Rays of Light

Game 25 - Test in the West

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The Rays wrapped up their potentially disastrous west coast roader in fine fashion on Sunday, beating the A’s 5-3 in good, clean fashion – a style of baseball that had eluded the club since their impressive home stand highlighted by a sweep of the Yankees.

The series victory marked the second times the Rays’ have won a series in Oakland in 15 tries, and it was the first series victory on the road since Philadelphia, June 16-18.

Rocco Baldelli returned to the lineup, and returned to hitting homeruns with a leadoff rip in the 5th. Then it was Elijah Dukes turn, and back-to-back they went.

But it is BJ Upton who remains in the superhero seat, as he appears to be on the launching pad of a real-deal breakout season.

After today’s game, in which he launched his fifth homerun, he is batting .365 with 16 runs and 20 RBI – with a majority of this coming from the 9-hole. Those are monster numbers from a guy who had 10 RBI in 50 games in 2006.

Scott Kazmir was a different kind of dominating, striking out just 1 over seven innings. But this too is encouraging. Kaz needs to learn to adjust his strategy to his stuff, and if his strike out stuff isn’t there, go for contact, and he did this just very effectively. In fact, if Kazmir could pitch this way more often, and with less reliance on strikeout’s, that golden arm of his could be around a lot longer, as he would greatly reduce the number of pitches per batter.

Jorge Cantu also made his first start at first base and did fine in the field, though he was hitless in 4 at bats. His view from the top should not last much longer than necessary.

Shawn Camp gave up two hits in the eighth and was throwing that hanging thing of his that makes bats happy. After recording one out, Camp was yanked for Brian Stokes, who got out of the inning with allowing just one of his inherited runners to score, and just one is good when you’re dealing with these jokers.

But alas, in came Al Reyes for the ninth, which he pitched perfectly. I don’t know why Madden insists on not designating a closer, but allow me to do it for him: Al Reyes is our closer and a very fine one at that.

The Rays end April with 11 wins, which ties the team record for the second most in April. And with rare success coming on the other coast, Rays’ fans have plenty of reason to keep their cautious optimism. But I would keep it to myself until a bull pen comes around.

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Game 25 - Open Thread

Scouting Report on todays starters from MLB.com
Scott Kazmir - Kazmir pitched well while getting a no-decision in Tuesday night’s 6-4 win over the Yankees. The Rays’ ace allowed one earned run in 6 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking two. When Kazmir keeps his pitch count down he generally has a good outing and keeping his pitch count down normally is a matter of how well he locates his slider. Kazmir is 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA in five career appearances against the A’s.

Dallas Braden - Braden, who missed much of 2006 while recovering from surgery to unwrap a ligament around his humerus, opened the 2007 season at Double-A Midland and dominated in two starts before being promoted to Triple-A Sacramento. After throwing six shutout innings in his only start there, he was called up to make his big-league debut against the Orioles on Tuesday and allowed a run on three hits and a walk while striking out seven over six innings. Praised throughout the A’s clubhouse for being poised beyond his 24 years, Braden has an excellent sinking two-seam fastball and will throw his changeup in any count. His fastball tops out in the high 80s.

View the Rays career numbers vs. Dallas Braden - ESPN Splits

Notable Performances From Down on the Farm

Wes Bankston (AAA) 3-4, RBI, 2R, (.279avg)
Andy Sonnanstine (AAA) 7IP, 1ER, 3H, 2BB, 11K, WIN (2.70ERA)
Reid Brignac (AA) 1-5, (.312avg)
Evan Longoria (AA) 0-3, BB, (.299avg)
Jacob McGee (High-A) 5IP, 0ER, 2H, 2BB, 7K, (1.52ERA)

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Game 24 - Common Casey

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

It’s very difficult to find a scenario in which a high quality outing or two is undesirable from a member of your teams starting rotation. But with Casey Fossum, we have just that.

Where Casey Fossum and his left arm belong is in the bullpen, and he was doing all the right things to get sent there.

First there was the recovery from shoulder surgery: It seemed like the pen could be a good place to get work while his arm strengthened. Didn’t happen. He would be a starter.

But then he got beat up in his first start of 2007, lasting just 3 2-3 innings against Toronto, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits. Again, making a great case for a move to the pen.

But then he had to go and have two back-to-back wins over the Yankees and Orioles that greatly set back the timetable for him to lose his spot in the rotation.

