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0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 5 | 6 | 0 |
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0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
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0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 10 | 0 |
You really expect me to write about this absolutely horrid weekend? Yeah, not bloody likely.
Instead, this guy has something to say:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
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El Gato Grande: Carlos Pena was undoubtedly the hitting star, stroking a pair of home runs and knocking in 4 of the Rays’ 8 runs in the romp. His first homer – a 3-run bomb to center – was absolutely tattooed and got out of the park in a hurry. You talk about being locked in, and Carlos certainly looks to be that after about 10% of the season has been completed.
All he’s done so far this season is lead MLB in home runs and RBI (8 and 21, respectively) while doing everything he can to keep the Rays’ offense afloat. Can he keep it up all season? I sure hope so.
A tale of two Kid K’s: For the first two innings, Scott Kazmir looked like Kid K, Circa Second Half of 2008. For the rest of the game, he looked like a total different pitcher. He really labored through those first two frames, but settled in nicely and gave the Rays a solid 6 innings of work. If it had been a close one, they probably could have stretched him to 7, but was there really a reason to?
Joe Nelson… was bound to have a rocky outing at some point. Thankfully it came when the Rays were up on the Green Elephants by 8 rather than in a 1-run nailbiter with the Yankees.
Look out Ted Williams… here comes Jason Bartlett and his .390 batting average! A 4-for-5 performance last night is just another in a line of fantastic performances by the J-man. Sure it was a bunch of infield hits. And sure there’s no way he finishes the season near .400. But, still, he’s getting on base (44 percent of the time!) and that’s all the Rays can ask for.
Walk this way: You know how you win games? You score runs. You know how you score runs? You get guys on base. You know how you get guys on base? You take balls and swing at strikes. The Rays took enough balls to walk 8 times last night, a great sign that the offense is beginning to see the ball a bit better. (Of course, it helps when the opposing pitchers couldn’t find home plate even with Google Maps.)
Did you know… that Gabe Gross’ on-base percentage is nearly .400 despite a batting average below the Mendoza line? Remember that the next time you say that the Rays should immediately cut him.
Oh yeah, and he’s got a quarterback’s arm in the right-field.
Carl Crawford… now has 6 stolen bases on the season. At this pace, he’ll nab about 60 this season. I’ll take that.
If you believe what you hear and read on the Everything Sox and Yankees Network, the Rays have “never been there before” and most of their “analysts” still think that when the team faces real adversity, they are going to fold under the pressure and the Red Sox will take their rightful spot upon the throne in the AL East without much of a challenge from the “upstart and overperforming” Rays.
Well, then, what about yesterday? A sub-par performance by the team’s #2 starter. An injury to the team’s closer. A blown save in the 9th inning. 2 on and no out in the bottom of the 10th inning. 11 total strikeouts and 10 men left on base. If this team “had never been there before’ and “couldn’t win the big games,” don’t you think they would’ve lost yesterday?
All of the Red Sox fans and ESPN analysts who have dismissed this team as nothing more than a passing fancy for the entire season should stop and listen carefully: We’re not going anywhere. Take away Carl Crawford and take away Evan Longoria and what happens? We’ll just keep on rolling. Take away out closer and what happens? We’ll just keep on rolling. Give us a pair of starters at the top of the rotation who’ve been underperforming lately and what happens? We’ll just keep on rolling. Do you get the picture yet?
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t underestimate the Red Sox one bit. They certainly could make a run here in the final 40 games of the season and win the division, but it’s getting too late to simply dismiss the Rays as many commentators continue to do. If they can keep winning (and scoring a few runs) against a good staff like the A’s even without 2 of their 3 best offensive players, don’t you think it’s time to give a little more respect?
The 1998 through 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays probably lose yesterday’s game. The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays win it.
What’s up with James? I don’t think James Shields was actually as bad as his final line showed yesterday. The 5 walks look ugly, but the home plate umpire wasn’t doing him any favors. I’m pretty sure at least 2 of those “walks” came after a called strike 3 should have been called. But what are you going to do? You’ve gotta take the good with the bad. It’s been a while since he’s looked like last year’s James Shields, though, that’s for sure.
If Percy’s Done, Then What? The Rays have a few options if Troy Percival is out for any length of time. I think the easiest move would be to promote Juan Salas and see what he can do; he’s been dominating at Durham and is probably most deserving of a shot. Scott Dohmann has also been doing quite well down there, but haven’t we already tried that this year?
