Say it slowly.
Say it again.
Believe it.
The 2008 American League Champions are the Tampa Bay Rays.
Playing for the 2008 World Series title will be the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston Red Sox 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 3
Seven outs away, and coasting to a five-game win, to a game 7 decider against the defending World Champion Red Sox. I cannot begin to tell you how nervous I was last night. As it turns out, I was far more nervous than anyone wearing a Rays uniform.
And you know what? After all they have done this year, that doesn't even surprise me anymore. They have taken on the best all year long, and they have never waivered and never faltered. They are unbelieveable.
And last night, no-one was more unbelieveable than Matt Garza. He gave up a homerun to the second batter of the game, and then nothing. He simply powered through the dangerous Boston lineup time and time again. He didn't allow another hit until the seventh inning. He left after 7+, having struck out 9 and given up just the two hits. It was a magnificent display of pitching under huge pressure. And nobody could possibly argue that he wasn't a worthy choice for the series MVP.
Garza's performance was just one of a littany of storybook tales that helped sned the Rays to their storybook World Series. The relief effort might have been even bigger. Dan Wheeler, JP Howell and Chad Bradford all pitched to a batter or two in the eighth, as Boston loaded the bases with two out and JD Drew coming to the plate. Who does Joe Maddon call from the 'pen? David Price. A 23-year-old rookie with just 5 regular season appearances. Crazy?
Nah. Because David Price was clearly the coolest man in the Trop. Slider, slider, fastball, fastball. JD Drew struck out, inning over. Price comes back out for the ninth. He walks the leadoff man, but again shows his remarkable calmness - strikeout, strikeout, ground ball. His first ever save. In game 7 of the American League Championship Series. This kid is something special.
So is Evan Longoria, whose impressive battling at-bat was responsible for tying the game up in the fourth. He fought off several pitches before flipping a pitch down the right field line for an RBI-double. And the way Garza was throwing, even against Jon Lester, only one team looked likely to win it.
Move on to the fifth, and Willy Aybar is on second. Rocco Baldelli comes to the plate with an 0-6 career mark against Lester. This is a Rays' fairytale right? Well then, how about a game-winning RBI for a long-tenured Ray who had earlier in the year been diagnosed with a condition that left him in a constant state of fatigue, and which meant that he wasn't certain whether he would ever play Major League Baseball again. Sounds good to me. Rocco slapped the ball into left for a single and Aybar came motoring around to score the go-ahead run.
Aybar has been a bit of a hero for the Rays this season as well, and he gave the team some breathing room in the seventh, going deep for the second time in the series..
And now the Rays are going to another series.
The World Series.
I'm not quite sure I can believe it.
Showing posts with label Matt Garza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Garza. Show all posts
Monday, 20 October 2008
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
ALCS game 3 - You ain't never going to keep them down
Tampa Bay Rays 9 - Boston Red Sox 1
I'm not even sure why I still get surprised at games like last night's. I mean, this is just what the 2008 Rays do. They take a situation where they're supposed to fold, supposed to be overwhelmed, and they come right out swinging their bats, making their pitches, and generally taking the game right to the opposition. And they keep winning. Its a crazy, crazy thing that these Rays have got going on.
With Jon Lester making the start for the Sox, the prospects for a Rays win weren't exactly promising. Not only had Lester not been beaten at Fenway since April, but he had never lost to the Rays (indeed, Boston had never lost a game to the Rays in which he pitched) and he was working on an impressive 20+ inning streak of postseason baseball without allowing an earned run.
But its the Rays. The 2008 Rays. So you can throw all that out the window.
It all started fairly innocuously. After a first inning that Lester sailed through 1-2-3, Evan Longoria led off the second with a walk. After CC struck out, Willy Aybar singled up the middle. Dioner Navarro stepped up, and watched as Jason Varitek failed to handle a fastball, allowing the runners to move up on the passed ball. Navvi then fought off a grounder to second, allowing Longoria, going on contact, to trot home without a throw. And just like that the Rays were on the board.
And an inning later, they were even more on the board. Jason Bartlett led off with a single (continuing his impressive hitting year against leftys), and Aki Iwamura followed with a double of the Green Monster. Runners on second and third, nobody out, BJ Upton comes to the plate. I think it would be fair to say that BJ has found his power swing. He connected in a big way, launching the ball clear over the Monster, over the seats, and into the car park across the road. Another postseason homerun - his fifth in seven games. When BJ is hitting well, he is as good as just about anyone.
Of course when you are looking for super-talented youngsters to compare Upton with, you should make sure you don't overlook his teammates. One of them in particular. Evan Longoria. And just to make sure that you don't, one out later Evan connected with a Jon Lester pitch of his own. It wasn't quite as mammoth a shot as Upton's, but it was still a no-doubter. Not only that, but it was perfectly placed, making a bee-line right into the hands of perhaps the only Rays fan sitting in the Monster seats. Ok, so he dropped it, but it was pretty good aim nonetheless. That makes it four playoff homers for Longo, tying Miguel Cabrera's rookie mark. Impressive.
Meanwhile, Matt Garza was quietly pitching beautifully for the Rays as he sailed through six scoreless innings. The biggest threat came in the second, when the Sox got runners on second and third with one out. Garza didn't get fazed, and came back, getting Varitek out on a perfectly placed called third strike, before retiring Cora on a fly out to Upton.
The score was still 5-0 Rays when Garza came out to start the seventh. Already at over 100 pitches, he allowed a walk and a single, finally leaving after 6+ innings, having given up 6 hits while striking out 5. JP Howell (Mr Clutch the Reliever) came in with the runners on first and third and nobody out. He gave up a sacrifice fly to right to Jacoby Ellsbury, but ended the threat right there, thanks to a beautiful double play ball against the dangerous Pedroia. Evan Longoria showed off just why he's going to win plenty of Gold Gloves in his career, making a running scoop and perfect throw to Aki at second, who then turned it as perfectly as ever.
Then the Rays, not content with what had become a four run lead, did what they do best. They came back again and kept on hitting. With Paul Byrd on in relief, Crawford and Aybar led off with back-to-back singles. Navvi followed with another grounder to second, but this time the throw came home and despite CC's best efforts Varitek held on to the ball and made the first out. Still, never mind, it merely set the stage for the feel-good moment of the entire postseason.
With two on and one out, up stepped Rocco Baldelli. A New Englander (he's from Rhode Island) and a Sox fan growing up, appearing in a playoff game at Fenway would have been huge enough. But having comeback from his myriad of injuries and illness, to even have a chance at being there is a testament to Rocco's unbelievable perserverence and dedication to playing the game. And he got his reward for all his hard-work in the biggest possible way. He turned on a pitch inside from Byrd and mashed it high above the Monster for a 3-run homer. Even Sox fans had to feel a little bit pleased for him. As for me, I couldn't be more delighted.
That made it 8-1, and in the top of the ninth Carlos Pena, probably feeling a little left out at all the homerun hitting, joined in the party himself. He went the other way, to deep left-centre, hitting his first longball of the postseason. After hitting 30-odd in the regular season, he must almost be wondering whats going on - he's trailing in the wake of Upton's 5 homers, despite the fact that BJ hit only 9 during the whole regular season. On the other hand, Pena put down a perfect bunt single in the fifth, and proceeded to steal second - his third swipe of the playoffs, putting him comfortably ahead of speedster BJ.
That blast rounded off the scoring for the Rays, while JP Howell coasted through the eighth and Edwin Jackson made his playoff debut with a scoreless ninth to wrap up the win, and edge the Rays ahead for the first time in the series, 2-1.
Game four is tonight, and has intrigue written all over it. Starting for the Rays will be Andy Sonnanstine, fresh off a quality effort in the ALDS clincher. He pitched fantastically against the Sox this year, so no doubt will be looking for similar results tonight. Going for Boston will be long-time Rays' nemesis Tim Wakefield. He's actually 0-2 against Tampa Bay this year, but still 19-5 for his career. I hope we can continue our recent success against him, but he's one of those guys (ie a knuckleballer!) who you just don't ever know what sort of form he's going to be in. Expect to see another funky lineup from Maddon, probably righty-heavy, and very possibly with our switch-hitters batting righty as well. Unusual maybe, but it worked last time out. Lets hope it does again.
I'm not even sure why I still get surprised at games like last night's. I mean, this is just what the 2008 Rays do. They take a situation where they're supposed to fold, supposed to be overwhelmed, and they come right out swinging their bats, making their pitches, and generally taking the game right to the opposition. And they keep winning. Its a crazy, crazy thing that these Rays have got going on.
With Jon Lester making the start for the Sox, the prospects for a Rays win weren't exactly promising. Not only had Lester not been beaten at Fenway since April, but he had never lost to the Rays (indeed, Boston had never lost a game to the Rays in which he pitched) and he was working on an impressive 20+ inning streak of postseason baseball without allowing an earned run.
But its the Rays. The 2008 Rays. So you can throw all that out the window.
It all started fairly innocuously. After a first inning that Lester sailed through 1-2-3, Evan Longoria led off the second with a walk. After CC struck out, Willy Aybar singled up the middle. Dioner Navarro stepped up, and watched as Jason Varitek failed to handle a fastball, allowing the runners to move up on the passed ball. Navvi then fought off a grounder to second, allowing Longoria, going on contact, to trot home without a throw. And just like that the Rays were on the board.
And an inning later, they were even more on the board. Jason Bartlett led off with a single (continuing his impressive hitting year against leftys), and Aki Iwamura followed with a double of the Green Monster. Runners on second and third, nobody out, BJ Upton comes to the plate. I think it would be fair to say that BJ has found his power swing. He connected in a big way, launching the ball clear over the Monster, over the seats, and into the car park across the road. Another postseason homerun - his fifth in seven games. When BJ is hitting well, he is as good as just about anyone.
Of course when you are looking for super-talented youngsters to compare Upton with, you should make sure you don't overlook his teammates. One of them in particular. Evan Longoria. And just to make sure that you don't, one out later Evan connected with a Jon Lester pitch of his own. It wasn't quite as mammoth a shot as Upton's, but it was still a no-doubter. Not only that, but it was perfectly placed, making a bee-line right into the hands of perhaps the only Rays fan sitting in the Monster seats. Ok, so he dropped it, but it was pretty good aim nonetheless. That makes it four playoff homers for Longo, tying Miguel Cabrera's rookie mark. Impressive.
Meanwhile, Matt Garza was quietly pitching beautifully for the Rays as he sailed through six scoreless innings. The biggest threat came in the second, when the Sox got runners on second and third with one out. Garza didn't get fazed, and came back, getting Varitek out on a perfectly placed called third strike, before retiring Cora on a fly out to Upton.
The score was still 5-0 Rays when Garza came out to start the seventh. Already at over 100 pitches, he allowed a walk and a single, finally leaving after 6+ innings, having given up 6 hits while striking out 5. JP Howell (Mr Clutch the Reliever) came in with the runners on first and third and nobody out. He gave up a sacrifice fly to right to Jacoby Ellsbury, but ended the threat right there, thanks to a beautiful double play ball against the dangerous Pedroia. Evan Longoria showed off just why he's going to win plenty of Gold Gloves in his career, making a running scoop and perfect throw to Aki at second, who then turned it as perfectly as ever.
Then the Rays, not content with what had become a four run lead, did what they do best. They came back again and kept on hitting. With Paul Byrd on in relief, Crawford and Aybar led off with back-to-back singles. Navvi followed with another grounder to second, but this time the throw came home and despite CC's best efforts Varitek held on to the ball and made the first out. Still, never mind, it merely set the stage for the feel-good moment of the entire postseason.
With two on and one out, up stepped Rocco Baldelli. A New Englander (he's from Rhode Island) and a Sox fan growing up, appearing in a playoff game at Fenway would have been huge enough. But having comeback from his myriad of injuries and illness, to even have a chance at being there is a testament to Rocco's unbelievable perserverence and dedication to playing the game. And he got his reward for all his hard-work in the biggest possible way. He turned on a pitch inside from Byrd and mashed it high above the Monster for a 3-run homer. Even Sox fans had to feel a little bit pleased for him. As for me, I couldn't be more delighted.
That made it 8-1, and in the top of the ninth Carlos Pena, probably feeling a little left out at all the homerun hitting, joined in the party himself. He went the other way, to deep left-centre, hitting his first longball of the postseason. After hitting 30-odd in the regular season, he must almost be wondering whats going on - he's trailing in the wake of Upton's 5 homers, despite the fact that BJ hit only 9 during the whole regular season. On the other hand, Pena put down a perfect bunt single in the fifth, and proceeded to steal second - his third swipe of the playoffs, putting him comfortably ahead of speedster BJ.
That blast rounded off the scoring for the Rays, while JP Howell coasted through the eighth and Edwin Jackson made his playoff debut with a scoreless ninth to wrap up the win, and edge the Rays ahead for the first time in the series, 2-1.
Game four is tonight, and has intrigue written all over it. Starting for the Rays will be Andy Sonnanstine, fresh off a quality effort in the ALDS clincher. He pitched fantastically against the Sox this year, so no doubt will be looking for similar results tonight. Going for Boston will be long-time Rays' nemesis Tim Wakefield. He's actually 0-2 against Tampa Bay this year, but still 19-5 for his career. I hope we can continue our recent success against him, but he's one of those guys (ie a knuckleballer!) who you just don't ever know what sort of form he's going to be in. Expect to see another funky lineup from Maddon, probably righty-heavy, and very possibly with our switch-hitters batting righty as well. Unusual maybe, but it worked last time out. Lets hope it does again.
Monday, 6 October 2008
ALDS game 3 - Not over yet
Tampa Bay Rays 3 - Chicago White Sox 5
The recipe was almost the same. An early deficit. A battling comeback. All that was missing was the happy ending.
Winning at the Trop against an experienced Chicago team is one thing. Doing so at a raucous US Cellular Field is quite another. Yet, that being said, the Rays made another good go of it last night in a rain-delayed, must-win game for the Sox.
We actually got on the board first thanks to an RBI-infield single from Aki Iwamura in the second. Perhaps a sign of things to come had already been shown at that stage however, as we left two men aboard in each of the first two innings against an impressive John Danks. We didn't take the chance to really get on top early and ultimately paid for it.
On the hill for the Rays, Matt Garza was mostly solid. He allowed the Sox to tie the game in the third, but generally had made a good start. Then came his bogey inning, the fourth, and a breakout for Chicago. Garza gave up a lead off double to Thome, and the Sox took advantage, eventually scoring three times in the frame to move into a lead that they wouldn't lose. They added another in the sixth to complete their scoring for the day.
Garza's final line (6IP, 7H, 5R, 4BB, 4Ks) wasn't his best, but was the sort of start that more often than not gives the hitters a chance. And, considering the power of the White Sox lineup, it can probably be counted as a successful start for a game in which he was lacking his best stuff.
The Rays' hitters though struggled against Danks. Nothing to show from the third, fourth, fifth or sixth.
But the battling remained. Rocco Baldelli led off the seventh with a walk. Bartlett and Iwamura couldn't get him in, but with 2 out BJ Upton stepped to the plate and crushed a prodigous homerun into the seats in left. 5-3, and the game was back on. Carlos Pena followed with a single, bringing the tying run to the plate in the shape of Evan Longoria. Ozzie Guillen went to the 'pen and brought in the veteran Dotel, who proved his worth ending the threat with a called third strike to Longo.