But now today, he gets right back on track to prove that he really is not a good starting pitcher, giving up 9 runs in 5 innings on 9 hits and 3 walks. He has given up six or more runs for the third time in his last five starts.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Casey Fossum.

The Rays’ may squeeze another quality start or two out of him, but as his surgically repaired arm wears down over the course of the season, expect things to get worse. But certainly don’t expect things to get better. And that is definitely not a scenario we need.

Fortunately, the solution is simple, and that is to send his left arm to a bullpen which desperately needs a left arm. Unfortunately, the implementation of this maneuver is made very difficult when placed in the hands of a stubborn manager who has proven disastrously loyal to players who do not help the team win, with Shawn Camp and Ruddy Lugo of course being the poster-boy’s of Maddon’s Maladies.

Of today’s outing, Maddon said:

“Casey was OK. We haven’t played very well behind him.”

Have not played well behind him? I realize the Rays’ have had a sloppy road trip in the field, but they lost 12-5 today. Five runs ain’t half bad, Maddon. Don’t be expecting 13 runs out of your lineup, skip.

And it is not as though Casey’s spot in the rotation would be difficult to fill. Certainly JP Howell would be worth a try, and perhaps even Tim Corcoran. And with Jeff Niemann or Mitch Talbot, well let’s just say we need to get these guys up sooner rather than later.

But needless to say, it would have been nice to have someone other than Fossum on the mound today as the Rays got destroyed by the Oakland A’s.

Dan Haren had his good stuff, not that he really needed it. He went 7 1-3, struck out 7 and earned 2 runs. He walked none.

BJ Upton continues to sizzle, mixing in a solo homerun among his 3 hits. Rocco Baldelli sat out, but is expected back in the lineup by Tuesday.

But more than anything, today’s stinker was another fine reminder that if the Rays’ want to start capitalizing on a truly potent offense very capable of winning games, major adjustments need to be made to the pitching. And sending Fossum to the pen would be a good start.

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Game 24 - Open Thread

Scouting Report on todays starters from MLB.com
Casey Fossum - Fossum got roughed up by the Yankees on Monday when he allowed six runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, but he left the game with the lead, thanks to the Rays’ hitters. The left-hander never looked comfortable against the formidable Yankees lineup, walking two batters and hitting one. When Fossum is going well, his fastball has a lot of movement and he’s able to do what he wants with his curveball. Fossum is 1-1 with an 8.36 ERA in seven career appearances against the A’s.

Dan Haren - Haren entered his Monday start in Baltimore with one victory in four starts despite a 1.44 ERA, but evened his record with seven innings of five-hit work. He walked one, struck out five and threw 98 pitches. Brian Roberts’ first homer of the year, a leadoff poke in the sixth that cleared the high wall down the right-field line by about a foot, represented the only significant damage done against Haren, who got more than three runs of support for the first time this season. Haren’ gem marked the 17th consecutive game in which an A’ starting pitcher allowed three runs or less, establishing an Oakland record for such consecutive stingy starts in a single season. The 1978 and 1981 staffs each posted 16 in a row, and those teams also put together their runs in the season’ opening month.

View the Rays career numbers vs. Dan Haren - ESPN Splits

Notable Performances From Down on the Farm

Joel Guzman (AAA) 2-5, HR, RBI, (.269avg)
Jeff Niemann (AAA) 5IP, 2ER, 6H, 2BB, 5K, WIN (3.60ERA)
Reid Brignac (AA) 2-4, HR, 4RBI, 2R, (.319avg)
Evan Longoria (AA) 3-5, HR, 2RBI, R, (.311avg)
Fernando Perez (AA) 1-3, 2B, RBI, 2R, 3BB, 3SB, (.253avg)
John Jaso (AA) 3-5, RBI, R, (.214avg)
Chris Seddon (AA) 6IP, 4ER, 8H, 3BB, 3K, WIN (4.50ERA)
Hunter Vick (High-A) 3-5, 3B, 2RBI, 2R, SB, (.333avg)
Patrick Cottrell (High-A) 3-3, 2(2B), 3B, 4RBI, R, 2BB, (.364avg)
Paul Moviel (High-A) 6IP, 1ER, 5H, 4BB, 2K, WIN (4.79ERA)
Ryan Royster (Low-A) 2-3, BB, (.306avg)
Wade Townsend (Low-A) 5IP, 1ER, 3H, 1BB, 7K, (2.25ERA)

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Game 23 - James Shields Has Got Game