I suppose the Rays could also hang onto Al Reyes and re-assign him to the big league club. I think I’d like to take my chances on Juan Salas, though. Reyes hasn’t looked like the same pitcher to me this season, so maybe it’s time to give someone else a whirl.
The B.J. Paradox: The thing about B.J. Upton is that you can’t say anything about him without one subset of fans being upset. If you criticize his play on the field, there’s one group willing to cram stats that you’ve never heard of before down your throat. If you praise him for doing something well, there’s a group of fans that are quick to remind you how lazy he is and how he doesn’t seem to have any kind of baseball smarts. You can’t win!
Yesterday was a microcosm of what makes B.J. both so frustrating and so great as a player. On the great side – he delivered a clutch double late in the game and a rope of a single in the first inning. On the other side, he made an absolutely bonehead play around second base (don’t they teach you in LITTLE LEAGUE that you need to retouch the bases?), struck out on ANOTHER crap fastball right down the middle, and even got Dewayne Staats and Brian Anderson talking ill of him when he didn’t even move in the batter’s box on a bunt attempt down the third base line. The ball nearly rolled back fair, and B.J. would’ve been out by 75 feet because he didn’t even start to run out of the batter’s box.
And such is the B.J. Upton paradox. On the one hand, he’s an immensely talented player with a boatload of ability. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be a player who cares less or puts in less effort than B.J. You can argue all you want about how a guy that tall with such long legs is actually running harder than it looks (yes, I’ve seen that argued before), but it only takes two eyes to see what we’ve all seen all year. To mindlessly quote stats without their context, I think, is insane. Has B.J. done a lot of good things to help this team win? Absolutely. You just can’t help but think he’s not always all there. Plus, it seems to me like Joe Maddon is starting to tire of his act, as well. Have you seen him in the dugout when B.J. pulls a B.J. move?
Cliff Floyd… must read the blog, because he was running the bases like a man possessed yesterday. I think his knees deserve the night off tonight.
Standings Check: The Red Sox won last night, so the Rays maintain a 3-game lead in the division (4 on the loss side).
After dropping Game 1 of the series, the Rays bounced back to take Game 2 last night behind Andy Sonnanstine. This afternoon, they’ve got a chance to win another series (and improve to 5-2 on the West Coast swing). That would be quite impressive to say the least!
Can you believe there’s only 42 more games to go after today? Can you also believe that the Rays still maintain a 4-game advantage in the loss column with this little time left in the season? What a wild ride it has been!
What to watch for: Though he’s been good, James Shields hasn’t been vintage James Shields very often in recent weeks. It would be a huge boost to this team over the final 7 weeks if they’ve got vintange Shields, and today against the A’s would be a great time to start.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
James Shields - Shields made his 17th quality start of the season Friday night by allowing three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Mariners to pick up his 10th win of the season. The 26-year-old right-hander’s best pitch has always been his changeup, but he also has a plus fastball and curve and he’s added a cutter that has helped him throw inside to left-handers. He is 3-1 with a 4.25 ERA in five career starts against the A’s.
Sean Gallagher – Gallagher will be making his 10th start with Oakland after missing a scheduled start last week due to right shoulder soreness that he admitted he had been experiencing for two weeks. In his last start, against Toronto, the righty was shelled for five runs in just three innings. A healthy Gallagher will look to return to solid form against a Tampa Bay team he’s faced once in his career. In his first start against the Rays, earlier this year, Gallagher allowed four hits and one unearned run en route to a no-decision.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Sean Gallagher.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
OAKLAND A’S |
| 2B – Akinori Iwamura | 2B – Mark Ellis |
| CF – B.J. Upton | CF – Gonzalez |
| 1B – Carlos Pena | DH – Frank Thomas |
| DH – Cliff Floyd | LF – Jack Cust |
| 3B – Willy Aybar | RF – Emil Brown |
| LF – Eric Hinske | SS – Bobby Crosby |
| C – Dioner Navarro | C – Kurt Suzuki |
| RF – Gabe Gross | 1B – Daric Barton |
| SS – Ben Zobrist | 3B – Jack Hannahan |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
Conventional wisdom indicates that Justin Ruggiano is the luckiest guy to have a roster spot right now, as his donning of Rays blue is entirely dependent on the injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria.
