Game #91: 4 for Fighting (or, Trying to Take Down the Tribe)
By Scott Caruso | July 10th, 2008 | Posted in Game Thread
4 games to close out the first-half of the season against the struggling Cleveland Indians. Anything less than 3-out-of-4 should be considered a disappointment.
What to watch for: Any signs of life from the suddenly stagnant bats.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Andy Sonnanstine – Sonnanstine earned his seventh win of the season Saturday after blanking the Royals for seven innings while limiting them to five hits and a walk while striking out two. The right-hander is a master of deception employing an array of pitches that he can throw from all different angles. But he has learned to primarily use his fastball to setup the other pitches. Sonnanstine is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in one career start against the Indians.
Aaron Laffey - Laffey had his second consecutive poor start on Saturday. The rookie allowed four earned runs in five innings on five hits and four walks against Minnesota. This came after an Interleague start where Laffey allowed a five-run fifth inning to the Reds. The lefty will next take on the Rays, a club he has never faced.
None of the Rays have ever faced Aaron Laffey.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
OPPOSING TEAM |
| LINEUP 1 | LINEUP 1 |
| LINEUP 2 | LINEUP 2 |
| LINEUP 3 | LINEUP 3 |
| LINEUP 4 | LINEUP 4 |
| LINEUP 5 | LINEUP 5 |
| LINEUP 6 | LINEUP 6 |
| LINEUP 7 | LINEUP 7 |
| LINEUP 8 | LINEUP 8 |
| LINEUP 9 | LINEUP 9 |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
Tags: Indians
July 10th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Four hits in seven innings? What are these guys doing? This is four games in a row that they are not performing…one, two, three ok, but four is starting to get old. Are they tired? They will be more tired in August and September. The Sox and Yankees will still be playing then, so taking a vacation in July is not too savvy.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Hopefully the Rays will be thoroughly embarrassed by this one and get their heads out of their rears. If this was not Glover’s shining moment to get DFA’d or traded, I do not know why. Leaving 16 men on base is not how you win games…been a few days since the last win. This is a good time to pull the trigger on a trade…the team cannot complain that it will upset the chemistry.
I suspect Brignac is being showcased….[trade bait?]
July 11th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I think you are correct in saying “This is a good time to pull the trigger on a trade” I would also say to look at bringing Price up, move Sonnanstine to the pen and switch the line up around. I can’t stand to look at BJ taking 3rd strikes or just not swinging at anything anymore. Switch Longo with BJ. Dump or trade Gomes, Glover & Hammel, send back Brignac. Now we Trade for a RF like Nady and RP like Fuentes. Better minds can figure out the rest.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Can’t agree with Sonnansine to the pen. He’s 10 – 4. Lets not panic. Move Pena to third in the order and let Longo clean up.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I thought about Sonny but you have to make room for Price and Jackson never did any good in relief or pressure situations. sonny would do well in the pen
July 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I, too, think it’s time to pull the trigger on a trade. We can’t sit on our hands and let the ship sink. We need to do something to spark this team, and I’ve been saying Nady could be the guy. But after considering his career numbers, it seems that he slows down as the season moves on. I say, what the heck, let’s go for Jason Bay. He seems to have gone back to having his typical great year. He is more of a run producer than Nady, and I would have a little more faith in our chances at a playoff push if we upped our standards. This would be a player in which I would be comfortable giving up Davis. Offer Davis, Brignac, and Salas. That could do the trick. The Pirates need a SS of the future, wouldn’t mind having a young SP whose almost MLB-ready, and a young reliever with some MLB experience. Everybody wins, but the Pirates probably get the better deal for the long-term. I’m not going to be upset with getting Nady, but would much rather have Bay.
I also think it’s time to say goodbye to Glover. He reminds me of the days of Travis Harper. I don’t know though if we are going to do business with the Rockies. They seem to be studying from the same book about trading players as Chuck Lamar. They want a crazy return for Fuentes, and I don’t think Friedman should bite. T’d rather us go get Sean Green or Arthur Rhodes from Seattle, or Jon Rauch of the Nationals. Rhodes could actually be a guy who could help more than anyone, and wouldn’t cost as much in a trade. We could probably just send someone like Thayer to the M’s for Rhodes. Rhodes has the playoff experience we would probably be looking for, and gives us another lefty in the pen.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
What about Matt Holliday? Think we could get him from the Rockies?
July 11th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I think there is agreement on getting a RF and a sharp reliever. Best to give up Davis or Neimann?
Sonny has good record, but if a better starter comes along…then to the bullpen. Might be a crafty twin to Howell.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Rumer Mill According to A’s radio broadcasters, Huston Street has cleaned out his locker, possible destinations include San Diego and Tampa Bay.
ESPN’s Buster Olney stated today that the A’s are looking to quickly trade away Matt Murton and possibly Huston street to either the Padres or the Rays.
Anyone else hear anything
July 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
It’s too early to bring Price up. You can’t rush a starter. Everyone is panicing because we lost. It’s not our pitcing that’s loosing these games it’s the hitting. Defense lost the last game with the Royals when Carl loafed after a ball. Last game with Yankee’s and even first Had golden opportunities to score but didn’t. Out of the four games we lost only yesterday did pitching become involved with the loss. So let’s not panic.
July 11th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Hey, I’m not panicking. I think it’s just a little blip during the year. But the bottom line is that we need a right-handed bat that can play RF. Obviously, they don’t want to give Ruggiano a chance, so they need to acquire one via trade. If we did get Huston Street, then I might do cartwheels in my living room. I doubt he went to San Diego, but who knows? I wouldn’t think Street would be available, but Beane did trade his best SP, so maybe his best reliever would become available too. Murton might be better with a change of scenery, but he’s been unsuccessful at the major league level thus far. I’m not going to get my hopes up yet, but if we were to get both those guys, I’d be happy with our chances. I imagine that the package to get both would be expensive though. Maybe Davis, Niemann, Ruggiano, Brignac, and Brian Baker? What do you guys think?
July 11th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I Can’t stand it any more “DUMP GOMES”