Rays of Light

[Grapefruit League] Blue Jays 15, RAYS 4

The headline: Yeah, about Jeff Niemann…

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Tampa Bay	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		4	8	1
Toronto	0	1	0	0	5	8	0	1	X		15	16	0

Ugh: “It’s only Spring Training…” “It’s just one outing….” It’s still 7 hits, 3 walks, and 9 runs allowed by Jeff Niemann in under an inning of work. It takes a special kind of suck to pull that off.

The rest of the pitchers… pretty much stunk, too. Matt Garza was shaky at best. Chris Mason didn’t do himself any favors. At least Calvin Medlock’s run allowed was unearned.

That’s how you save those legs: Carl Crawford’s first inning home run was pretty much the lone bright spot for the Rays in this trouncing.

Utility player: Elliot Johnson continues to try and prove his long-term worth by playing some third base and some centerfield during the game. Reid Brignac made another appearance at second.

I’m still… ready for Spring Training to end. Have you caught on, yet?

Tags: Blue Jays
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[Grapefruit League] Jays 3, RAYS 1

The headline: Durham Bu… err… Tampa Bay Rays struggle to score

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Tampa Bay	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1	8	0
Toronto	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	X		3	7	0

It really was Durham: You think I’m kidding? Just take a look at the box score. I dare you.

But, hey, at least Hector Luna got an at-bat. I was worried he wouldn’t see any good time on the field.

Hammel-time: 3 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk. I’ll take it. Other than one really rough outing, he’s not doing anything to pitch himself off of the roster.

Versatility: Notable from today’s box score was that Adam Kennedy played third base while Reid Brignac played second. Both players are trying to showcase an ability to play other positions and increase their stock heading into the season. If the Rays are going to keep Adam Kennedy on the roster, he’s going to need to prove he can play something other than second base.

Sorry… that’s all for tonight. There’s not much I can write about a lineup and a game like this one.

Tags: Blue Jays
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[Grapefruit League] RAYS 11, Blue Jays 4

The Headline: Pat the Bat slams the Jays

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Toronto	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		4	7	3
Tampa Bay	2	0	0	0	5	3	1	0	X		11	9	1

(Just an aside… these games are REALLY hard to recap when you don’t get a chance to watch or listen to any of them.)

Pat the Bat: Burrell had himself a fun day at the dish, hitting a grand slam in his lone at-bat (he also walked twice in his other plate appearances). It was the key knock in a 5-run 5th inning that gaves the Rays a lead they would not give up. Then, in typical spring training fashion, he was replaced by some guy named Craig Albernaz who I am pretty sure I’ve never heard of before.

Dubious Debut: Results don’t really count for much when you’ve got yourself a roster spot locked up. They especially don’t count for much when it’s your first outing of the spring. Good thing for Matt Garza that both of those things applied to him. 3 runs allowed on 3 hits in 2 innings (all 3 were in the first). Whatever. At least his arm didn’t fall off.

King David returns to the throne: Some other guy you might’ve heard of - David Price - pitched a solid 2 innings of 3 strikeout ball against what amounts to the Syracuse Chiefs. Should give him a good tune-up for when he starts the year in AAA.

Other guys who saw work: Lance Cormier, Brian Shouse, Andy Sonnanstine, and Mitch Talbot also got in on the fun today. (No, I don’t really count Julio de Paula).

Ouch: Fernando Perez lasted less than half an inning after he hurt his arm diving for a ball in the top of the first. The word is that he’s going to be out for at least a week. It’s feared, though, that he could be down for much, much longer.

Up Next: The Rays get to take Wednesday off before taking on the Phitin’ Phils on Thursday.

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[Grapefruit League] Jays 6, RAYS 3

The Headline: The best-looking 6-3 loss you could imagine

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	2		6	11	0
Tampa Bay	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0		3	10	2

Hammel-time: Jason Hammel pitched 4 shutout innings, making his play to refmain on the active roster once the season begins. If you saw my most recent roster projection, you know that I like Hammel’s chances - at least early on - to pitch some innings for this club. Performances like this will just make that even more likely. How long will he stay with the team? Well, that’s another question altogether.

Remember me? Chad Orvella got knocked around in an inning of work, doing his best to ensure you WON’T remember him anytime soon.

Triple Threat: And I mean that in the most literal sense. Carl Crawford hit a pair of triples hitting out of the #2 spot in the order. He says that his legs are back under him… who are we to question it?

Two-hit Titans: Crawford, Evan Longoria, Morgan Ensberg, and Justin Ruggiano each had 2 hits apiece in the contest. Meanwhile, Pat Burrell walked twice. Good signs for a bunch of guys who figure to play some kind of role at some point during the season.

Not to say I told you so, but… Reid Brignac played a little second base yesterday. I speculated a couple of weeks ago that a shift to second base might be in the immediate future for Reid, especially if he wants a chance to play on the big league squad this season.

Next up: The Rays travel to Jupiter (no, not the planet) to take on the Cardinals. Wade Davis gets another look for the good guys.

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Game #132: Another series win, perhaps?

After last night’s gutty, gritty pitching performance, Edwin Jackson attempts to deliver a series win to the Rays tonight against Jesse Litsch and the Jays. After watching the Red Sox dismantle the Yankees the past two days, you’d love the Rays to pick up another win to keep a leg up.

What to watch for: The Rays have done pretty well against Litsch in the past, so if they can get just a few runs off of him,. Edwin should be able to navigate the Jays’ offense.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson picked up his 10th win of the season Friday night against the White Sox when he allowed just two runs after scattering seven hits and five walks over six innings. Making his outing more remarkable was the fact he allowed the leadoff runner to reach base in five of the six innings he pitched. If Jackson is locating his 97 mph fastball, his other pitches can work well, particularly his slider. Jackson is 1-3 with a 4.20 ERA in nine career appearances against the Blue Jays.