But a close second on that list would be Ben Zobrist, who despite playing better than Willy Aybar seemed destined to head back to Durham at some point late last week.
Like he’s done a few times already this year, it was Ben Zobrist who delivered the big hit for the Rays last night, a team in desperate need for a few heroes to step up and carry them to the division title. BenZo’s RBI double in the 7th inning was the difference-maker as the Rays survived a tough task in Justin Duchscherer to maintain their 4-game loss-column lead over the Red Sox.
Record-Breaker: With the win, Andy Sonnanstine became the fastest Rays pitcher to ever post his 12th victory of the season. Kind of superfluous, I know, but a cool stat nonetheless.
Sonny Side Up: Vintage Andy Sonnanstine for 6 innings, as he scattered 6 hits and refused to give in to the A’s hitters. His breaking stuff looked nasty last night, and he gave everything you could ever expect out of a 4/5 starter. If the Rays are in the playoffs, does he make a start? It’s an interesting debate, but I have to think that in a Game 4 situation, Joe Maddon just might hand the ball to him rather than tossing it Edwin Jackson’s way.
E-ROCK Hinske: Speaking of heroes, Eric Hinske’s 3 hits and solo home run were a big lift to the squad, but an even bigger play was gunning down Kurt Suzuki at the plate in the bottom of the 3rd. You don’t need me to tell you that the complexion of the game completely changes if the run scores there. I’m not convinced that Carl Crawford throws him out, by the way.
Coming Up Empty Again: Another 0-fer for B.J. Upton, and he didn’t come close to hitting anything hard. What’s the deal with disappearing when the team needs him the most?
It’s Great To Talk About Leading By Example: Now how about you do it, Cliff Floyd? You’re another one who is disappearing now that the team needs you most. 0-for-2 with 2 strikeouts from a guy who is paid ONLY to hit. He doesn’t even need to carry a glove with him. That’s unacceptable. And you people DON’T think Barry Bonds is a good option?
A Different Pitcher: It’s so funny how Dan Wheeler seems to be a different pitcher when he comes into a game in the 8th inning with a lead than when he appears in the 9th inning with the game tied. I can’t really figure it out, but he was mowing ‘em down last night.
Oh Percy Me: Troy Percival threw about a million balls compared to just 4 strikes, yet somehow survived the 9th inning thanks to a big-time throw by Dioner Navarro and the fact that the A’s bats just aren’t any good. Is anyone else scared (bleep)less about Percy trying to lock down a game in the ninth against the Angels, White Sox, or Red Sox right now.
Still waiting… nope, it never came. The Rays blew that one last night, failing to capitalize on their chances and deserving to take the loss in Oakland. I’m pretty miffed about this one.
Total Team (Lack Of) Effort: Alright, I don’t really mean that there was no effort last night, but I do mean that pretty much everyone on the field did something to help the team lose. Whether it was Willy Aybar’s bonehead baserunning blunder, the botched suicide squeeze, the inability to put bat-to-ball with a runner on third and less than two outs, or getting picked off at second base, most everyone can look at something he did as helping the team lose.
Can We Get More Than 5, Please? Alright, Kaz, this is getting old – 5 innings AGAIN? It didn’t hurt the team except that Joe Maddon had to burn the bullpen early, but even though you were good for 5 innings, you really need to go deeper into games. Is 6 or 7 innings too much to ask?
Not The Return He Had Hoped For: I’m sure Justin Ruggiano wasn’t expecting to go 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts upon his return to the bigs. Jonny Gomes could’ve done that! :)
Rocco Solid Again: Rocco Baldelli went 1-for-3 with a walk last night, and looks to be in pretty good form here in the early going. Only time will tell if he is capable of staying on the field, but it’s still nice to have his bat out there again. I’m still curious as to how often he really will be used; will he play back-to-back days? Will he ever play 9 innings? These are all questions that are still unanswered.
We know that Carl Crawford won’t be there. Ditto for Evan Longoria. It’s up to Willy Aybar, Rocco Baldelli, Justin Ruggiano, and the rest of the Bad News Rays to keep things going towards a playoff berth, taking on highly-touted hurler Gio Gonzalez tonight.
The Rays open today with leads of 5 and 10, respectively, over the Red Sox and Yankees in the all-important loss column of the standings. It’s up to Scott Kazmir to help that lead stand up.