And that was that. Nothing much doing for the Rays in the eighth or ninth, and a first ever postseason loss to cut their series lead to 2-1. Considering the early pressure the Rays put on Danks, it was a disappointing showing in the end. Some impatient hitting, admittedly combined with some impressive pitching, meant that to be honest even after BJ's homerun you never really got that special Rays' comeback feeling.
Still, two more chances to wrap things up. The first of which is tonight in what is a MASSIVE game for Andy Sonnanstine. He has been great all year, and I'm a big fan, but this is going to test him like never before. While a loss isn't the end of the world, going back to the Trop for a winner-takes-all decider is a far from ideal position to be in. Add to that the homerun-hitting lineup to the power nature of the park, and its a huge challenge. Perhaps even moreso for a pitcher like Sonny who relies on making hitters put the ball in play. He's going to need to pitch just about his best game of the season, with more pressure than he's ever experienced.
It's a big ask.
Go on Sonny, we believe!!!
The recipe was almost the same. An early deficit. A battling comeback. All that was missing was the happy ending.
Winning at the Trop against an experienced Chicago team is one thing. Doing so at a raucous US Cellular Field is quite another. Yet, that being said, the Rays made another good go of it last night in a rain-delayed, must-win game for the Sox.
We actually got on the board first thanks to an RBI-infield single from Aki Iwamura in the second. Perhaps a sign of things to come had already been shown at that stage however, as we left two men aboard in each of the first two innings against an impressive John Danks. We didn't take the chance to really get on top early and ultimately paid for it.
On the hill for the Rays, Matt Garza was mostly solid. He allowed the Sox to tie the game in the third, but generally had made a good start. Then came his bogey inning, the fourth, and a breakout for Chicago. Garza gave up a lead off double to Thome, and the Sox took advantage, eventually scoring three times in the frame to move into a lead that they wouldn't lose. They added another in the sixth to complete their scoring for the day.
Garza's final line (6IP, 7H, 5R, 4BB, 4Ks) wasn't his best, but was the sort of start that more often than not gives the hitters a chance. And, considering the power of the White Sox lineup, it can probably be counted as a successful start for a game in which he was lacking his best stuff.
The Rays' hitters though struggled against Danks. Nothing to show from the third, fourth, fifth or sixth.
But the battling remained. Rocco Baldelli led off the seventh with a walk. Bartlett and Iwamura couldn't get him in, but with 2 out BJ Upton stepped to the plate and crushed a prodigous homerun into the seats in left. 5-3, and the game was back on. Carlos Pena followed with a single, bringing the tying run to the plate in the shape of Evan Longoria. Ozzie Guillen went to the 'pen and brought in the veteran Dotel, who proved his worth ending the threat with a called third strike to Longo.
And that was that. Nothing much doing for the Rays in the eighth or ninth, and a first ever postseason loss to cut their series lead to 2-1. Considering the early pressure the Rays put on Danks, it was a disappointing showing in the end. Some impatient hitting, admittedly combined with some impressive pitching, meant that to be honest even after BJ's homerun you never really got that special Rays' comeback feeling.
Still, two more chances to wrap things up. The first of which is tonight in what is a MASSIVE game for Andy Sonnanstine. He has been great all year, and I'm a big fan, but this is going to test him like never before. While a loss isn't the end of the world, going back to the Trop for a winner-takes-all decider is a far from ideal position to be in. Add to that the homerun-hitting lineup to the power nature of the park, and its a huge challenge. Perhaps even moreso for a pitcher like Sonny who relies on making hitters put the ball in play. He's going to need to pitch just about his best game of the season, with more pressure than he's ever experienced.
It's a big ask.
Go on Sonny, we believe!!!
Saturday, 13 September 2008
I like the Price...let's play two!
Rainout last night. Day/night doubleheader today, with the first game starting in about an hour and a half. James Shields will be pitching game one, and Matt Garza in the nightcap. Thats a pretty good 1-2 punch right there.
But, if that is good, then what about the trio of arms that the Rays added to the bullpen last night.
Joining the team on Monday will be Mitch Talbot and Jeff Niemann. Not bad. I think there are many teams who would be happy enough to have that pair of arms in their 'pen.
But, and no disrepect at all as they are quality pitchers both, their recall is hugely outshadowed by the guy who has joined up with the teams ahead of today's contests in The Bronx.
He is here.
David Price has arrived.
He'll be available from the 'pen today, and with the doubleheader I would not be surprised to see him make his Major League debut. Exciting.
Also rejoining the Rays in New York is Jonny Gomes, and he's gone right into the lineup for game one against Mike Mussina. You know how big a fan of Jonny I am, and I would like nothing better than to see him play a big role for the team down the stretch.
Oh yeah, and theres the small matter of Evan Longoria being back in the lineup.
With a Rays-Yankees doubleheader and a Boston-Toronto twin bill, today is going to be a big day. I could not be more excited.
Joe Maddon's lineup for the opener (according to the St Pete Times) is stacked with righties to face Mussina - Bartlett (SS), Zobrist (2B), Pena (1B), Baldelli (DH), Longo (3B), Gomes (LF), Perez (CF), Hernandez (C) and Ruggiano (RF).
Lets go Rays!!!
But, if that is good, then what about the trio of arms that the Rays added to the bullpen last night.
Joining the team on Monday will be Mitch Talbot and Jeff Niemann. Not bad. I think there are many teams who would be happy enough to have that pair of arms in their 'pen.
But, and no disrepect at all as they are quality pitchers both, their recall is hugely outshadowed by the guy who has joined up with the teams ahead of today's contests in The Bronx.
He is here.
David Price has arrived.
He'll be available from the 'pen today, and with the doubleheader I would not be surprised to see him make his Major League debut. Exciting.
Also rejoining the Rays in New York is Jonny Gomes, and he's gone right into the lineup for game one against Mike Mussina. You know how big a fan of Jonny I am, and I would like nothing better than to see him play a big role for the team down the stretch.
Oh yeah, and theres the small matter of Evan Longoria being back in the lineup.
With a Rays-Yankees doubleheader and a Boston-Toronto twin bill, today is going to be a big day. I could not be more excited.
Joe Maddon's lineup for the opener (according to the St Pete Times) is stacked with righties to face Mussina - Bartlett (SS), Zobrist (2B), Pena (1B), Baldelli (DH), Longo (3B), Gomes (LF), Perez (CF), Hernandez (C) and Ruggiano (RF).
Lets go Rays!!!
Monday, 8 September 2008
Ugh.
What a miserable sporting weekend.
Six major events/sports that I followed, and a positive outcome in two of them. Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal to make the US Open final, and the Alabama Crimson Tide beat Tulane, despite a pretty unimpressive display.
But the Seattle Seahawks opened with a miserable loss to Buffalo. Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian F1 Grand Prix, only to be demoted to third because of a steward's decision that can only be described as abysmal. And while the English football team did record a win in their opening World Cup 2010 qualifier, they managed just a 2-0 margin against Andorra, a country with a population (about 70,000) that is barely two-thirds as big as Basingstoke. Impressed I was not.
And then there were the Rays.
Ouch.
Last week they lost 2 out of 3 to the Yankees (the one win coming behind an excellent outing from Scott Kazmir). This weekend they got swept in Toronto. And heading to Fenway, where we've lost 6 out of 6 this season so far, we're just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox.
Now I know that sometimes you're going to lose ballgames. But the manner of defeat, particularly games 2 and 3 against the Blue Jays, has been particularly disheartening.
Yesterday, the hitters couldn't manage to scrape together a single run in support of an(other) excellent outing from Matt Garza, who himself gave up just one score over 7 innings. A 1-0 shutout (against an admittedly hot Jays team), is never a nice way to lose a game.
But even that is a fair way short of the crippling blow that Saturday's loss has the potential to be. Shutout through eight, we trailed 3-0. James Shields had given up a run in the first, second and fourth, before allowing just a single hit over the next four innings. We'd threatened several times, notably against reliever Scott Downs in the eighth, but had come up with nothing.
But then there was that wonderful Rays fighting spirit. With a man on, Rocco Baldelli steps in to pinch hit against closer BJ Ryan, and drills a ball over the fence in left. Willy Aybar walked, and was replaced at first by Fernando Perez. Perez (who has looked impressive so far) stole second, and motored round to score and tie the game on an error by Jays' second baseman Joe Inglett.
Dan Wheeler pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth (with a huge thank you to a stunning piece of defense from Jason Bartlett), and the game headed to extras. 10th inning scoreless. 11th inning scoreless. 12th inning scoreless.
Fernando Perez got on base, showing off his speed to beat out a potential double play ball. He moved up on a John Jaso ground out, and raced home on a Dioner Navarro single to give the Rays the lead for the first time at 4-3. And it stayed at that score going into the bottom half, with Troy Percival coming out of the 'pen.
6 batters later and it was all over. A walk-off Grand Slam by Greg Zaun. A pretty devastating loss.
Now, I don't want to have a go at Troy Percival for making a mistake, for having a bad outing. It's only his fourth blown save of the season, and the first game that he's pitched in that the Rays have lost. For the most part when he's come out of the 'pen with the game on the line, he's got the job done. But since about mid-season, every time he pitches you feel like it's a bit of an adventure. He'll probably get the three outs, but you're almost certain that someone's going to get on base. Probably more than one person. And you feel like there's a pretty decent chance that at least one run is going to score.
Whether or not a team should have one designated 'closer' is a debate for another day. But looking at the Rays' 'pen right now, if someone told me that we had a one-run lead, and needed to get the last three outs, Perci would not be top of the list. Not by a long way. Don't get me wrong, I know he has the ability to do it. But I just don't trust him to do it anymore when the heat is on.
I'd turn to Grant Balfour. I'd turn to Dan Wheeler. I'd turn to JP Howell. Hey, right now I'd feel happier with Chad Bradford or Trever Miller out there.
I'm sure Maddon will stick with Perci. But he must realise the effect that seeing Perci head for the mound has on us Rays fans, and presumably the team. We've got 21 games left, and we cannot afford to blow a lead late on in any of them. Can we trust Perci under that pressue? I just can't anymore.
Sorry.
Six major events/sports that I followed, and a positive outcome in two of them. Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal to make the US Open final, and the Alabama Crimson Tide beat Tulane, despite a pretty unimpressive display.
But the Seattle Seahawks opened with a miserable loss to Buffalo. Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian F1 Grand Prix, only to be demoted to third because of a steward's decision that can only be described as abysmal. And while the English football team did record a win in their opening World Cup 2010 qualifier, they managed just a 2-0 margin against Andorra, a country with a population (about 70,000) that is barely two-thirds as big as Basingstoke. Impressed I was not.
And then there were the Rays.
Ouch.
Last week they lost 2 out of 3 to the Yankees (the one win coming behind an excellent outing from Scott Kazmir). This weekend they got swept in Toronto. And heading to Fenway, where we've lost 6 out of 6 this season so far, we're just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox.
Now I know that sometimes you're going to lose ballgames. But the manner of defeat, particularly games 2 and 3 against the Blue Jays, has been particularly disheartening.
Yesterday, the hitters couldn't manage to scrape together a single run in support of an(other) excellent outing from Matt Garza, who himself gave up just one score over 7 innings. A 1-0 shutout (against an admittedly hot Jays team), is never a nice way to lose a game.
But even that is a fair way short of the crippling blow that Saturday's loss has the potential to be. Shutout through eight, we trailed 3-0. James Shields had given up a run in the first, second and fourth, before allowing just a single hit over the next four innings. We'd threatened several times, notably against reliever Scott Downs in the eighth, but had come up with nothing.
But then there was that wonderful Rays fighting spirit. With a man on, Rocco Baldelli steps in to pinch hit against closer BJ Ryan, and drills a ball over the fence in left. Willy Aybar walked, and was replaced at first by Fernando Perez. Perez (who has looked impressive so far) stole second, and motored round to score and tie the game on an error by Jays' second baseman Joe Inglett.
Dan Wheeler pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth (with a huge thank you to a stunning piece of defense from Jason Bartlett), and the game headed to extras. 10th inning scoreless. 11th inning scoreless. 12th inning scoreless.
Fernando Perez got on base, showing off his speed to beat out a potential double play ball. He moved up on a John Jaso ground out, and raced home on a Dioner Navarro single to give the Rays the lead for the first time at 4-3. And it stayed at that score going into the bottom half, with Troy Percival coming out of the 'pen.
6 batters later and it was all over. A walk-off Grand Slam by Greg Zaun. A pretty devastating loss.
Now, I don't want to have a go at Troy Percival for making a mistake, for having a bad outing. It's only his fourth blown save of the season, and the first game that he's pitched in that the Rays have lost. For the most part when he's come out of the 'pen with the game on the line, he's got the job done. But since about mid-season, every time he pitches you feel like it's a bit of an adventure. He'll probably get the three outs, but you're almost certain that someone's going to get on base. Probably more than one person. And you feel like there's a pretty decent chance that at least one run is going to score.
Whether or not a team should have one designated 'closer' is a debate for another day. But looking at the Rays' 'pen right now, if someone told me that we had a one-run lead, and needed to get the last three outs, Perci would not be top of the list. Not by a long way. Don't get me wrong, I know he has the ability to do it. But I just don't trust him to do it anymore when the heat is on.
I'd turn to Grant Balfour. I'd turn to Dan Wheeler. I'd turn to JP Howell. Hey, right now I'd feel happier with Chad Bradford or Trever Miller out there.
I'm sure Maddon will stick with Perci. But he must realise the effect that seeing Perci head for the mound has on us Rays fans, and presumably the team. We've got 21 games left, and we cannot afford to blow a lead late on in any of them. Can we trust Perci under that pressue? I just can't anymore.
Sorry.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
The Rocco question
Hmmm, its almost a whole week since my last post, and for once its not because I've been terribly busy. Rather, its because of the particularly unispiring run of performances that have been put in. A four-game series split on the road in Kansas City, and the first two in Toronto also shared.
Its all been the same old story to be honest. Solid pitching, dazzling defense, and no hitting worth speaking off. Actually, a couple of bits, such as a couple of homers from Carlos Pena, and a 2-triple game from Carl Crawford (who added another last night), were pleasant moments, but by and large its been a struggle. The highlight of the trip so far has without question been in the field - Jason Bartlett returned and showed right away just what we have been missing, making difficult plays seem routine and impossible plays look comfortable. I honestly don't think that there is a better defensive infield in the majors than Longoria, Bartlett, Iwamura and Pena. They are outstanding.
Also outstanding are James Shields and Matt Garza. (I mean, Kaz is to, but his start in KC got abbreviated due to rain). Shields pitched excellently, but was outduelled by AJ Burnett on Monday night. Then last night, Garza went up against Roy Halliday for the second time in just over a week, and once again came out on top of the Cy Young-winner. The Rays managed only 3 runs on 6 hits, but Garza was so lights out it was plenty. He went the distance, for his first career complete game shutout, giving up only 5 hits while striking out 5.