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

If you didn’t know that already, you found out again last night and the man formally known as Jamie threw another great game. That makes two straight games in which he threw 8 innings. In those two starts, he has 21 strikeouts and just 6 hits allowed. Shields wasn’t one of those guys that was picked in the first or second round of the draft and came in with hype. He was selected in the 16th round in 2000. His minor league numbers were acceptable, but not overwhelming. Hopefully he’s starting to figure out how to be a pitcher in the Majors, because that would be a huge boost to have someone reliable behind Scott Kazmir. There have been rumors that the A’s are debating moving Rich Harden due to injury concerns. Billy Beane is a very smart GM, and if he thinks he can get something for Harden that will keep his team in contention now and help down the road, he’ll do it. Harden is set to make $4.5 million next season and then has a club option for $7 million in 2009 before seeing free agency in 2007. If I’m in charge of the Rays, I’d put in a little courtesy call to Beane and pick his brain as to what it might take to get a guy like Harden. He’s affordable in terms of salary, based on what some of the other pitchers these days are getting, and the Rays have young talent to spare. It makes sense. Was he hurt in 2005 and 2006? Yes, but he has such great upside that you almost have to roll the dice.

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Game 23 - Open Thread

Scouting Report on todays starters from MLB.com
Jame Shields - Shields had the best outing of his career Sunday against the Indians when he allowed two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out 12 in eight innings. Particularly effective as a strikeout pitch Sunday was his changeup. Jhonny Peralta’s two-run homer provided the only blemish to his ledger. Shields is 0-1 with a 14.73 ERA in one career start against the A’s.

Chad Gaudin - Gaudin started a bit shaky on Sunday at Texas — giving up four hits and an earned run over the first two innings — but he settled down and didn’ allow another base hit in his six innings of work. He finished the afternoon with seven strikeouts, a career high. He also walked a pair. Gaudin threw 97 pitches, with 64 going for strikes. Gaudin has not allowed more than two runs in any of his four starts this season.

View the Rays career numbers vs. Chad Guadin - ESPN Splits

Notable Performances From Down on the Farm

J.P. Howell (AAA) 5IP, 1ER, 8H, 3BB, 2K, WIN (5.26ERA)
Lewis Rollins (Low-A) 5IP, No Runs, No Hits, 4BB, 7K, WIN (2.53ERA)

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Game 22 - Let’s Just Agree that LA is Pretty Good

(AP Photo/Mark Avery)

I’ve come to a couple of conclusions after this series with the Angels. It’s not fun to dwell on getting swept, so let’s move on and remember these few observations.

1. Bartolo Colon is a bad man.

2. Los Angeles is the favorite in the AL West

3. Jae Seo may be pitching himself out of the rotation

4. Our defense needs a little work.

The Rays head across the way a little to Oakland. Hopefully we can take two of three before our day off.

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Game 22 - Open Thread

Scouting Report on todays starters from MLB.com
Jae Seo - Seo was in and out of trouble Saturday night against the Indians, but he pitched through the sixth and gave the Rays a chance to win. The right-hander surrendered five runs on eight hits — including a 442-foot smash to Travis Hafner — walked two and struck out two. Seo is 0-2 with a 6.55 ERA in two career starts against the Angels.

Bartolo Colon - Colon is scheduled for the start, but if the ankle he twisted in the first inning on Saturday is sore in his pregame warmup, Dustin Moseley will get the last-minute call. Colon turned in an efficient outing in his season debut, going seven strong innings in a win over Seattle. Pitching in a Major League game for the first time since July because of a torn right rotator cuff, Colon allowed one earned run on seven hits and no walks as the Angels held on, 7-6. His second start of the season will be his 16th career start against Tampa Bay. He is 8-1 with a 3.36 ERA lifetime against the Rays.

View the Rays career numbers vs. Bartolo Colon - ESPN Splits

Notable Performances From Down on the Farm

Jason Hammel (AAA) 6IP, 1ER, 2H, 3BB, 8K, LOSS (2.36ERA)
Reid Brignac (AA) 3-4, 2(2B), (.309avg)
Evan Longoria (AA) 0-3, (.290avg)
Mike Prochaska (AA) 7IP, 2ER, 4H, 7K, LOSS (5.79ERA)
Hunter Vick (High-A) 3-3, R, CS, (.324avg)

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Game 21 - Rays defense helps the Angels

(AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)

The Rays get a decent pitching performance from Edwin Jackson, but the errors kill the Rays and the Angels win 9-1. The fielding problems all started in the fifth inning. In that inning, the Rays had two errors and if those errors do not happen, the Angels would not have scored three runs in that inning. Carlos Pena had the first error and then with two outs, B.J. Upton had a fielding error that kept the inning alive for the Angels. I remember Joe Maddon saying in Spring Training that this was they type of things that the Rays could do and expect to win a game. The Angels would also score six runs in the seventh inning to give themselves some insurance runs. In that seventh inning, the Rays committed their third error of the game. This time the error was made by Brendan Harris. It was a routine fly ball, that he just drop, which allowed a run to score. Six of the nine runs that the Angels scored were unearned runs and four of those runs came with two outs in the inning.

Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey have to be pleased with the performance they got from Edwin Jackson. Jackson was solid for the first four innings and it went down hill in the fifth inning because of the errors. Jackson could not recover from that and had a bad sixth inning. Jackson did give up six runs, but only three of the runs were earned. Jackson seems to be getting better with each start, and hopefully he can continue this trend. If the errors did not happen, who knows how many innings he could have gone. WIth the way he was pitching, it seemed he was going to pitch at least seven strong innings. Juan Salas would come in and he would only last one-third of an inning. He did not look bad and was hurt by an error by Brendan Harris. Maddon would replace Salas with Ruddy Lugo. I loved Maddon putting him in the game, in this situation. Lugo has struggled all year and this was the perfect situation to put him in. It gives Lugo a chance to gain some confidence in a game that was already over. He would pitch an inning and two-thirds and not give up any earned runs. He also lowered is ERA to 15.43.

Carl Crawford and Delmon Young were the bright spot for the Rays offense and they did it the old fashion way. Crawford got on first and then preceded to steal second base. Then, Young came to the plate and hit a single that scored Crawford. The Rays could not do anything else offensively. One thing that I have to wonder is what caused the problems for the Rays tonight. The one thing that I would point to is the travel the Rays had to do. They played a game last night and then after their game against the Yankees, they had to get onto a plane and play tonight in Los Angeles. Thank you MLB schedule maker!!!!

Where and when will Jorge Cantu get a chance to play? Manager Joe Maddon told the media that Cantu will play first base once he gets into the lineup. Maddon said that he will watch Cantu taking fielding practice before the game, and he will decide when to place him at first base. It does not look like he will get a chance at DH since that role belongs mostly to Baldelli and Dukes, with Johnny Gomes playing that role once a week. What happens if Cantu get his bat back, who would the Rays send down to Durham once Greg Norton comes off the DL? Until I see Cantu play at first base, it looks like Cantu will go back down to Durham. Of course, the Rays could use this to showcase Cantu and maybe they could deal him for some type of pitching to help out the bullpen. Cantu still believes that he is a second baseman, but he realizes that right now he has to play first base to get any type of playing time. It seems that Cantu is hoping that the Rays will deal him to another team, for a new opportunity.

In other Rays news, it was announced today that the Rays and Yankees will make-up their postponed game on July 21st. The first game will be at 1:05pm and the second game will be at 7:05pm.

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Game 21 - Open Thread

Scouting Report on todays starters from MLB.com
Edwin Jackson - Jackson pitched well at times in his no-decision on Friday night against the Indians, allowing three runs on five hits in six innings. His fastball had a lot of life, but Jackson walked five (two intentionally) and gave up a big home run. He’s yet to receive a decision and has a 6.23 ERA in four career appearances against the Angels.

John Lackey - Lackey pitched well in Oakland on Wednesday, but he took the loss from a lack of run support and Dan Haren’s seven shutout innings. Lackey also went seven, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He’s 6-1 with a 2.61 ERA lifetime against the Rays.

View the Rays career numbers vs. John Lackey - ESPN Splits

Notable Performances From Down on the Farm

Mitch Talbot (AAA) 4IP, 6ER, 8H, 3BB, 3K, LOSS (7.50ERA)
Reid Brignac (AA) 0-5, (.281avg)
Evan Longoria (AA) 1-4, BB, 2R, (.303avg)
Gabriel Martinez (AA) 3-4, HR, 5RBI, 2R, (.316avg)
Chris Mason (AA) 6IP, 0ER, 4H, 7K, WIN (1.54ERA)
Wade Davis (High-A) 7IP, 1ER, 3H, 8K, (2.82ERA)
Jeremy Hellickson (Low-A) 6IP, 0ER, 1H, 2BB, 6K, WIN (0.00ERA)

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