Jesse Litsch - Since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 14, the 23-year-old Litsch has spun 13 consecutive shutout innings over two starts. On Saturday, he picked up a win at home — Litsch’s first victory since June 26 — after limiting the Red Sox to no runs on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks. In his career against the Rays, Litsch has gone 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in five appearances.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Jesse Litsch.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!

Tags: Blue Jays
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Game #131: Back on the horse

After back-to-back losses, the Rays try to get back on the horse tonight against a rookie left-hander who has been beat up quite a bit in the early-goings of his career. With Matt Garza going for the Rays, it’s a great night to snap the skid before it gets out of hand.

What to watch for: David Purcey is not very good, but the Rays aren’t very good against left-handed pitching. Something’s gotta give.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza - The 24-year-old Fresno State product has arguably the best stuff on the Rays staff, boasting a mid-90s fastball that sinks, a curveball, a slider and a changeup. He is coming off Wednesday night’s no-decision to the Angels in which the right-hander allow four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out seven. Garza is 2-2 in four career starts vs. Toronto, with a 2.77 ERA.

David Purcey - In five starts since joining Toronto’s rotation on July 24, Purcey has gone 2-3 with a 5.33 ERA. Over that span, the 6-foot-5 left-hander has allowed 16 runs on 25 hits, with 22 strikeouts and 10 walks over 27 innings. On Wednesday, Purcey took the loss at home against the Yankees after giving up five runs on seven hits in just four innings. Purcey - in his rookie season — has never faced the Rays.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!

Tags: Blue Jays
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Blue Jays 6, RAYS 2: Not what the “Doc”-tor ordered

(Box Score)

After three games away from the Trop, the Rays came home and did something they’re not used to doing: they lost. But, considering the relative success the Rays have had against Doc Halladay in the past, it was only a matter of time before he finally stymied their bats.

Ouch:  Dioner Navarro left the game in the 6th inning thanks to cramping in both hamstrings. It’s uncertain whether he will play tonight or not.

On the one hand, it’s a big loss for the Rays as the pudgy catcher has been a big part of the offense and defense this season, but on the other hand, Navi could probably use a few days off. Let’s hope it’s not too serious.

What happened to James Shields? It’s been a while since we’ve seen a vintage Shields performance, hasn’t it? He was very mediocre again last night; 9 hits and 4 runs later, Shields left trailing another game. He’s got one month to get it straightened back out and become a stopper yet again for down the stretch and in the playoffs.

The Whiff: So, B.J. Upton struck out another 3 times in a game. That’s getting kind of old, isn’t it?

Standings Check: After the Red Sox beat the Yankees last night, Boston is just 3 1/2 games behind the Rays.

Tags: Blue Jays
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RAYS 3, Blue Jays 2: Edwin Houdini and his pen pals save the day

(Box Score)

Somewhere amidst all of the trade deadline rumors, a baseball game between the Rays and the Jays broke out. And, again, it took a gutty pitching performance to make up for a lackluster offensive showing for the Rays to take a win. Somehow, someway, the little engine that could from St. Pete has won another series and ended up with a 4-3 road trip despite playing like absolute diddly-poo.

That’s right. I said diddly-poo.

Houdini Act: Edwin Jackson was not very good during his 5 innings of work today, but, man, was he gutsy and lucky. Working out of jam after jam, E-Jax somehow earned himself a win today and left the Blue Jays’ fans cursing their offense’s ineptitude. To be honest, it was kind of like watching our offense in reverse.

This could have turned into the classic Edwin Jackson meltdown game, too. He got beat up in the first inning, allowing a 2-run moonshot of a homerun to Lyle Overbay, but really settled down and never let himself give up the big hit or the big walk that cost himself the game. Was he lucky? Absolutely. Was it enough for a win? It sure was.

Last year, Edwin Jackson would have folded like a 2-7 off-suit. This year, the new and improved Edwin got the game to his stellar bullpen, and it was all over from there.

Pen Pals: Remember last year? Remember Shawn Camp and Chad Orvella and Brian Stokes and Casey Fossum and (insert guy who is no better than your local grocery manager) being trotted out there and expected to get big outs? Well this year’s team is anything but that. J.P. Howell has ice-water in his veins. Grant Balfour could easily be closing right now. Dan Wheeler is solid as ever. And Troy Percival is a stabilizing veteran presence who makes the rest of the bullpen better just for being there. If (when?) the Rays make the playoffs, the entire bullpen will be the MVP of this squad. Even as the offense has faltered, the bullpen has delivered big performance after big performance and has been an absolute joy to watch.

Not O-”K”: Alright… this whole striking out thing with runners on third base is REALLY getting old. How long is it going to last? The worst offender tonight was Carl Crawford, who wasted a perfect sacrifice bunt from B.J. Upton by flailing at a ball out of the zone on a 2-0 count and eventually going down on strikes. Between C.C. and Pena and - yes - even Longoria, there have been so many strikeouts with runners in scoring position that it’s almost laughable at this point. When will the madness end?

Gabe Gross… looks like his swinging a mop up at the plate right now. If the Rays add a few players, he should be worried for his job.

On Strike: One of Troy Percival’s biggest problems in recent outings has been his inability to throw strikes. Today started out as no exception - his first three were out of the zone - but he settled down and threw 10 of his next 14 over the plate. As long as he’s working ahead, he can still get some of the best out.

Home Cooking: Not only does the offense get a day off, but the Rays also get to return home on Friday night. Could there be any better remedy for what ails the bats?

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