So thats the whirlwind week-in-review, now onto the big story. The trading deadline. A day and a half to go, and as yet nothing for the Rays. Possible targets are moving left, right and centre. Nady and Marte to the Yanks. Teixeira to the Angels. Actually, I never understood that rumour to be honest. Apart from the fact that he hits leftys well, we really don't need a first baseman. Anyhow...
So, who's left? Brian Fuentes. Huston Street. Will Ohman. They're the names that are being mentioned the most. Bullpen help would be welcomed. But, from what I've read the price is quite high at the moment - everybody needs reliable arms in the 'pen after all! With plenty of arms in the minors (admittedly mainly young starting pitchers), it will be interesting to see what moves are made.
Since last week, and specifically since Nady was traded, most of the Rays-talk has moved away from a right-handed bat to play rightfield. Ok, there is still some chatter (Jason Bay still, and Randy Winn are among the names being thrown about), and I wouldn't be totally shocked if we were to make a move for an outfielder, but for the most part it looks as though we are looking at who we already have.
Justin Ruggiano was up with the team a couple of times earlier in the year, and acquitted himself very well indeed. He is an option. And of course there are still those of us who believe(/hope?) that Jonny Gomes can find his swing and contribute.
But there is another guy, a guy that during Spring Training many Rays fans resigned themselves never to seeing play at the Trop again. That man is Rocco Baldelli.
I pretty much haven't mentioned Rocco since the spring. I've seen him struggle with fitness in the past, and I've proclaimed his return. This time I don't want to get over-excited, I don't want to tempt fate. But, it has to be said, the signs are promising. We finally know what the problem is. Its not going to go away, but there are ways to works around it. Is he going to be the everyday star centrefielder that everybody saw back when he first arrived in the Bay? No. Can he be the right-handed DH, occasional rightfielder, pinch-hitter and defensive replacement? If the answer to that is indeed yes, then without making a trade at all we may be able to add the best available player around.
Down at Double-A he's currently hitting .333 with 3 homeruns and 8 RBI in 11 games. He's DH-ing. He's pinch-hitting. He's playing some late-inning outfield. On friday he's slated to play 7 innings in right. If he comes through that, then it could be next stop Tropicana Field.
I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. I want Rocco to make it back to the bigs more for himself than anything else. If he can overcome everything that he's faced, and play regularly and contribute once again at the major league level, then that will be some achievement.
But it sure would be nice to have his bat right now.
Its all been the same old story to be honest. Solid pitching, dazzling defense, and no hitting worth speaking off. Actually, a couple of bits, such as a couple of homers from Carlos Pena, and a 2-triple game from Carl Crawford (who added another last night), were pleasant moments, but by and large its been a struggle. The highlight of the trip so far has without question been in the field - Jason Bartlett returned and showed right away just what we have been missing, making difficult plays seem routine and impossible plays look comfortable. I honestly don't think that there is a better defensive infield in the majors than Longoria, Bartlett, Iwamura and Pena. They are outstanding.
Also outstanding are James Shields and Matt Garza. (I mean, Kaz is to, but his start in KC got abbreviated due to rain). Shields pitched excellently, but was outduelled by AJ Burnett on Monday night. Then last night, Garza went up against Roy Halliday for the second time in just over a week, and once again came out on top of the Cy Young-winner. The Rays managed only 3 runs on 6 hits, but Garza was so lights out it was plenty. He went the distance, for his first career complete game shutout, giving up only 5 hits while striking out 5.
So thats the whirlwind week-in-review, now onto the big story. The trading deadline. A day and a half to go, and as yet nothing for the Rays. Possible targets are moving left, right and centre. Nady and Marte to the Yanks. Teixeira to the Angels. Actually, I never understood that rumour to be honest. Apart from the fact that he hits leftys well, we really don't need a first baseman. Anyhow...
So, who's left? Brian Fuentes. Huston Street. Will Ohman. They're the names that are being mentioned the most. Bullpen help would be welcomed. But, from what I've read the price is quite high at the moment - everybody needs reliable arms in the 'pen after all! With plenty of arms in the minors (admittedly mainly young starting pitchers), it will be interesting to see what moves are made.
Since last week, and specifically since Nady was traded, most of the Rays-talk has moved away from a right-handed bat to play rightfield. Ok, there is still some chatter (Jason Bay still, and Randy Winn are among the names being thrown about), and I wouldn't be totally shocked if we were to make a move for an outfielder, but for the most part it looks as though we are looking at who we already have.
Justin Ruggiano was up with the team a couple of times earlier in the year, and acquitted himself very well indeed. He is an option. And of course there are still those of us who believe(/hope?) that Jonny Gomes can find his swing and contribute.
But there is another guy, a guy that during Spring Training many Rays fans resigned themselves never to seeing play at the Trop again. That man is Rocco Baldelli.
I pretty much haven't mentioned Rocco since the spring. I've seen him struggle with fitness in the past, and I've proclaimed his return. This time I don't want to get over-excited, I don't want to tempt fate. But, it has to be said, the signs are promising. We finally know what the problem is. Its not going to go away, but there are ways to works around it. Is he going to be the everyday star centrefielder that everybody saw back when he first arrived in the Bay? No. Can he be the right-handed DH, occasional rightfielder, pinch-hitter and defensive replacement? If the answer to that is indeed yes, then without making a trade at all we may be able to add the best available player around.
Down at Double-A he's currently hitting .333 with 3 homeruns and 8 RBI in 11 games. He's DH-ing. He's pinch-hitting. He's playing some late-inning outfield. On friday he's slated to play 7 innings in right. If he comes through that, then it could be next stop Tropicana Field.
I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. I want Rocco to make it back to the bigs more for himself than anything else. If he can overcome everything that he's faced, and play regularly and contribute once again at the major league level, then that will be some achievement.
But it sure would be nice to have his bat right now.
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Not the answer you might expect
The question? You have two pitching duels, AJ Burnett against James Shields, and Roy Halladay against Matt Garza. Who is going to come out on top?
I'm betting most people would pick the Jays' hurlers to get the better of things nine times out of ten. Well, not this week. This week, two out of two have gone to the Rays.
Toronto Blue Jays 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 2
Friday night, it was James Shields on the hill, looking to end our 7-game losing skid, and get the second half off to a good start. And boy did he ever do it. He allowed a third inning homer to Adam Lind, but that was it, going seven innings while giving up only four hits and that solitary run. Having thrown 105 pitches, those seven were his lot, and as he sat down he was facing the possibility of a super-hard luck loss.
But, fear not, because as was the story so often in the first half, an unlikely hero with the bat picked up a starter's great effort. In the bottom of the seventh, Eric Hinske worked a one-out walk to bring Ben Zobrist to the plate. Now, much as we have missed Jason Bartlett (and we have missed him a lot), Zobrist has done a solid job filling in for him. And he continued on with that solid job, taking the first pitch from Burnett and depositing it over the fence in rightfield for his fourth homer of the season.
JP Howell and Grant Balfour got the final six outs without allowing a hit, and just like that the streak was over and the Rays were back on top of the East.
Toronto Blue Jays 4 - Tampa Bay Rays 6
And if the performance that had moved us there was good, the one that stretched the lead to 1 1/2 games was simply awesome.
I think most people are agreed that Roy Halladay is a very impressive pitcher. Well yesterday he was simply outpitched by Matt Garza.
Garza was completely dominant, pitching 7 2/3 innings, striking out 6 and giving up only 2 singles. Toronto simply didn't have a chance.
Not that the Rays had much to show off of Halladay. Until the sixth inning, that is, when we pieced together one of the more unusual rallies that you will see - but then thats what you need to do sometimes against a top class pitcher. The inning started with Friday's hero Ben Zobrist giving a perfect demonstration of the classic Baltimore Chop, as he made contact and cut the ball almost straight into the dirt in front of home plate, from where it leapt over the dispairing jump of Scott Rolen at third. Aki Iwamura followed with as perfect a bunt as you will ever see, not only moving Zobrist up to second, but beating out the throw as well.
Next up was Carl Crawford, who made a terrible attempt to bunt, before eventually sending a slow dribbler along the first base line. He was easily going to beat out any effort to field it, so Roy Halladay watched as it trickled along the line, and, when he thought it had momentarily drifted into foul territory, he picked it up, only for the umpire to rule it fair. He was not happy. Now, I have two points here - 1) even I know that balls hit along the lines at the Trop tend to roll fair; and 2) Halladay may have been almost 4000 miles closer to the ball than me, but it looked as though it was just touching the line when he grabbed it. It was a tough call to be sure, but the umps had already made several great close calls during the came, so I am (obviously) more than happy to back them on this.
So, that was three hits that had travelled about 150 feet combined, as Carlos Pena stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out. And he continued the scrappiness by blooping a single barely over the head of the Toronto second baseman, scoring Zobrist to put the Rays on the board. Eric Hinske tried to add some more, but struck out swinging.
Step forward Evan Longoria. As if he needed to do anything more to impress, well, everybody really. What followed was a great battling at bat in which he worked the count full, fouled two balls painfully off of his ankle, and finally belted the 10th pitch he saw over the fence in left-centre for his first career grand slam. Off of Roy Halladay. That is the sort of spectacular thing that has just become par for the course watching Evan. I think one of the Toronto commentators summed it up perfectly a little later in the inning when he said, somewhat unconnected to what the rest of the conversation was about, "Evan Longoria is special". I couldn't have put it better myself.
That inning chased Halladay from the game, and in the eighth, Cliff Floyd added a sixth run for the Rays with a homer off the first pitch from Brandon League to straight-away centre. It should have been a pretty meaningless run, but come the top of the ninth, it looked pretty vital. Trever Miller came out and, unusually for him, gave up hits to two straight leftys. That brought in Al Reyes, fresh of the DL, he managed to get an out, but gave up a couple of hits himself and generally looked pretty ineffective. What should have been a coast to victory was suddenly getting tense. Step in Dan Wheeler. He actually allowed a hit, and Reyes' two runners to score, but came back to get the last two outs and preserve Garza's well deserved win.
This afternoon, Edwin Jackson is on the hill as the Rays look for the sweep. He'll be up against John Parrish.
I'm betting most people would pick the Jays' hurlers to get the better of things nine times out of ten. Well, not this week. This week, two out of two have gone to the Rays.
Toronto Blue Jays 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 2
Friday night, it was James Shields on the hill, looking to end our 7-game losing skid, and get the second half off to a good start. And boy did he ever do it. He allowed a third inning homer to Adam Lind, but that was it, going seven innings while giving up only four hits and that solitary run. Having thrown 105 pitches, those seven were his lot, and as he sat down he was facing the possibility of a super-hard luck loss.
But, fear not, because as was the story so often in the first half, an unlikely hero with the bat picked up a starter's great effort. In the bottom of the seventh, Eric Hinske worked a one-out walk to bring Ben Zobrist to the plate. Now, much as we have missed Jason Bartlett (and we have missed him a lot), Zobrist has done a solid job filling in for him. And he continued on with that solid job, taking the first pitch from Burnett and depositing it over the fence in rightfield for his fourth homer of the season.
JP Howell and Grant Balfour got the final six outs without allowing a hit, and just like that the streak was over and the Rays were back on top of the East.
Toronto Blue Jays 4 - Tampa Bay Rays 6
And if the performance that had moved us there was good, the one that stretched the lead to 1 1/2 games was simply awesome.
I think most people are agreed that Roy Halladay is a very impressive pitcher. Well yesterday he was simply outpitched by Matt Garza.
Garza was completely dominant, pitching 7 2/3 innings, striking out 6 and giving up only 2 singles. Toronto simply didn't have a chance.
Not that the Rays had much to show off of Halladay. Until the sixth inning, that is, when we pieced together one of the more unusual rallies that you will see - but then thats what you need to do sometimes against a top class pitcher. The inning started with Friday's hero Ben Zobrist giving a perfect demonstration of the classic Baltimore Chop, as he made contact and cut the ball almost straight into the dirt in front of home plate, from where it leapt over the dispairing jump of Scott Rolen at third. Aki Iwamura followed with as perfect a bunt as you will ever see, not only moving Zobrist up to second, but beating out the throw as well.
Next up was Carl Crawford, who made a terrible attempt to bunt, before eventually sending a slow dribbler along the first base line. He was easily going to beat out any effort to field it, so Roy Halladay watched as it trickled along the line, and, when he thought it had momentarily drifted into foul territory, he picked it up, only for the umpire to rule it fair. He was not happy. Now, I have two points here - 1) even I know that balls hit along the lines at the Trop tend to roll fair; and 2) Halladay may have been almost 4000 miles closer to the ball than me, but it looked as though it was just touching the line when he grabbed it. It was a tough call to be sure, but the umps had already made several great close calls during the came, so I am (obviously) more than happy to back them on this.
So, that was three hits that had travelled about 150 feet combined, as Carlos Pena stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out. And he continued the scrappiness by blooping a single barely over the head of the Toronto second baseman, scoring Zobrist to put the Rays on the board. Eric Hinske tried to add some more, but struck out swinging.
Step forward Evan Longoria. As if he needed to do anything more to impress, well, everybody really. What followed was a great battling at bat in which he worked the count full, fouled two balls painfully off of his ankle, and finally belted the 10th pitch he saw over the fence in left-centre for his first career grand slam. Off of Roy Halladay. That is the sort of spectacular thing that has just become par for the course watching Evan. I think one of the Toronto commentators summed it up perfectly a little later in the inning when he said, somewhat unconnected to what the rest of the conversation was about, "Evan Longoria is special". I couldn't have put it better myself.
That inning chased Halladay from the game, and in the eighth, Cliff Floyd added a sixth run for the Rays with a homer off the first pitch from Brandon League to straight-away centre. It should have been a pretty meaningless run, but come the top of the ninth, it looked pretty vital. Trever Miller came out and, unusually for him, gave up hits to two straight leftys. That brought in Al Reyes, fresh of the DL, he managed to get an out, but gave up a couple of hits himself and generally looked pretty ineffective. What should have been a coast to victory was suddenly getting tense. Step in Dan Wheeler. He actually allowed a hit, and Reyes' two runners to score, but came back to get the last two outs and preserve Garza's well deserved win.
This afternoon, Edwin Jackson is on the hill as the Rays look for the sweep. He'll be up against John Parrish.
Thursday, 3 July 2008
So much more than just another Sox sweep
You know something? You just can't not watch this team. You can't stop, you can't look away, not even for one second.
Because every pitch, every swing of the bat, every bit of glovework could be the one. It could win the game. Even a game that looked out of reach. And maybe even a series against the World Champions.
At 3AM last night (UK time, obviously!), the Rays were 4-1 down. Kaz had lasted only 5 innings with an elevated pitch count, and through 6 innings the hitters had picked up only 3 hits between them. I had to be up for work at 8. I was only watching live at all because well, lets face it, Kaz v Dice-K, Rays going for the sweep, how can you not watch live? And as Jonny Gomes struck out, leaving a man aboard to end the 6th, going to bed looked a pretty good option.
However, before I get to my good decision, and those last 3 innings, lets have a quick recap of games 1 and 2.
