Rays: Scott Kazmir (7-4, 2.69 ERA)
vs
Indians: Jeremy Sowers (0-5, 7.81 ERA)
1:05 PM, Progressive Field, ION
Still on strike. Feel free to comment with whatever you’d like. Or, maybe write a diary that I will post on the main page.
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reader(s)
July 13th, 2008 at 11:13 am
1 win, come on guys. I’d really like to take the lead into the break.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I really think the Rays should play all lefties today against the Indians. What else could go wrong offensively? Let’s just try to go against the grain, and give it a shot. As a note with this, I am ready to suit up officially for the Rays instead of Jonny Gomes. I absolutely know that I can do better than he can against lefties. We are all sick of this charade of seeing Gomes in RF, or just in the lineup in general. He’s hurting this team now, and the time really has come for him to say goodbye.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Gomer is hitting .185. Does he have any options left? In other words, can they send him down to AAA to work on his hitting? This is atrocious!
July 13th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
2-2 in the 4th, some signs of life.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Ughhh, Kaz blows the tie. The terrors of Perralta and Francisco have struck again in this game. They turn into Gehrig and Ruth against the Rays.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Three hits after six?….
Gomer really showed his fielding/throwing skills today….
July 13th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
THIS- Rays: Scott Kazmir (7-4, 2.69 ERA)
vs
Indians: Jeremy Sowers (0-5, 7.81 ERA)
1:05 PM, Progressive Field, ION
SHOULD NEVER EQUAL=
THIS-L
July 13th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
NNNNNNNEEEEVVVVEEEEERRRRRRRR ever should we lose to Sowers with Kazmir…
BAD JUJU—- I had about a nervous breakdown today, my fingerails are gone, my wife hates me, I hate everyone, I don’t want to enjoy my weekeend, I am a goddamn blubbering baby when the Rays lose 7 in a row and I can’t help myself, I know I am not a team member, or being paid by the organization, but damnit-my daily happiness is at stake here… I can’t even enjoy the all-star game now… Longoria is gonna jam up his swing doing the longball derby… AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!
July 13th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
do you think they might have been over achiveving. CC is becoming a whinner. Don’t think he’s accepting all the acolades bieing given to Longo. Just don’t see the fire in anyone’s bellies any more. Maybe this break will come just in time and the guys can regroup and relite the fire.
July 13th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I had a very bad feeling after the way they lost the last KC game. I was pessimistic but even I did not think it would be this bad.
I think this team will have difficulty finishing .500 unless they get a strong, consistent hitter. I do not think they can continue to win with CC, BJ, and Pena hitting 2,3, and 4. It is possible all of them have some type of injury but you have to deal with the facts on the ground.
CC- Has been my favorite player for years but he does not draw walks, is prone to relax a little too much, and has simply regressed significantly this year.
BJ- Prior to last season I don’t think many saw him as a #3 hitter. He has tremendous ability, works hard, has a good attitude and seems like a bright guy but he has NO baseball instincts. Witness the poor swings, terrible situational hitting, poor baserunning and pickoffs. Did anyone notice he was heading back to first on every pitch after his single in the first? I think it is why he seems so slow to make adjustments. The Rays seem obsessed with not rushing people but I feel that have completely mishandled BJ. They are asking him to do more than he can at this stage in his career. He could snap out of it if he stopped pressing so hard. He may be injured but whatever the reason, he looks completely overmatched right now by AAA quality pitchers and even worse against better ones. Hinske or Longoria could handle the pressure better. Let the poor guy hit sixth while he figures it out.
Pena. He is a complete enigma. Great guy but never had two good years in a row. He came up today w/ 2 on and two out and the radio guys said he was hitting .353 w/RISP and less than two outs. With 2 outs and RISP he was hitting .150 with 20 K’s in 38 at bats. He then added strikeout number 21. I don’t think they can have a guy like that hitting clean-up.
These guys do not seem to able to handle the pressure, for whatever reason. I think they would do much better if they had a consistent producer in the lineup. I don’t know if that is Nady or Bay or if they can swing any kind of deal but they have to at least do some major work with the batting order. It is not like these guys have been producing and are now just slumping at the the same time. This has been a weakness all year and it isn’t going to get a lot better without making some changes.
Given this situation they cannot afford to have Gomes on the team. Great guy and great story but a liability in the field and at bat. He has regressed steadily from his rookie year and is plainly not a major leaguer at this time. How could Ruggiano not be better to have on the team? At least we’d avoid the outfield circus.
I think we can see how important Bartlett is to the team. Hurry back! However, when you know you are going to have a fall off at the most important defensive position, why play Gomes so much and further weaken the defense?
The pitching staff is young and I think they will return to good form as soon as they do not feel (w/ good reason) they have to throw a shutout to have a chance. In the future I think these same pitchers will be able to get us out of this type of slump. Right now, I don’t think they have the maturity.
Sorry for the long post but I was afraid my head was going to explode.
By the way, I think they have done a great job building this team and organization. I just don’t think they are at a point where they just need role players. We need more center pieces that will make everyone better.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Need a solid, experienced hitter. I was not a Jason Bay fan, but am now if they could lock him up for three years. We need his steady bat either at the 3 or 4 hole…and another solid reliever to replace Percy either now or at the end of the year.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
This loss was awful for now, but could help bring the guys back down to Earth. They need to regain their focus. I am not worried about Longo in the HR Derby because he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and will probably only hit a couple HR’s anyway. If Friedman feels we have a great chance of making the playoffs this year, he needs to make a move. He’s an idiot if he doesn’t think so. We have the plethora of prospects to make a couple of deals, and still have plenty left over for the future. We have an opportunity to take this division over for a while, and I can’t think of a better time than now to make the move. We all know what they need: a right-handed bat in RF, and another reliable reliever for the long haul. My preference would be to acquire Jason Bay for RF and Huston Street for RP. Bay would probably require us to give up Brignac, Salas, and James Houser. Street would be costly, possibly: Niemann, Thayer, and Jesse Darcy. We have the ammo to give up more, if necessary, and we need to do something soon. We really can’t afford to sit on our hands now. The team has now shown that the chemistry will only get them so far. Gomes’ great attitude only helps if he’s contributing, and he’s NOT! Time to make it happen!
July 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Josh Freakin’ Hamilton! No one will remember that Justin Morneau won that event, they’ll all remember Josh’s 28. Thanks for turning it around just when the Rays had had enough.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
@ NMRAYS Maybe they will remember that Longo saved the game by tying it up in the 8th so that Kaz could win it in the 15th