship Series, and on Saturday they’ll have to take on the Astros in a deciding Game 7. The Astros already are the only team other than the 2004 Red Sox to force a Game 7 after going down 3-0 in the series, and now they’re looking for a similar fate to that Boston team.
Sturtze was a pitcher on the 2004 Yankees team that squandered a trip to the World Series. And he expressed to ESPN’s Pedro Gomez what the feeling is like.
And, of course, why he really, really wants the Astros to win.
“We knew Game 7 was going to be tough for us and it was over real quick,” Sturtze, told Gomez. “Hopefully they start talking about this one more than us in 2004. You tell the Astros that Tanyon says to win so we won’t have to be the only ones mentioned for blowing a 3-0 lead.”
Hey, credit to Sturtze (a Worcester, Mass., native, by the way) for being a good sport about it.