Boston Red Sox 4 - Tampa Bay Rays 5
A solid start from James Shields (6 1/3 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 5 Ks) was backed up nicely by some timely hitting - a BJ Upton homerun on the first pitch of the game was complimented by a two-run shot from Gabe Gross in the fourth. RBIs from Carlos Pena, and a hustling Jonny moved the lead to 5-2 heading for the ninth. Then things got interesting. In came Troy Percival. And back came the Sox. Three hits, including a double off one of the catwalks in right, and things were looking shaky. One run scored, and then another on a sacrifice fly to right. As the throw came back to the infield, Perci ran to back up third. Or rather, he limped to back up third. He did not look good at all. Out came trainer Ron Porterfield and Joe Maddon.
The discussion was, shall we say, lively - Perci understandably didn't want to come out, but Joe was looking at the bigger picture, stuck to his guns, and called for Mr Clutch the Reliever - aka JP Howell. Quite a situation for the erstwhile inconsistant starter - one run game, a man on, two out and Julio Lugo at the plate. But fear not. JP did what JP has been doing best all season long. He made the big pitch at the big moment, and got the soft liner to short to end the game and earn his second save of the year.
Boston Red Sox 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 3
Game 1, I had watched knowing the score already. Game 2, I watched yesterday evening, with no clue what had happened. Its more exciting that way - though knowing that the outcome has already been decided doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking!
And when the Rays face Tim Wakefield, it is doubly so. Well, the 1998-2007 versions of the Rays at least. For Tampa Bay v2008 are something else. They've got the battle. And the hustle. And the will to win. A run on a wild-pitch got us on the board. And when the Sox tied it in the 4th, we got right back on it again, with the first of two super-clutch RBI-singles from Dioner Navarro, who must be in with a real shout of making the All-Star team.
Pitching wise, we got 7 outstanding innings from Matt Garza, who allowed just one unearned run on 5 hits, and moved his record to 7-4. JP Howell got a couple of outs in the eighth, and Grant Balfour got the final four to record his second save of the year - including 3 strikeouts in the ninth.
The big play though was, as has been the case so many times already this year, made down at the hot corner with the Rays on defense. Alex Cora came up with 2 outs in the seventh, and slapped an offering from Garza hard down the third base line. Surefire double, and a major threat, right? Not so fast. Are you forgetting that Evan Longoria is the guy with the glove down there? Not me. He dived full-stretch to somehow make the stop on the line, got to his knees, and threw a one-hopper across the diamond for Carlos Pena to expertly dig out and stop the potential threat in its tracks. If it hasn't already, then the Evan for a Gold Glove campaign starts here.
All of which brings us back to last night's game, which when we left it was unpromisingly poised at 4-1 Sox heading for the top of the seventh. It wouldn't finish that way though. Oh no...
Boston Red Sox 6 - Tampa Bay Rays 7
Let's be honest. On the face of it my decision not to go to bed at that point was an odd one. Work in the morning, already looking at less that 5 hours sleep, and no sign of any comeback.
But this is the 2008 Rays, remember. The never-give-up Rays. The best-in-baseball Rays. How sweet that sounds.
Gary Glover held the Sox scoreless in the top of the seventh, just as Trever Miller had done in the sixth. Manny Delcarmen comes in to pitch for Boston, and leading off for the Rays is Jason Bartlett. Jason came over from the Twins in the Delmon Young trade in the winter. And while Garza was the prized piece of the trade from the Rays perspective, Bartlett has shown himself to be far, far more than just a make-weight. He has become a key contributer with his magnificent range at short, and a pesky hitter who, in his own way, has been just as big a sparkplug for our offense as anyone else in the lineup. And you will find no better demonstration of that than last night.
Facing the new pitcher, Bartlett raps a double down the rightfield line. That was all the Trop (the filled-to-capacity-with-more-Rays-than-Red-Sox-fans Trop) needed to come to life. But not satisfied, Bartlett did that little bit more. Aki up, JB takes off for third. He makes it safely - his 8th swipe of third base (18th total) this year. He has got it down to a tee. I can give no greater praise than that which Joe Magrane and Dewayne Staats heaped on him at the time - "If you were holding a seminar on how to steal third, you would want him as the keynote speaker". Coming from a couple of guys who watch BJ Upton and Carl Crawford run the bases everyday, that is a compliment indeed.
And oh, what a stolen base can do for an offense! With Bartlett just 90 feet away, Aki grounds one to first. JB motors home, while Aki takes off down the line, flying past the slow-to-break Delcarmen, and beating out the infield single. Game on.
Next up CC, and he knocks a single to right-centre. Runners on first and third, no outs, game over for Delcarmen. Calling Craig Hansen, come and take your shot. BJ Upton up next, and he draws the walk. Bases loaded, nobody out, Carlos Pena stepping in. Balls one, two, three and four followed. Aki strolls home. 4-3 game, bases still loaded, no one out, Evan Longoria at the plate. As if there was any doubt he would deliver. Having already knocked a run home in the first, Evan waited for a pitch he liked, and then laced it into right centre. CC scores, BJ scores, Carlos to third, a stand-up 2-RBI double for the boy wonder. His 49th and 50th RBI of the year - just the third rookie in the last 50 years to have 15 homers, 50 RBI and 20 doubles before the all-star break. And he didn't get called up until a couple of weeks into the season. If it hasn't already, then the Evan for Rookie of the Year campaign starts here.
5-4, and the new pitcher is David Aardsma. He finally gets Boston an out - Willy Aybar - but then walks Dioner Navarro. Step forward Javier Lopez, the fourth BoSox pitcher of the frame. He strikes out pinch-hitter Gabe Gross. So its bases loaded, 2 outs, and a 1-run Rays lead. Guess who's back at the plate. Jason Bartlett. Swing. Massive hit. 2-run single, 7-4 Rays lead. Believe MLB, believe in the Rays.
Still things aren't over, not against Boston, and not with the Rays depleted bullpen. Glover gets two outs in the eighth, but gives up a run. 7-5 Rays. In comes Dan Wheeler who along with JP Howell has been the relief star all season long. He gets the 24th out. The Rays can't add anything in the bottom of the frame, so its Wheeler back to the hill, the 25th, 26th and 27th outs all down to him, with a 2-run lead to work with. Manny reaches on an error to lead it off. Mike Lowell singles, moving Manny to third. Danger signs are looming large.
But this is the 2008 Rays, right? Someone will come up big, won't they?
Too right they will.
Kevin Youkilis launches a shot, deep to straight-away centre. Upton is running back, still running back, looking over the shoulder, and making the unbelieveable basket catch. Manny scores, but thats a big, big, big out. And its still a Rays lead. Up comes Jason Varitek, mired in a huge slump and 0-3 so far on the evening. Terry Francona is so desparate to help him, he puts on the hit and run. Only one problem. Varitek can't hit. But Navvy can certainly throw, coming up with as perfect a toss to second as you could wish for, nailing Lowell by a good five feet or more. Nobody on, two out, 7-6 Rays. Wheels deals, Varitek looks, strike three called, see you later Boston, thanks for playing.
52-32
3 1/2 games ahead of Boston.
20 games over .500 for the first time ever.
The best record in the whole of Major League Baseball.
All-in-all, a pretty successful series.
And, just in case you haven't noticed it yet, a pretty good team...
Because every pitch, every swing of the bat, every bit of glovework could be the one. It could win the game. Even a game that looked out of reach. And maybe even a series against the World Champions.
At 3AM last night (UK time, obviously!), the Rays were 4-1 down. Kaz had lasted only 5 innings with an elevated pitch count, and through 6 innings the hitters had picked up only 3 hits between them. I had to be up for work at 8. I was only watching live at all because well, lets face it, Kaz v Dice-K, Rays going for the sweep, how can you not watch live? And as Jonny Gomes struck out, leaving a man aboard to end the 6th, going to bed looked a pretty good option.
However, before I get to my good decision, and those last 3 innings, lets have a quick recap of games 1 and 2.
Boston Red Sox 4 - Tampa Bay Rays 5
A solid start from James Shields (6 1/3 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 5 Ks) was backed up nicely by some timely hitting - a BJ Upton homerun on the first pitch of the game was complimented by a two-run shot from Gabe Gross in the fourth. RBIs from Carlos Pena, and a hustling Jonny moved the lead to 5-2 heading for the ninth. Then things got interesting. In came Troy Percival. And back came the Sox. Three hits, including a double off one of the catwalks in right, and things were looking shaky. One run scored, and then another on a sacrifice fly to right. As the throw came back to the infield, Perci ran to back up third. Or rather, he limped to back up third. He did not look good at all. Out came trainer Ron Porterfield and Joe Maddon.
The discussion was, shall we say, lively - Perci understandably didn't want to come out, but Joe was looking at the bigger picture, stuck to his guns, and called for Mr Clutch the Reliever - aka JP Howell. Quite a situation for the erstwhile inconsistant starter - one run game, a man on, two out and Julio Lugo at the plate. But fear not. JP did what JP has been doing best all season long. He made the big pitch at the big moment, and got the soft liner to short to end the game and earn his second save of the year.
Boston Red Sox 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 3
Game 1, I had watched knowing the score already. Game 2, I watched yesterday evening, with no clue what had happened. Its more exciting that way - though knowing that the outcome has already been decided doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking!
And when the Rays face Tim Wakefield, it is doubly so. Well, the 1998-2007 versions of the Rays at least. For Tampa Bay v2008 are something else. They've got the battle. And the hustle. And the will to win. A run on a wild-pitch got us on the board. And when the Sox tied it in the 4th, we got right back on it again, with the first of two super-clutch RBI-singles from Dioner Navarro, who must be in with a real shout of making the All-Star team.
Pitching wise, we got 7 outstanding innings from Matt Garza, who allowed just one unearned run on 5 hits, and moved his record to 7-4. JP Howell got a couple of outs in the eighth, and Grant Balfour got the final four to record his second save of the year - including 3 strikeouts in the ninth.
The big play though was, as has been the case so many times already this year, made down at the hot corner with the Rays on defense. Alex Cora came up with 2 outs in the seventh, and slapped an offering from Garza hard down the third base line. Surefire double, and a major threat, right? Not so fast. Are you forgetting that Evan Longoria is the guy with the glove down there? Not me. He dived full-stretch to somehow make the stop on the line, got to his knees, and threw a one-hopper across the diamond for Carlos Pena to expertly dig out and stop the potential threat in its tracks. If it hasn't already, then the Evan for a Gold Glove campaign starts here.
All of which brings us back to last night's game, which when we left it was unpromisingly poised at 4-1 Sox heading for the top of the seventh. It wouldn't finish that way though. Oh no...
Boston Red Sox 6 - Tampa Bay Rays 7
Let's be honest. On the face of it my decision not to go to bed at that point was an odd one. Work in the morning, already looking at less that 5 hours sleep, and no sign of any comeback.
But this is the 2008 Rays, remember. The never-give-up Rays. The best-in-baseball Rays. How sweet that sounds.
Gary Glover held the Sox scoreless in the top of the seventh, just as Trever Miller had done in the sixth. Manny Delcarmen comes in to pitch for Boston, and leading off for the Rays is Jason Bartlett. Jason came over from the Twins in the Delmon Young trade in the winter. And while Garza was the prized piece of the trade from the Rays perspective, Bartlett has shown himself to be far, far more than just a make-weight. He has become a key contributer with his magnificent range at short, and a pesky hitter who, in his own way, has been just as big a sparkplug for our offense as anyone else in the lineup. And you will find no better demonstration of that than last night.
Facing the new pitcher, Bartlett raps a double down the rightfield line. That was all the Trop (the filled-to-capacity-with-more-Rays-than-Red-Sox-fans Trop) needed to come to life. But not satisfied, Bartlett did that little bit more. Aki up, JB takes off for third. He makes it safely - his 8th swipe of third base (18th total) this year. He has got it down to a tee. I can give no greater praise than that which Joe Magrane and Dewayne Staats heaped on him at the time - "If you were holding a seminar on how to steal third, you would want him as the keynote speaker". Coming from a couple of guys who watch BJ Upton and Carl Crawford run the bases everyday, that is a compliment indeed.
And oh, what a stolen base can do for an offense! With Bartlett just 90 feet away, Aki grounds one to first. JB motors home, while Aki takes off down the line, flying past the slow-to-break Delcarmen, and beating out the infield single. Game on.
Next up CC, and he knocks a single to right-centre. Runners on first and third, no outs, game over for Delcarmen. Calling Craig Hansen, come and take your shot. BJ Upton up next, and he draws the walk. Bases loaded, nobody out, Carlos Pena stepping in. Balls one, two, three and four followed. Aki strolls home. 4-3 game, bases still loaded, no one out, Evan Longoria at the plate. As if there was any doubt he would deliver. Having already knocked a run home in the first, Evan waited for a pitch he liked, and then laced it into right centre. CC scores, BJ scores, Carlos to third, a stand-up 2-RBI double for the boy wonder. His 49th and 50th RBI of the year - just the third rookie in the last 50 years to have 15 homers, 50 RBI and 20 doubles before the all-star break. And he didn't get called up until a couple of weeks into the season. If it hasn't already, then the Evan for Rookie of the Year campaign starts here.
5-4, and the new pitcher is David Aardsma. He finally gets Boston an out - Willy Aybar - but then walks Dioner Navarro. Step forward Javier Lopez, the fourth BoSox pitcher of the frame. He strikes out pinch-hitter Gabe Gross. So its bases loaded, 2 outs, and a 1-run Rays lead. Guess who's back at the plate. Jason Bartlett. Swing. Massive hit. 2-run single, 7-4 Rays lead. Believe MLB, believe in the Rays.
Still things aren't over, not against Boston, and not with the Rays depleted bullpen. Glover gets two outs in the eighth, but gives up a run. 7-5 Rays. In comes Dan Wheeler who along with JP Howell has been the relief star all season long. He gets the 24th out. The Rays can't add anything in the bottom of the frame, so its Wheeler back to the hill, the 25th, 26th and 27th outs all down to him, with a 2-run lead to work with. Manny reaches on an error to lead it off. Mike Lowell singles, moving Manny to third. Danger signs are looming large.
But this is the 2008 Rays, right? Someone will come up big, won't they?
Too right they will.
Kevin Youkilis launches a shot, deep to straight-away centre. Upton is running back, still running back, looking over the shoulder, and making the unbelieveable basket catch. Manny scores, but thats a big, big, big out. And its still a Rays lead. Up comes Jason Varitek, mired in a huge slump and 0-3 so far on the evening. Terry Francona is so desparate to help him, he puts on the hit and run. Only one problem. Varitek can't hit. But Navvy can certainly throw, coming up with as perfect a toss to second as you could wish for, nailing Lowell by a good five feet or more. Nobody on, two out, 7-6 Rays. Wheels deals, Varitek looks, strike three called, see you later Boston, thanks for playing.
52-32
3 1/2 games ahead of Boston.
20 games over .500 for the first time ever.
The best record in the whole of Major League Baseball.
All-in-all, a pretty successful series.
And, just in case you haven't noticed it yet, a pretty good team...
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Number 50
Over a week since I last posted anything, but things at work have now pretty much moved into laid-back summer mode, so hopefully I shall be getting back to something like normal here. In the meantime, lets try to get up to date with all things in Rays-world.
I shall start very briefly with yesterday's game, which I haven't watched yet. In fact, I had intended to avoid the score until I sit down and watch it this evening, but the problem with being the story in baseball is that it is now all do easy to accidentally see a headline giving away what happened... So all I shall say for now is that win number 50 is in the bag, and the Rays are happy atop the AL East. And indeed the whole of Major League Baseball. Its a nice place to be.