What to watch for: Who will step up? You don’t want to see an offense press or try to do too much with its best players out; it’s up to guys like Aybar, Baldelli, and Ruggiano to step in and do the job so that the B.J. Uptons and Carlos Penas of the world can simply be themselves.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir – For the second consecutive start, Kazmir struggled on the hill, as the lefty allowed a season-high nine hits and five earned runs to Cleveland. The 24-year-old Rays ace allowed three consecutive one-out hits — including two doubles — to the meat of the Tribe’s lineup, and exited after 97 pitches and 4 1/3 innings. In his last 11 starts, Kazmir has gone seven innings just once, in a July 21 win at Oakland. Kazmir has fared well against the A’s this season, going 2-0 in two starts.
Gio Gonzalez – Gonzalez pitched well against the Blue Jays in his last start, which was also his Major League debut. He allowed four runs on four hits over six innings. The left-hander walked two and struck out four in the outing, needing 95 pitches. What was more impressive, though, was that after surrendering three runs in the first inning, he settled down considerably. During a stretch from the second to the fifth inning, he did not allow a hit, issuing one walk and retiring 15 of the 16 batters he faced.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
OAKLAND ATHLETICS |
| 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!!!
I heard and read a number of commentators and columnists who said that you’d know if the Rays were real if they could make it to the 100th game of the season and still be in the race. 1st place in the AL East still counts as “in the race,” right?
After last night’s rough loss, the Rays can still take this series behind James Shields today. If he’s on the mound for a series clincher, you like your chances.
What to watch for: Any signs of life from the offense. Things still just haven’t clicked yet.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
James Shields – Shields continued his home dominance on Friday night, notching his eighth win this season, six of which have been at Tropicana Field. The 26-year-old right-hander tossed seven innings of one-run baseball — allowing only a solo homer to Toronto’s Adam Lind — in the four-strikeout performance. Shields’ best pitch has always been his changeup, but he also has a plus fastball and curve and he’s added a cutter that has helped him throw inside to left-handers. He will be making his first start of the season against Oakland, a team he has traditionally fared well against. In four career starts, Shields is 2-1 with a 4.55 ERA.
Greg Smith – Smith struggled Friday night against the Yankees and exited after just 3 2/3 innings. He allowed six earned runs on eight hits in the shortened outing. He fell into long at-bats to contribute to the high pitch count. The lefty threw 62 pitches through the first three innings. Smith walked five and struck out just one in the game. He is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA against the Rays.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Greg Smith.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
OAKLAND A’S |
| 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!!!
There’s not a whole heck of a lot that I can say about last night’s game, so I’ll make that part of this brief:
Andy Sonnanstine is only as good as his ability to limit the long-ball. He certainly wasn’t BAD last night, but one bad pitch and one trip around the bases for Jack “Irish Pub” Hannahan put the Rays in a hole they wouldn’t bounce back from. Again, not a bad performance from your #4 or #5 starter, but just not good enough last night.
Trever Miller and Al Reyes just aren’t that great. Certainly both has a little bit of value – Miller has been decent against lefties this season (which, by the way, are who he should be facing. Maddon’s decision to allow him to face righties on an almost-nightly basis has long run its course and is something I’ve been complaining about since April), while Reyes has actually been quite good against righties. The problem, of course, is that neither of them is being used to exclusively face the other side of the plate. If Maddon would leave Reyes to only face righties and Miller to only face lefties, both of them probably wouldn’t look nearly as bad as they do. I suppose in a game like last night you don’t have much of a choice, if you insist on saving the top arms in the bullpen and not trying to keep the lead at 2 runs.
Evan Longoria can’t do it by himself. Someone else needs to deliver a big hit. At the very least, Carlos Pena didn’t strike out with the bases loaded in the 3rd. A sac fly is better than nothing.
This Willy Aybar thing has run its course. He’s a nice bench player, but he shouldn’t be playing as much as he has been. What’s the more permanent solution? It’s not in-house, I don’t think, and we’ve all heard the rumors about Xavier Nady, but what about a guy like Ty Wigginton? Yes, I know we’ve gone that route before, but don’t you think he could be a capable DH against left-handed pitching? His OPS this year against southpaws is over 1.000 (and is more than .100 better than his line against righties for his career) and he gives the Rays similar defensive flexibility to Aybar. Wonder what it would take to get him back from the Astros, because I would certainly consider it.