And the way we've gotten there? That's been pretty nice as well. I've managed to catch a fair bit of the action - squeezed in between various other things, not always neccessarily in the right order - and it has been largely encouraging.
Actually, the first series since my last post did not really turn out that way. After sweeping the Cubs, the Astros came to town and took two of three - a real anticlimax after a fantastic series with Chicago. The highlight was Saturday's game, partly because of another Gabe Gross walk-off hit, but mostly for the awesome St Pete Pelicans throwback unis that the Rays were wearing. Very smart indeed!
Still, the Rays have overcome one setback after another this year, and so headed on over to Miami with the disappointment put to one side - and left three days later with it completely forgotten, thanks to a comprehensive sweep. Standout in that series was unquestionably Matt Garza's stunning one hitter - unfortunately the one hit he did give up was a seventh-inning solo homerun, denying him a shutout, but it was a real display of what Garza is capable of. Top class.
Then it was off to Pittsburgh, and two more wins (out of three) to round out the first half of the season. There, James Shields became the first Rays pitcher for quite a long time (I would imagine!) to get a chance to pinch-hit. He was also the only Rays hurler to pick up an RBI during interleague, though the best batting effort was again from Andy Sonnanstine, who went 2-5 with a couple of walks. Meanwhile in the Pittsburgh series, Jonny Gomes had his (and probably the team's) best at-bat of the season so far, fouling off pitch after pitch with a full count, before finally drilling the 15th pitch over the fence for his 6th homer of the season. Its when he has at-bats like this that you get all the more frustrated at his mammoth fresh air swings. He's got such great power that he really needs to realise that he can get results without screwing himself into the ground through over-swinging.
And though, Jonny, Garza, Gross et al all had their moments, it was without doubt Evan Longoria who was the key factor in the Rays move back to the top. What a week he has had. Homeruns, hits, runs batted in, a stolen base, great defence - seriously, with the skills that he has demonstrated I don't think there is anything left that he can do to surprise me. What a star he is going to be. Over the last week, he's taken the team lead in homeruns (15) and RBI (47), and raised his batting average to .267. Oh yeah, and he's become the first Rays rookie (and second Ray of the year, following Shields) to win the AL Player of the Week award. All-star, Gold Glove, Rookie of the Year to follow, perhaps?!
Anyway, as things stand, the Rays are 50-32, a game and a half clear of Boston at the top of the East, and sitting pretty with the best record in the bigs. Our 49 first half wins are the most ever by a team who finished with the worst record in the previous season. We've got a winning record at home, against the National League, against the AL East, against the AL Central, against the AL West, in extra-inning games and in 1-run games. The only split we don't have a winning record in is road games - where we're 19-19. And just if you were wondering, our magic number is 78.
Garza on the hill against Rays' nemesis Tim Wakefield tonight. I hope to manage to avoid the score until tomorrow evening, wish me luck...
I shall start very briefly with yesterday's game, which I haven't watched yet. In fact, I had intended to avoid the score until I sit down and watch it this evening, but the problem with being the story in baseball is that it is now all do easy to accidentally see a headline giving away what happened... So all I shall say for now is that win number 50 is in the bag, and the Rays are happy atop the AL East. And indeed the whole of Major League Baseball. Its a nice place to be.
And the way we've gotten there? That's been pretty nice as well. I've managed to catch a fair bit of the action - squeezed in between various other things, not always neccessarily in the right order - and it has been largely encouraging.
Actually, the first series since my last post did not really turn out that way. After sweeping the Cubs, the Astros came to town and took two of three - a real anticlimax after a fantastic series with Chicago. The highlight was Saturday's game, partly because of another Gabe Gross walk-off hit, but mostly for the awesome St Pete Pelicans throwback unis that the Rays were wearing. Very smart indeed!
Still, the Rays have overcome one setback after another this year, and so headed on over to Miami with the disappointment put to one side - and left three days later with it completely forgotten, thanks to a comprehensive sweep. Standout in that series was unquestionably Matt Garza's stunning one hitter - unfortunately the one hit he did give up was a seventh-inning solo homerun, denying him a shutout, but it was a real display of what Garza is capable of. Top class.
Then it was off to Pittsburgh, and two more wins (out of three) to round out the first half of the season. There, James Shields became the first Rays pitcher for quite a long time (I would imagine!) to get a chance to pinch-hit. He was also the only Rays hurler to pick up an RBI during interleague, though the best batting effort was again from Andy Sonnanstine, who went 2-5 with a couple of walks. Meanwhile in the Pittsburgh series, Jonny Gomes had his (and probably the team's) best at-bat of the season so far, fouling off pitch after pitch with a full count, before finally drilling the 15th pitch over the fence for his 6th homer of the season. Its when he has at-bats like this that you get all the more frustrated at his mammoth fresh air swings. He's got such great power that he really needs to realise that he can get results without screwing himself into the ground through over-swinging.
And though, Jonny, Garza, Gross et al all had their moments, it was without doubt Evan Longoria who was the key factor in the Rays move back to the top. What a week he has had. Homeruns, hits, runs batted in, a stolen base, great defence - seriously, with the skills that he has demonstrated I don't think there is anything left that he can do to surprise me. What a star he is going to be. Over the last week, he's taken the team lead in homeruns (15) and RBI (47), and raised his batting average to .267. Oh yeah, and he's become the first Rays rookie (and second Ray of the year, following Shields) to win the AL Player of the Week award. All-star, Gold Glove, Rookie of the Year to follow, perhaps?!
Anyway, as things stand, the Rays are 50-32, a game and a half clear of Boston at the top of the East, and sitting pretty with the best record in the bigs. Our 49 first half wins are the most ever by a team who finished with the worst record in the previous season. We've got a winning record at home, against the National League, against the AL East, against the AL Central, against the AL West, in extra-inning games and in 1-run games. The only split we don't have a winning record in is road games - where we're 19-19. And just if you were wondering, our magic number is 78.
Garza on the hill against Rays' nemesis Tim Wakefield tonight. I hope to manage to avoid the score until tomorrow evening, wish me luck...
Monday, 16 June 2008
2 of 3 from the Fish; next up - Sweet Lou
Blitz recap from the weekend (and last week actually), before I get on with what I'm supposed to be doing... I am going to be super busy at work for the next couple of weeks (boo!), but then super un-busy for the following two months (yay!), so blogging might be a stop-start affair until then.
Right, here we go. The Angels series (and road-trip) ended with a hard-luck loss after another outstanding start from Scott Kazmir. Then it was back to the Trop for a three-game weekend series with the Marlins. Andy Sonnanstine started Friday, pitched fairly well and got the win. Matt Garza started Saturday night, pitched outstandingly and got the win. Edwin Jackson started Sunday night, pitched not great and was tagged with the loss. And Troy Percival made his return from the DL with a scoreless inning on Friday and a another to pick up the save on Saturday.
That was the story of the pitching.
At the plate, Jason Bartlett was the star of the weekend, going 5-9 with a handfull of RBIs and a couple of stolen bases. Jonny Gomes marked his return from suspension by hitting the first pitch he saw for a homerun and then, in true Jonny style, striking out his next three times up.
On the basepaths, we ran amok, with BJ Upton (2), Willy Aybar, Aki Iwamura, Justin Ruggiano (his first ever) and, magnificently, Cliff Floyd joining Bartlett in swiping bags over the series. Floyd's was particularly sweet, not just because he can hardly run, and not just because he was (apparently) wearing a pair of Carl Crawford's shoes, but because he drew a wild throw from the catcher, allowing him to make it all the way to third. Beautiful. Actually, speaking of which, I also caught some of the Cincinnati-Boston game on Saturday where Brandon Phillips was thrown out trying to steal two bases on one pitch. It was beautiful - although it would have been even better if he had made it!
In the field we were, save for one flyball that Upton and Gross left for each other, brilliant. I've been saying ever since he arrived, but Evan Longoria is just a joy to behold playing at third. Some of the plays he made are simply outstanding - on Saturday he made possibly his best yet, diving across the foul line behind the bag to grab a hard-hit grounder, and making the long throw across the diamond from his knees in time to make the out. Class. In fact, even when we weren't getting outs we were playing sparkling defense - two cases in point from Saturday, in the first inning Justin Ruggiano, making the start in left, chased down a fly ball that was twisting foul, and chased it hard. All the way to the low wall where the party area is at the Trop. And he didn't stop there either, barrelling over the wall and into the fans in an awesome effort to make the play. The second was later in the game, when Dioner Navarro somehow managed to stay with a towering pop that had bounced around in the catwalks high up in the roof to make the catch. Of course, as the ball had hit the catwalk in foul territory it was already dead, but it was a quality catch none-the-less.
Day off today, but tomorrow the Chicago Cubs will be making their first-ever visit to the Trop, meaning the return of Sweet Lou Piniella. If that wasn't enough anyway to make it a series worth watching, its going to be a real test of our potential play-off hopes, to see if we can match it with the best team in baseball. Scott Kazmir is on the mound first up, so we shall be giving them the best we have to offer. Should be a fun series.
Right, here we go. The Angels series (and road-trip) ended with a hard-luck loss after another outstanding start from Scott Kazmir. Then it was back to the Trop for a three-game weekend series with the Marlins. Andy Sonnanstine started Friday, pitched fairly well and got the win. Matt Garza started Saturday night, pitched outstandingly and got the win. Edwin Jackson started Sunday night, pitched not great and was tagged with the loss. And Troy Percival made his return from the DL with a scoreless inning on Friday and a another to pick up the save on Saturday.
That was the story of the pitching.
At the plate, Jason Bartlett was the star of the weekend, going 5-9 with a handfull of RBIs and a couple of stolen bases. Jonny Gomes marked his return from suspension by hitting the first pitch he saw for a homerun and then, in true Jonny style, striking out his next three times up.
On the basepaths, we ran amok, with BJ Upton (2), Willy Aybar, Aki Iwamura, Justin Ruggiano (his first ever) and, magnificently, Cliff Floyd joining Bartlett in swiping bags over the series. Floyd's was particularly sweet, not just because he can hardly run, and not just because he was (apparently) wearing a pair of Carl Crawford's shoes, but because he drew a wild throw from the catcher, allowing him to make it all the way to third. Beautiful. Actually, speaking of which, I also caught some of the Cincinnati-Boston game on Saturday where Brandon Phillips was thrown out trying to steal two bases on one pitch. It was beautiful - although it would have been even better if he had made it!
In the field we were, save for one flyball that Upton and Gross left for each other, brilliant. I've been saying ever since he arrived, but Evan Longoria is just a joy to behold playing at third. Some of the plays he made are simply outstanding - on Saturday he made possibly his best yet, diving across the foul line behind the bag to grab a hard-hit grounder, and making the long throw across the diamond from his knees in time to make the out. Class. In fact, even when we weren't getting outs we were playing sparkling defense - two cases in point from Saturday, in the first inning Justin Ruggiano, making the start in left, chased down a fly ball that was twisting foul, and chased it hard. All the way to the low wall where the party area is at the Trop. And he didn't stop there either, barrelling over the wall and into the fans in an awesome effort to make the play. The second was later in the game, when Dioner Navarro somehow managed to stay with a towering pop that had bounced around in the catwalks high up in the roof to make the catch. Of course, as the ball had hit the catwalk in foul territory it was already dead, but it was a quality catch none-the-less.
Day off today, but tomorrow the Chicago Cubs will be making their first-ever visit to the Trop, meaning the return of Sweet Lou Piniella. If that wasn't enough anyway to make it a series worth watching, its going to be a real test of our potential play-off hopes, to see if we can match it with the best team in baseball. Scott Kazmir is on the mound first up, so we shall be giving them the best we have to offer. Should be a fun series.
Monday, 9 June 2008
Getting heated in Texas
Tampa Bay Rays 3 - Texas Rangers 6
So, no sweep of the Rangers, and I think that this game will have to go down as one of those days. I guess that as a team, things are going to go wrong over the course of the season, and its just as well to get them all out of the way in one game. Well, we did that yesterday, and still were within shouting distance right up until the final out.
Actually, it was shouting that seemed to be a major problem all over the field last night. There was BJ Upton running into Gabe Gross while the latter was camped under a lazy fly ball - with both seemingly oblivious to each other's calls for the ball. There was CC backing off from another lazy fly that Jason Bartlett was going for - but, called for or not, ultimately couldn't catch up to. There was Eric Hinske objecting rather too much to a called third strike in the sixth, and getting ejected. (In Eric's defense, the pitch tracker showed that the ball was way outside).
And then there was Matt Garza. He was having one of those days. Things were going wrong in the field behind him, and he didn't seem to be agreeing too much with Dioner Navarro's pitch-calling. Things came to a head in the fourth when Garza let forth a tirade into his glove during a trip to the mound from Navvy, prompting a swift visit from pitching coach Jim Hickey. He calmed things down the best he could, and Garza got the next two batters to end the inning (though not before sailing a pitch out all the way to the backstop). He obviously wasn't happy though, and as he got to the dugout, he got back into it with Navvy, prompting a bit of a shoving match that had to be separated by other players and coaches in the tunnel. Unsurprisingly, Jason Hammel came out to pitch the fifth.
Still, it wasn't all doom and gloom. BJ Upton hit his fifth homer of the season, and Evan Longoria continued his incredible defensive display at third, making a full-stretch diving grab in foul territory to end the first that will be right up there among the best plays of the year.
And even with the loss, its still another series win, and we head to Anaheim now with a chance (all beit a small one) of a winning road trip. Which would be some achievement. Edwin Jackson is on the hill tonight, looking to bounce back from a rough start last time out in Boston.
So, no sweep of the Rangers, and I think that this game will have to go down as one of those days. I guess that as a team, things are going to go wrong over the course of the season, and its just as well to get them all out of the way in one game. Well, we did that yesterday, and still were within shouting distance right up until the final out.
Actually, it was shouting that seemed to be a major problem all over the field last night. There was BJ Upton running into Gabe Gross while the latter was camped under a lazy fly ball - with both seemingly oblivious to each other's calls for the ball. There was CC backing off from another lazy fly that Jason Bartlett was going for - but, called for or not, ultimately couldn't catch up to. There was Eric Hinske objecting rather too much to a called third strike in the sixth, and getting ejected. (In Eric's defense, the pitch tracker showed that the ball was way outside).
And then there was Matt Garza. He was having one of those days. Things were going wrong in the field behind him, and he didn't seem to be agreeing too much with Dioner Navarro's pitch-calling. Things came to a head in the fourth when Garza let forth a tirade into his glove during a trip to the mound from Navvy, prompting a swift visit from pitching coach Jim Hickey. He calmed things down the best he could, and Garza got the next two batters to end the inning (though not before sailing a pitch out all the way to the backstop). He obviously wasn't happy though, and as he got to the dugout, he got back into it with Navvy, prompting a bit of a shoving match that had to be separated by other players and coaches in the tunnel. Unsurprisingly, Jason Hammel came out to pitch the fifth.
Still, it wasn't all doom and gloom. BJ Upton hit his fifth homer of the season, and Evan Longoria continued his incredible defensive display at third, making a full-stretch diving grab in foul territory to end the first that will be right up there among the best plays of the year.
And even with the loss, its still another series win, and we head to Anaheim now with a chance (all beit a small one) of a winning road trip. Which would be some achievement. Edwin Jackson is on the hill tonight, looking to bounce back from a rough start last time out in Boston.
Friday, 30 May 2008
Net lag: Another series win
Texas Rangers 12 - Tampa Bay 6
Texas Rangers 3 - Tampa Bay 5
Just a quick note on games 2 and 3 of the Rangers series, as I was rather doing other things while I had the two games on, and while Tuesday's loss was very disappointing, Wednesday's was extrememly encouraging.
On Tuesday, Andy Sonnanstine made his second poor start in a row, giving up 7 runs, although only a couple of them were earned, after a rare error by Evan Longoria (on an admittedly tough play). The roll of the ball was off for Evan all night in fact, as a couple of times he let the ball go, almost certain it was going foul, only to see it straighten up and hit the bag at third. Homeruns from Eric Hinske and Cliff Floyd gave the Rays a chance, but the game was put out of reach by - who else - Josh Hamilton, hitting a grand slam. He didn't have an outstanding series by any means, but I'm sure that that hit meant a lot to him. And as someone who has followed his struggles and his comeback, I'm pleased for him.
I was more pleased, however, about Wednesday's performance. Matt Garza was on the hill, and pretty much unstoppable in what must be his best outing for the Rays yet. He was perfect through the first three innings, gave up a couple of runs in the fourth, but then bounced back to stop the Rangers from there on in. He threw 8 innings and allowed just 4 hits while striking out a season-high ten.
The key inning for the Rays was a four-run fifth, in which two of our runs scored on bases-loaded walks. We drew 9 walks in total during the game, matching our season high. With a three-run lead, Troy Percival came in for the ninth, but with two outs felt the same tightness he experienced last week in Oakland, and left the game. Dan Wheeler came in, and after allowing one of the inherited runners to score, got the final out and the save thanks to a fantastic diving catch from BJ Upton.
The win kept us top of the pile in the East, but the bad news is that while scans have shown nothing serious, Perci has been placed on the DL. Its a pretty big blow, not just for his work on the mound (which has been excellent) but also because of his leadership. He should be back as soon as the 15 days are up however. To take his roster spot, the Rays have reinstated Willy Aybar from the DL. Its going to be interesting to see how he fits back in. To be honest I don't think he's needed, while he is solid enough, I don't want him taking playing time away from Evan at third, and as a utility backup Ben Zobrist is a better option, for while Aybar has more pop, Zobrist can play everywhere (he made the start in right on Wednesday) including shortstop. Its going to be interesting to see whether we keep the extra position player, or if another move is going to be made soon to fill Perci's spot in the 'pen.
Last night we started a four-game set with the White Sox, with Edwin Jackson on the hill. News on that will, I'm sure, follow soon!
Texas Rangers 3 - Tampa Bay 5
Just a quick note on games 2 and 3 of the Rangers series, as I was rather doing other things while I had the two games on, and while Tuesday's loss was very disappointing, Wednesday's was extrememly encouraging.
On Tuesday, Andy Sonnanstine made his second poor start in a row, giving up 7 runs, although only a couple of them were earned, after a rare error by Evan Longoria (on an admittedly tough play). The roll of the ball was off for Evan all night in fact, as a couple of times he let the ball go, almost certain it was going foul, only to see it straighten up and hit the bag at third. Homeruns from Eric Hinske and Cliff Floyd gave the Rays a chance, but the game was put out of reach by - who else - Josh Hamilton, hitting a grand slam. He didn't have an outstanding series by any means, but I'm sure that that hit meant a lot to him. And as someone who has followed his struggles and his comeback, I'm pleased for him.
I was more pleased, however, about Wednesday's performance. Matt Garza was on the hill, and pretty much unstoppable in what must be his best outing for the Rays yet. He was perfect through the first three innings, gave up a couple of runs in the fourth, but then bounced back to stop the Rangers from there on in. He threw 8 innings and allowed just 4 hits while striking out a season-high ten.
The key inning for the Rays was a four-run fifth, in which two of our runs scored on bases-loaded walks. We drew 9 walks in total during the game, matching our season high. With a three-run lead, Troy Percival came in for the ninth, but with two outs felt the same tightness he experienced last week in Oakland, and left the game. Dan Wheeler came in, and after allowing one of the inherited runners to score, got the final out and the save thanks to a fantastic diving catch from BJ Upton.
The win kept us top of the pile in the East, but the bad news is that while scans have shown nothing serious, Perci has been placed on the DL. Its a pretty big blow, not just for his work on the mound (which has been excellent) but also because of his leadership. He should be back as soon as the 15 days are up however. To take his roster spot, the Rays have reinstated Willy Aybar from the DL. Its going to be interesting to see how he fits back in. To be honest I don't think he's needed, while he is solid enough, I don't want him taking playing time away from Evan at third, and as a utility backup Ben Zobrist is a better option, for while Aybar has more pop, Zobrist can play everywhere (he made the start in right on Wednesday) including shortstop. Its going to be interesting to see whether we keep the extra position player, or if another move is going to be made soon to fill Perci's spot in the 'pen.
Last night we started a four-game set with the White Sox, with Edwin Jackson on the hill. News on that will, I'm sure, follow soon!
Saturday, 24 May 2008
Baserunning: Learn with Hinske
Baltimore Orioles 0 - Tampa Bay Rays 2
Solid win for the Rays last night, thanks largely to, of course, some very solid pitching indeed. Matt Garza continued his sparkling record against the Orioles, pitching 7 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits, no runs, and striking out four. He worked out of a couple of jams as well, and was generally pretty excellent. Trever Miller came on in relief in a vital situation in the eighth, and with the help of a controversial call, didn't disappoint. With a runner on, Aubrey Huff was the first batter that Miller had to face. Huff, who should quite frankly be banned or something for the disgraceful way that he has assaulted Rays pitching since leaving Tampa Bay a couple of years ago, had already had a triple in the game, and looked to have added at least a double to that as he laced a pitch down the first base line, only to see it called foul by the first base umpire.
He was not happy! None of the angles they replayed it from on TV really showed whether it was the right call or not, but I will say this - Huff looked pretty convinced he was right. Miller kept his head in the game though, and came back to coerce Huff to hit into the inning-ending double play. Troy Percival then came in to pitch a perfect ninth, collecting his 14th save of the season.
For the O's, Jeremy Guthrie matched Garza out for out until the fifth inning. There, Eric Hinske got on board with a fading line-drive into left-centre with one out, and then proceeded to give a class on how baserunning doesn't have to be perfect in order to get results. With Jason Bartlett at the plate, Hinske took off on what the O's commentators said was a hit-and-run play, although judging by Bartlett's complete lack of any interest in making contact, I seriously doubt that. He had a pretty good jump actually, but then stopped about two-thirds of the way to second as Hernandez's throw came across the infield. It short-hopped Brian Roberts, who hadn't noticed that Hinske was now hung-up, and so Eric simply trotted on into second for the stolen base.
Bartlett eventually walked, bringing up Aki Iwamura. Aki had one of those days where he made great contact every time up, but it just kept going to where the fielders could get it. This time was no exception, as he lined a ball deep to centre, only to see Adam Jones somehow make a play on it. Hinske had taken off with the ball, and so when Jones did spear it, he had to rush back into second. Why he wasn't tagging, I have no idea. The ball was so far back that had it got past Jones he would still have easily scored from second, and otherwise would have had plenty of time to move up to third.
Still, luck was with Eric it seemed, as Carl Crawford stepped in and rapped a hit through the right of the infield, sending Hinske scampering around to score - thanks to a beautiful slide behind catcher Hernandez.
That run looked to be enough, but the Rays added a welcome insurance score in the eighth - in equally unorthadox fashion. With one out, Chad Bradford came in to pitch for Baltimore, and promptly walked BJ Upton. That saw the O's bench coach (their manager had been ejected for arguing the Huff call) bring in closer George Sherrill. And, before he had even thrown a pitch, Sherrill had made a mistake. He threw an attempted pickoff to first, but did so seemingly without warning to first baseman Millar, and so wildly that he couldn't have got it even if he did know it was coming. Upton moved over to third, and Carlos Pena hit the second ball he saw into deep left-centre. It looked like a sure-fire double, maybe even a triple, but somehow Luke Scott caught up and made an incredible play to rob Pena of a hit. Upton scored, but it could easily have been more. Considering the amazing outfield the Rays have, I think it says something about Luke Scott, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis that they each made a play last night that I would rate as good as, if not better than anything I have seen so far this season. They were outstanding.
The win moves us to 28-20, a game and a half back of Boston in the East. Edwin Jackson goes for the Rays tonight, as we look to carry on our hot home-form. He'll be up against former Ray Steve Trachsel.
Solid win for the Rays last night, thanks largely to, of course, some very solid pitching indeed. Matt Garza continued his sparkling record against the Orioles, pitching 7 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits, no runs, and striking out four. He worked out of a couple of jams as well, and was generally pretty excellent. Trever Miller came on in relief in a vital situation in the eighth, and with the help of a controversial call, didn't disappoint. With a runner on, Aubrey Huff was the first batter that Miller had to face. Huff, who should quite frankly be banned or something for the disgraceful way that he has assaulted Rays pitching since leaving Tampa Bay a couple of years ago, had already had a triple in the game, and looked to have added at least a double to that as he laced a pitch down the first base line, only to see it called foul by the first base umpire.
He was not happy! None of the angles they replayed it from on TV really showed whether it was the right call or not, but I will say this - Huff looked pretty convinced he was right. Miller kept his head in the game though, and came back to coerce Huff to hit into the inning-ending double play. Troy Percival then came in to pitch a perfect ninth, collecting his 14th save of the season.
For the O's, Jeremy Guthrie matched Garza out for out until the fifth inning. There, Eric Hinske got on board with a fading line-drive into left-centre with one out, and then proceeded to give a class on how baserunning doesn't have to be perfect in order to get results. With Jason Bartlett at the plate, Hinske took off on what the O's commentators said was a hit-and-run play, although judging by Bartlett's complete lack of any interest in making contact, I seriously doubt that. He had a pretty good jump actually, but then stopped about two-thirds of the way to second as Hernandez's throw came across the infield. It short-hopped Brian Roberts, who hadn't noticed that Hinske was now hung-up, and so Eric simply trotted on into second for the stolen base.
Bartlett eventually walked, bringing up Aki Iwamura. Aki had one of those days where he made great contact every time up, but it just kept going to where the fielders could get it. This time was no exception, as he lined a ball deep to centre, only to see Adam Jones somehow make a play on it. Hinske had taken off with the ball, and so when Jones did spear it, he had to rush back into second. Why he wasn't tagging, I have no idea. The ball was so far back that had it got past Jones he would still have easily scored from second, and otherwise would have had plenty of time to move up to third.
Still, luck was with Eric it seemed, as Carl Crawford stepped in and rapped a hit through the right of the infield, sending Hinske scampering around to score - thanks to a beautiful slide behind catcher Hernandez.
That run looked to be enough, but the Rays added a welcome insurance score in the eighth - in equally unorthadox fashion. With one out, Chad Bradford came in to pitch for Baltimore, and promptly walked BJ Upton. That saw the O's bench coach (their manager had been ejected for arguing the Huff call) bring in closer George Sherrill. And, before he had even thrown a pitch, Sherrill had made a mistake. He threw an attempted pickoff to first, but did so seemingly without warning to first baseman Millar, and so wildly that he couldn't have got it even if he did know it was coming. Upton moved over to third, and Carlos Pena hit the second ball he saw into deep left-centre. It looked like a sure-fire double, maybe even a triple, but somehow Luke Scott caught up and made an incredible play to rob Pena of a hit. Upton scored, but it could easily have been more. Considering the amazing outfield the Rays have, I think it says something about Luke Scott, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis that they each made a play last night that I would rate as good as, if not better than anything I have seen so far this season. They were outstanding.
The win moves us to 28-20, a game and a half back of Boston in the East. Edwin Jackson goes for the Rays tonight, as we look to carry on our hot home-form. He'll be up against former Ray Steve Trachsel.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Net lag: Five straight
You'll be pleased (or somewhat indifferent, as the case may be) to know that my cold is now pretty much gone, and so last night (Tuesday) I could enjoy watching Monday night's series opener with the Yankees at the Trop.
New York Yankees 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 7
And enjoy it I certainly did! Matt Garza was on the mound for the Rays, and had his best outing in blue so far - going seven strong innings without giving up a run. He gave up only five hits, striking out three, and was well deserving of his second win of the season.
The win looked secure fairly early, thanks chiefly to a demonstration of hustle from Jonny Gomes. He singled in his first at-bat in the second inning, before stealing second base and scoring on a Dioner Navarro single to put the Rays on the board first. Next time around in the fourth, he furthered his challenge to Joe Maddon for more playing time, hitting an RBI-single, moving to second on a bunt, stealing third, and then scoring on a 2-RBI triple from Jason Bartlett. Bartlett then scored himself on a single from Aki Iwamura, who, with a 2-5 day, pushed his hit streak to 10. A couple of insurance runs came in the fifth and seventh, and by the time that Gary Glover, back off the DL, gave up a run to New York in the eighth, the Rays were already out of sight.
The win moves the Rays winning streak to 5, and their home winning streak to 10 - and at 22-16 we are six games above .500 for the first time ever.
That is to say, of course, that we were six games above .500 for the first time ever after Monday's game. We are either 5 or 7 games above now... all this delayed-action blogging gets confusing! I was hit by a bolt of inspiration while walking to work this morning, and thought that its kind of like the internet equivalent of jet lag - because of being 5 hours ahead of EST over here, I can't watch the action until about 18 hours later... net lag! Genius. Or not...
Anyhow, tonight Tuesday night's game beckons, and another chance for Edwin Jackson (if I remember correctly) to show what he can do.
New York Yankees 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 7
And enjoy it I certainly did! Matt Garza was on the mound for the Rays, and had his best outing in blue so far - going seven strong innings without giving up a run. He gave up only five hits, striking out three, and was well deserving of his second win of the season.
The win looked secure fairly early, thanks chiefly to a demonstration of hustle from Jonny Gomes. He singled in his first at-bat in the second inning, before stealing second base and scoring on a Dioner Navarro single to put the Rays on the board first. Next time around in the fourth, he furthered his challenge to Joe Maddon for more playing time, hitting an RBI-single, moving to second on a bunt, stealing third, and then scoring on a 2-RBI triple from Jason Bartlett. Bartlett then scored himself on a single from Aki Iwamura, who, with a 2-5 day, pushed his hit streak to 10. A couple of insurance runs came in the fifth and seventh, and by the time that Gary Glover, back off the DL, gave up a run to New York in the eighth, the Rays were already out of sight.
The win moves the Rays winning streak to 5, and their home winning streak to 10 - and at 22-16 we are six games above .500 for the first time ever.
That is to say, of course, that we were six games above .500 for the first time ever after Monday's game. We are either 5 or 7 games above now... all this delayed-action blogging gets confusing! I was hit by a bolt of inspiration while walking to work this morning, and thought that its kind of like the internet equivalent of jet lag - because of being 5 hours ahead of EST over here, I can't watch the action until about 18 hours later... net lag! Genius. Or not...
Anyhow, tonight Tuesday night's game beckons, and another chance for Edwin Jackson (if I remember correctly) to show what he can do.
Friday, 2 May 2008
The plot thickens...
Tampa Bay Rays 4 - Baltimore Orioles 7
Tampa Bay Rays 8 - Baltimore Orioles 1
Tampa Bay Rays 4 - Baltimore Orioles 2
The fun in Rays-world continues! Three games at Camdem Yards, 2 wins, and suddenly its May 2 and the Rays are sitting in first place in the AL East (on percentage points) at 16-12. How 'bout that?!
I watched games one and two of the series, but missed the finale yesterday afternoon - but all-in-all I liked what I saw. Just like I have done pretty much all season.
Tuesday night things didn't get off to the best of starts, as the O's got to Jason Hammel early and pushed themselves into the lead. JP Howell initially did very well in relief, but he and Scott Dohmann then gave up a couple of runs a piece, giving Baltimore a nice cushion for when the Rays finally found their bats. That happened in the seventh, with a four-run outbreak - the big blow (literally) being a BJ Upton two-run homerun. Unfortunately the O's bullpen then did what is was supposed to, and shut the game down from there on in.
Wednesday was a different story. Andy Sonnanstine was excellent, and the bats were working all game long. Well actually it was as much our batters' eyes, as we drew 7 walks - a very high total for the Rays! We already had the lead when the big seventh inning came around this time, and the five runs we added there were merely the icing on the cake. It was Eric Hinske's turn to get the important hit, as he blasted a fourth-inning two-run homer (his 6th of the year) way over the wall in right that put the Rays on top. Dioner Navarro kept up his good form, going 2-5 with 2 RBI, which leaves his average for the year at an even .400. That is, of course, somewhat artificially high because of the time that he spent on the DL, but regardless his early hitting is very welcome - and a far cry from his struggles in the first half last year.
Yesterday's game was a bit closer, as Matt Garza made his best start so far to get his first win (and, in fact, first decision) of the year. Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival were excellent as ever in relief. With the bat, Jonny Gomes pitched in with his third homer of the season, while the decisive runs came in the seventh on a two-run single from Carl Crawford.
Right, so that brings us up to date with the action, but not on the big decision that is coming the Rays' way this weekend. Who should stay and who should go?
Here is the Rays' pitching staff as is currently stands: Rotation - James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel; Bullpen - Kurt Birkins, Scott Dohmann, Gary Glover, JP Howell, Trever Miller Troy Percival and Dan Wheeler. And between them they are doing a mighty fine job.
But, coming back this weekend are Al Reyes and, the man himself, Scott Kazmir.
Of one move we are fairly certain, and that is that it will be Birkins who is bumped from the 'pen to make room for Reyes. Who goes to make room for Kaz however is far from clear. So here is my run-down of who's done what so far, and who I think deserves to stay:
James Shields - 3-1, 2.54 ERA, 2-hit shutout of the Sox and AL Player of the Week? No-brainer. He stays.
Matt Garza - Injured early, and has struggled a bit. But last two starts have been much better, and his upside is very high. He has options remaining, so could be sent down with no risk, but I can't see that particular move. He stays.
Andy Sonnanstine - Probably has the least impressive stuff of the whole rotation, but he knows how to make the most of what he does have. The first ever Ray to win four games in April, if it wasn't for a single start against the Yankees his ERA would be even better than its current (and still fairly respectable) 4.42. Also has options, which could potentially be the deciding factor. But on performance alone, he stays.
Edwin Jackson - 3 excellent starts and 2 horrible starts. That could sum up E-Jax's whole career up to this point. 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA is pretty decent, and there is no doubting his explosive talent. There is doubt, however, over his control. No options, he would be lost if he was sent down, and we've seen before that he is not well suited to the 'pen. He's worth the risk, he stays.
Jason Hammel - Possibly the most frustrating of the five. I want to like him, but compared to who he's up against he just doesn't have the same upside. He doesn't have the stuff of Jackson or Garza, and he doesn't have the control and pitching know-how of Sonnanstine. 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA is ok for a number five guy, but he's up against two guys who are pitching better and are better pitchers. Like Jackson he is out of options and probably would be lost on waivers, and would likely be of little value in the 'pen at the moment. I'd hate to lose him completely, but at the moment, for me at least, he's the weakest link. He goes.
Whether or not that will be the decision that is ultimately made by Joe Maddon and the organisation, we shall have to wait until Sunday to find out. I can't help feeling that Sonnanstine could be the one to miss out purely because he can be sent down with no risk. But, in all honesty, I think that would be the wrong decision. It wouldn't be a disaster, but it would be wrong.
That's a couple of days away still, and we have important things in the meantime. Such as the battle for first place that kicks off tonight, the first of a three-game series at Fenway. Edwin Jackson makes the start for the Rays, and, bearing in mind what I've just said, I still think he needs a good one. The pressure is well and truly on. BJ Upton is doubtful for the start, after leaving yesterdays game with a sore shoulder. I don't think its too serious though, and he should be available for pinch-hitting, which is good news. I may be staying up to watch tonight - I have to spend pretty much the whole afternoon on a train, so it rather depends on whether I get any sleep or not while travelling!
Tampa Bay Rays 8 - Baltimore Orioles 1
Tampa Bay Rays 4 - Baltimore Orioles 2
The fun in Rays-world continues! Three games at Camdem Yards, 2 wins, and suddenly its May 2 and the Rays are sitting in first place in the AL East (on percentage points) at 16-12. How 'bout that?!
I watched games one and two of the series, but missed the finale yesterday afternoon - but all-in-all I liked what I saw. Just like I have done pretty much all season.
Tuesday night things didn't get off to the best of starts, as the O's got to Jason Hammel early and pushed themselves into the lead. JP Howell initially did very well in relief, but he and Scott Dohmann then gave up a couple of runs a piece, giving Baltimore a nice cushion for when the Rays finally found their bats. That happened in the seventh, with a four-run outbreak - the big blow (literally) being a BJ Upton two-run homerun. Unfortunately the O's bullpen then did what is was supposed to, and shut the game down from there on in.
Wednesday was a different story. Andy Sonnanstine was excellent, and the bats were working all game long. Well actually it was as much our batters' eyes, as we drew 7 walks - a very high total for the Rays! We already had the lead when the big seventh inning came around this time, and the five runs we added there were merely the icing on the cake. It was Eric Hinske's turn to get the important hit, as he blasted a fourth-inning two-run homer (his 6th of the year) way over the wall in right that put the Rays on top. Dioner Navarro kept up his good form, going 2-5 with 2 RBI, which leaves his average for the year at an even .400. That is, of course, somewhat artificially high because of the time that he spent on the DL, but regardless his early hitting is very welcome - and a far cry from his struggles in the first half last year.
Yesterday's game was a bit closer, as Matt Garza made his best start so far to get his first win (and, in fact, first decision) of the year. Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival were excellent as ever in relief. With the bat, Jonny Gomes pitched in with his third homer of the season, while the decisive runs came in the seventh on a two-run single from Carl Crawford.
Right, so that brings us up to date with the action, but not on the big decision that is coming the Rays' way this weekend. Who should stay and who should go?
Here is the Rays' pitching staff as is currently stands: Rotation - James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel; Bullpen - Kurt Birkins, Scott Dohmann, Gary Glover, JP Howell, Trever Miller Troy Percival and Dan Wheeler. And between them they are doing a mighty fine job.
But, coming back this weekend are Al Reyes and, the man himself, Scott Kazmir.
Of one move we are fairly certain, and that is that it will be Birkins who is bumped from the 'pen to make room for Reyes. Who goes to make room for Kaz however is far from clear. So here is my run-down of who's done what so far, and who I think deserves to stay:
James Shields - 3-1, 2.54 ERA, 2-hit shutout of the Sox and AL Player of the Week? No-brainer. He stays.
Matt Garza - Injured early, and has struggled a bit. But last two starts have been much better, and his upside is very high. He has options remaining, so could be sent down with no risk, but I can't see that particular move. He stays.
Andy Sonnanstine - Probably has the least impressive stuff of the whole rotation, but he knows how to make the most of what he does have. The first ever Ray to win four games in April, if it wasn't for a single start against the Yankees his ERA would be even better than its current (and still fairly respectable) 4.42. Also has options, which could potentially be the deciding factor. But on performance alone, he stays.
Edwin Jackson - 3 excellent starts and 2 horrible starts. That could sum up E-Jax's whole career up to this point. 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA is pretty decent, and there is no doubting his explosive talent. There is doubt, however, over his control. No options, he would be lost if he was sent down, and we've seen before that he is not well suited to the 'pen. He's worth the risk, he stays.
Jason Hammel - Possibly the most frustrating of the five. I want to like him, but compared to who he's up against he just doesn't have the same upside. He doesn't have the stuff of Jackson or Garza, and he doesn't have the control and pitching know-how of Sonnanstine. 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA is ok for a number five guy, but he's up against two guys who are pitching better and are better pitchers. Like Jackson he is out of options and probably would be lost on waivers, and would likely be of little value in the 'pen at the moment. I'd hate to lose him completely, but at the moment, for me at least, he's the weakest link. He goes.
Whether or not that will be the decision that is ultimately made by Joe Maddon and the organisation, we shall have to wait until Sunday to find out. I can't help feeling that Sonnanstine could be the one to miss out purely because he can be sent down with no risk. But, in all honesty, I think that would be the wrong decision. It wouldn't be a disaster, but it would be wrong.
That's a couple of days away still, and we have important things in the meantime. Such as the battle for first place that kicks off tonight, the first of a three-game series at Fenway. Edwin Jackson makes the start for the Rays, and, bearing in mind what I've just said, I still think he needs a good one. The pressure is well and truly on. BJ Upton is doubtful for the start, after leaving yesterdays game with a sore shoulder. I don't think its too serious though, and he should be available for pinch-hitting, which is good news. I may be staying up to watch tonight - I have to spend pretty much the whole afternoon on a train, so it rather depends on whether I get any sleep or not while travelling!
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Have I mentioned the battling?
Boston Red Sox 4 - Tampa Bay Rays 5
Wow, that was quite a game. A proper big-league battle. It went well into the night over here, but was more than worth staying up for - the Rays' first extra-inning game of the season was also the best contest so far.
It started out in the bottom of the first with Carl Crawford doing what he does best, tripling to centre. There is just no better sight in baseball than CC rounding first, looking up, and turning on the afterburners. Its just flat-out fun. He scored on a sacrifice fly by BJ Upton, and the Rays were off.
Unfortunately, so were the Sox in the top of the second, as Matt Garza, making his first start back from the DL, struggled mightily, allowing three runs and throwing 40 pitches by the time he got out of the inning. Still, I think that Garza could fit in well at the Trop if the battling qualities he showed are anything to go by, as he shut out the Sox for the next three innings, leaving after five with a respectable line of 5IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB, and 1K. Not amazing, but satisfactory for his first start back.
By the time he left, the Rays were back in the lead, thanks to more of that battling hitting I've been talking about all week - and you know that when you're up against Tim Wakefield you need to battle! We pulled one back in the third, an RBI-single from Evan Longoria (who then added his second stolen base of the season). That scored Jonny Gomes from second, but it ought to have been a two-run effort, as BJ Upton had just been called out stealing third, despite having comfortably beaten the tag. Two more runs came in the fourth, CC adding his second triple of the game (he obviously heard of my surprise that Thursday's was his first of the season!), scoring Aki. CC then scored himself on a fielding error by former Ray Julio Lugo.
Turning it over to the bullpen, unfortunately the lead didn't last long, as JP Howell gave up a run right back in the top of the sixth. He settled down though, and pitched 3 good innings, before turning it over to Dan Wheeler in the ninth. And talk about handling big-time pressure. Wheeler has been the pick of the 'pen so far this year, and showed that again last night. Catcher Kevin Cash singled to lead off the inning, and then one out later Dustin Pedroia reached on a mental lapse from Aki Iwamura - charging a softly hit grounder, Aki was caught in two minds about which out to go for, and ended up getting neither as Cash stopped on the basepaths, and Aki paused, double pumped, and threw late to first, rather than flipping it to second for the easy force out.
Not that that phased Wheeler of course. Nor did the fact that he now had to face David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez with two men on. A pop up from Ortiz, and then one of the best-pitched at-bats you'll see this year against Ramirez, who came to the plate 3-4 on the game. Two beautiful sliders that Manny got out in front of made it 0-2. A fastball up that Manny took brought the count to 1-2. And then with Manny sitting on the slider, Wheeler went back upstairs with the heat, getting the huge strikeout.
The Rays then left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth - but only just, Eric Hinske ripping a shot to deep right-centre, only to see it fade and JD Drew catch up with it on the edge of the track.
So, extra innings, and the bullpen get another chance to star. And star they did. Gary Glover comes in in the tenth with a couple of men on. Ground ball, double play, nicely done. Scott Dohmann comes in in the eleventh with a couple of men on. Ground ball, double play (a 3-6-1 beauty at that), nicely done.
Step forward the batters. CC adds his third hit of the game, a single, to open the inning. He steals second (his second steal of the night). BJ Upton walks. Nathan Haynes steps to the plate, having earlier entered the game as a pinch-runner. The BoSox are thinking nothing but bunt. Haynes takes a massive swing at the first pitch, but misses. The Sox are still thinking bunt. Haynes takes a swing again, this time ripping the ball through the infield, allowing CC to motor around for the winning run.
With so many outstanding performances on the mound and at the plate, it might surprise you to hear that my player of the game went 0-5. Jason Bartlett still hasn't got his swing in gear this season, but his play at shortstop last night was simply outstanding. His range is superb, and two of the backhand plays he made last night are up there among the very best that you will see all season. The Rays defense in general was excellent, particularly in the outfield, where both CC and Upton made awesome full-length diving grabs.
The win takes us up above .500, at 12-11, and ahead of the Yankees in the AL East. To be honest though, its not so much the record - though considering all the injuries we've had, it is impressive - but rather the way we're playing that's the real positive. We're getting the fundamentals right, and not giving up when the going gets tough. That is a good combination.
Tonight is going to be very interesting, as Edwin Jackson makes the start against Clay Buchholz. Which Jackson will turn up? Who knows?! But he needs a good one, so I hope he can deliver.
Wow, that was quite a game. A proper big-league battle. It went well into the night over here, but was more than worth staying up for - the Rays' first extra-inning game of the season was also the best contest so far.
It started out in the bottom of the first with Carl Crawford doing what he does best, tripling to centre. There is just no better sight in baseball than CC rounding first, looking up, and turning on the afterburners. Its just flat-out fun. He scored on a sacrifice fly by BJ Upton, and the Rays were off.
Unfortunately, so were the Sox in the top of the second, as Matt Garza, making his first start back from the DL, struggled mightily, allowing three runs and throwing 40 pitches by the time he got out of the inning. Still, I think that Garza could fit in well at the Trop if the battling qualities he showed are anything to go by, as he shut out the Sox for the next three innings, leaving after five with a respectable line of 5IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB, and 1K. Not amazing, but satisfactory for his first start back.
By the time he left, the Rays were back in the lead, thanks to more of that battling hitting I've been talking about all week - and you know that when you're up against Tim Wakefield you need to battle! We pulled one back in the third, an RBI-single from Evan Longoria (who then added his second stolen base of the season). That scored Jonny Gomes from second, but it ought to have been a two-run effort, as BJ Upton had just been called out stealing third, despite having comfortably beaten the tag. Two more runs came in the fourth, CC adding his second triple of the game (he obviously heard of my surprise that Thursday's was his first of the season!), scoring Aki. CC then scored himself on a fielding error by former Ray Julio Lugo.
Turning it over to the bullpen, unfortunately the lead didn't last long, as JP Howell gave up a run right back in the top of the sixth. He settled down though, and pitched 3 good innings, before turning it over to Dan Wheeler in the ninth. And talk about handling big-time pressure. Wheeler has been the pick of the 'pen so far this year, and showed that again last night. Catcher Kevin Cash singled to lead off the inning, and then one out later Dustin Pedroia reached on a mental lapse from Aki Iwamura - charging a softly hit grounder, Aki was caught in two minds about which out to go for, and ended up getting neither as Cash stopped on the basepaths, and Aki paused, double pumped, and threw late to first, rather than flipping it to second for the easy force out.
Not that that phased Wheeler of course. Nor did the fact that he now had to face David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez with two men on. A pop up from Ortiz, and then one of the best-pitched at-bats you'll see this year against Ramirez, who came to the plate 3-4 on the game. Two beautiful sliders that Manny got out in front of made it 0-2. A fastball up that Manny took brought the count to 1-2. And then with Manny sitting on the slider, Wheeler went back upstairs with the heat, getting the huge strikeout.
The Rays then left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth - but only just, Eric Hinske ripping a shot to deep right-centre, only to see it fade and JD Drew catch up with it on the edge of the track.
So, extra innings, and the bullpen get another chance to star. And star they did. Gary Glover comes in in the tenth with a couple of men on. Ground ball, double play, nicely done. Scott Dohmann comes in in the eleventh with a couple of men on. Ground ball, double play (a 3-6-1 beauty at that), nicely done.
Step forward the batters. CC adds his third hit of the game, a single, to open the inning. He steals second (his second steal of the night). BJ Upton walks. Nathan Haynes steps to the plate, having earlier entered the game as a pinch-runner. The BoSox are thinking nothing but bunt. Haynes takes a massive swing at the first pitch, but misses. The Sox are still thinking bunt. Haynes takes a swing again, this time ripping the ball through the infield, allowing CC to motor around for the winning run.
With so many outstanding performances on the mound and at the plate, it might surprise you to hear that my player of the game went 0-5. Jason Bartlett still hasn't got his swing in gear this season, but his play at shortstop last night was simply outstanding. His range is superb, and two of the backhand plays he made last night are up there among the very best that you will see all season. The Rays defense in general was excellent, particularly in the outfield, where both CC and Upton made awesome full-length diving grabs.
The win takes us up above .500, at 12-11, and ahead of the Yankees in the AL East. To be honest though, its not so much the record - though considering all the injuries we've had, it is impressive - but rather the way we're playing that's the real positive. We're getting the fundamentals right, and not giving up when the going gets tough. That is a good combination.
Tonight is going to be very interesting, as Edwin Jackson makes the start against Clay Buchholz. Which Jackson will turn up? Who knows?! But he needs a good one, so I hope he can deliver.
Monday, 21 April 2008
Off to Disney on a downer
Chicago White Sox 6 - Tampa Bay Rays 0
As is so often the way, a great outing from one of our pitchers, Andy Sonnanstine on Saturday, was immediately overshadowed by a poor one from another. Edwin Jackson made his second consecutive below-par start, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. He walked four, and looked just like last year - good stuff, but oh-so-little control. Its really frustrating, because he's already demonstrated this year just how good he can be when he has it.
Of course he wasn't helped either by the Rays at the plate - after racking up 12 hits on Saturday, a combination of John Danks and Nook Logan shut us down on just 4 yesterday. Danks was mighty impressive, striking out eight in 7 innings.
In fact the only real highlight for the Rays was a beautiful 4-6-3 double play they turned. It would have looked good turned by anyone, but considering that Aki - who started it with a lovely shovel toss - only moved to second this spring, Elliot Johnson - who turned it with a great bare-hand grab - was making only his second start at short, and that Eric Hinske - who stretched to make the catch at first - was only playing there because of Pena's injury, it was extra-sweet. Our defense has been pretty impressive for the most part this season, and no-one moreso than Aki Iwamura, who, far from seeming new to second, looks like he's been playing there his whole career.
Roster bits and bobs now, and to make room for Dan Johnson on the roster we have optioned Jeff Niemann back to Durham. One good start and one poor one for Jeff while he was up here, but all-in-all I was fairly impressed, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him in the rotation come the end of the season. Taking his place in the rotation on Friday should be Matt Garza, who made a rehab start at Vero Beach yesterday. We'll obviously have to move a position player off the roster to bring him back, and I would expect that Justin Ruggiano will be that man.
Dioner Navarro should be back with us on Tuesday, assuming that a DH appearance for Vero Beach goes without a hitch tonight. Whether it is Shawn Riggans or Mike DiFelice who makes way is not as clear as might have been, thanks to some outstanding work both at the plate and behind it from DiFelice. Personally, while I am rooting for Riggans to stick - as much because I think he deserves the chance as it is because I think he's the better of the two - I wouldn't be terribly unhappy if we keep DiFelice.
Off day today, and then its down the road to Disney on Tuesday night, for the first of three against the Blue Jays. James Shields will be getting the start against a Frank Thomas-less Toronto team. Is Thomas someone we might be interested in picking up? Assuming Cliff Floyd isn't going to be out too long, then probably not. But you never know...
As is so often the way, a great outing from one of our pitchers, Andy Sonnanstine on Saturday, was immediately overshadowed by a poor one from another. Edwin Jackson made his second consecutive below-par start, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. He walked four, and looked just like last year - good stuff, but oh-so-little control. Its really frustrating, because he's already demonstrated this year just how good he can be when he has it.
Of course he wasn't helped either by the Rays at the plate - after racking up 12 hits on Saturday, a combination of John Danks and Nook Logan shut us down on just 4 yesterday. Danks was mighty impressive, striking out eight in 7 innings.
In fact the only real highlight for the Rays was a beautiful 4-6-3 double play they turned. It would have looked good turned by anyone, but considering that Aki - who started it with a lovely shovel toss - only moved to second this spring, Elliot Johnson - who turned it with a great bare-hand grab - was making only his second start at short, and that Eric Hinske - who stretched to make the catch at first - was only playing there because of Pena's injury, it was extra-sweet. Our defense has been pretty impressive for the most part this season, and no-one moreso than Aki Iwamura, who, far from seeming new to second, looks like he's been playing there his whole career.
Roster bits and bobs now, and to make room for Dan Johnson on the roster we have optioned Jeff Niemann back to Durham. One good start and one poor one for Jeff while he was up here, but all-in-all I was fairly impressed, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him in the rotation come the end of the season. Taking his place in the rotation on Friday should be Matt Garza, who made a rehab start at Vero Beach yesterday. We'll obviously have to move a position player off the roster to bring him back, and I would expect that Justin Ruggiano will be that man.
Dioner Navarro should be back with us on Tuesday, assuming that a DH appearance for Vero Beach goes without a hitch tonight. Whether it is Shawn Riggans or Mike DiFelice who makes way is not as clear as might have been, thanks to some outstanding work both at the plate and behind it from DiFelice. Personally, while I am rooting for Riggans to stick - as much because I think he deserves the chance as it is because I think he's the better of the two - I wouldn't be terribly unhappy if we keep DiFelice.
Off day today, and then its down the road to Disney on Tuesday night, for the first of three against the Blue Jays. James Shields will be getting the start against a Frank Thomas-less Toronto team. Is Thomas someone we might be interested in picking up? Assuming Cliff Floyd isn't going to be out too long, then probably not. But you never know...
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Rays have battle, more bad luck
Seattle Mariners 6 - Tampa Bay Rays 5
Not quite the home opener that the new, improved Rays had been after, methinks. I watched the first 5 innings last night, before tiredness and the thought of getting up for work got the better of me, and while it was an enjoyable game, it was also one of those where you have the feeling that its just not going to be your night.
The bad news first is that Matt Garza had to be taken out in the third with a sore arm, and has been put on the 15-day disabled list. Which is not good. Jae-kuk Ryu has been called up from Durham, but won't be taking Garza's place in the rotation - that is likely to go to either JP Howell or possibly Jeff Niemann. I'm hoping that we finally get the chance to have a look at Niemann.
Good news was the excellent, battling display of hitting off of Eric Bedard. Shawn Riggans homered in the second (his first ever in the big leagues), and Carlos Pena followed in the third. It was the fifth however that showed the all-round game that we need to see this year. Carl Crawford and Pena had excellent at-bats, fighting off pitches really well, which is still all too rare a sight for the Rays. BJ Upton worked a nice walk, and then he and Jonny Gomes showed some great hustle to force an error on a broken bat grounder to short. That set up a play that I just love to see. Jonny took off for second, and had the bag stolen easily. Johjima rushed a throw across to second anyway, and BJ took off from third, stealing home unchallenged. I don't care how its done, there is just something so satisfying about a steal of home. We actually scored 2 runs in the fifth without getting a hit, which is always a nice trick to turn.
That was that though for the hitters, and the Mariners re-took the lead for good in the sixth. The bullpen did a nice job all-in-all though, Troy Percival and Dan Wheeler in particular. Very encouraging sign - Scott Dohmann and Wheeler inherited 3 and 2 baserunners respectively when they came in, and let none of them score.
Meanwhile Kaz threw a bullpen session, and reported feeling good afterwards. Here's hoping he's back soon. Andy Sonnanstine makes his second start of the year tonight, and will be hoping to carry on where he left off in the last few innings of his first start.
Not quite the home opener that the new, improved Rays had been after, methinks. I watched the first 5 innings last night, before tiredness and the thought of getting up for work got the better of me, and while it was an enjoyable game, it was also one of those where you have the feeling that its just not going to be your night.
The bad news first is that Matt Garza had to be taken out in the third with a sore arm, and has been put on the 15-day disabled list. Which is not good. Jae-kuk Ryu has been called up from Durham, but won't be taking Garza's place in the rotation - that is likely to go to either JP Howell or possibly Jeff Niemann. I'm hoping that we finally get the chance to have a look at Niemann.
Good news was the excellent, battling display of hitting off of Eric Bedard. Shawn Riggans homered in the second (his first ever in the big leagues), and Carlos Pena followed in the third. It was the fifth however that showed the all-round game that we need to see this year. Carl Crawford and Pena had excellent at-bats, fighting off pitches really well, which is still all too rare a sight for the Rays. BJ Upton worked a nice walk, and then he and Jonny Gomes showed some great hustle to force an error on a broken bat grounder to short. That set up a play that I just love to see. Jonny took off for second, and had the bag stolen easily. Johjima rushed a throw across to second anyway, and BJ took off from third, stealing home unchallenged. I don't care how its done, there is just something so satisfying about a steal of home. We actually scored 2 runs in the fifth without getting a hit, which is always a nice trick to turn.
That was that though for the hitters, and the Mariners re-took the lead for good in the sixth. The bullpen did a nice job all-in-all though, Troy Percival and Dan Wheeler in particular. Very encouraging sign - Scott Dohmann and Wheeler inherited 3 and 2 baserunners respectively when they came in, and let none of them score.
Meanwhile Kaz threw a bullpen session, and reported feeling good afterwards. Here's hoping he's back soon. Andy Sonnanstine makes his second start of the year tonight, and will be hoping to carry on where he left off in the last few innings of his first start.
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Threw it away
Tampa Bay Rays 6 - Baltimore Orioles 9
Wisely or not, I decided to stay up and watch last night's effort - partly because I wanted to see Matt Garza's debut, but mostly because I'm just plain excited at having baseball to watch again.
By the time that Jonny Gomes popped up to end the game however, I was left with a distinct feeling of deja vu.
If I'm honest, it wasn't the greatest all-round performance by the Rays anyway. Two nicely timed homers (a 3-run Cliff Floyd shot, and a 2-run blast from Carlos Pena) aside, and it was a story of missed opportunities at the plate. Twice we loaded the bases - once failing to score with only one out, and once scoring only once despite having nobody out. You've got to convert in those situations.
That being said, in truth the six runs we did manage looked like they would, and indeed should have been enough. Garza pitched nicely without ever completely getting on top of the Orioles' hitters, and, as often seems to be the case with the Rays, was hurt by the longball - a two-run shot by erstwhile Ray Aubrey Huff being the blow that saw him lifted in the sixth. But with a one-run lead, and Gary Glover and Dan Wheeler shutting down the rally through the seventh, and things seemed ok.
Despite all the changes, we are still the Rays, however. And I was wary of the way things were going from one (non-)decision in the top of the eighth. I suppose that the choice that Joe Maddon had was in a way a question of baseball philosophy. One run up, two innings left, do you want a good hitting outfielder or a good fielding outfielder in the game? Perhaps I'm biased because one of the players in question is Jonny Gomes. But look at the situation. One out, facing a difficult lefty (Jamie Walker), Nathan Haynes coming up. Now Haynes was in the team because left handed hitters beat up on Daniel Cabrera, the O's starter. But now its a lefty - and of Haynes' 48 ML plate appearances before last night, all but two had come against right handers. Which, while far from conclusive does indicate that maybe he's not so good facing the lefty.
So what do you do? Do you pinch hit with Gomes, who hits 70 points better against leftys than rightys, and is actually a much better outfielder than people either realise or give him credit for. Or do you leave in Haynes, which is all but surrendering an out, because he plays superior defense. Now I don't know about you, but I always do whatever I can to go after that insurance run.
Maddon of course saw things the other way, and Haynes struck out rather pathetically on three pitches. And, just to rub salt in the wound, he went on to make an error, misplaying a Huff drive of the wall in the bottom of the inning, ultimately leading to another Baltimore run.
Not that I'm blaming Haynes for the loss. Or Maddon for that matter - although once again he showed his rather worrying habit for leaving a pitcher in when it was clear he didn't have his stuff. The guy in question last night was Al Reyes, who coming into the game in his new setup role, walked the first hitter he faced on 4 pitches. Even watching on TV it was obvious that Reyes just could not find his groove, and by the time there were two men on and Huff was at the plate, the right course of action was pretty clear. Bring on the lefty from the 'pen (we've got two of them this year!) and look for the ground ball double play to escape the inning.
But he didn't, Huff doubled, and by the time the inning was over the O's had turned a 6-5 deficit into a 9-6 win.
If I sound overly frustrated about all that, then its most probably because I'm tired. And I know that its early days, but if the Rays are serious about progressing up the standings, then we absolutely have to be able to close out games when we have a lead going into the home stretch. Especially against teams like the Orioles.
Wisely or not, I decided to stay up and watch last night's effort - partly because I wanted to see Matt Garza's debut, but mostly because I'm just plain excited at having baseball to watch again.
By the time that Jonny Gomes popped up to end the game however, I was left with a distinct feeling of deja vu.
If I'm honest, it wasn't the greatest all-round performance by the Rays anyway. Two nicely timed homers (a 3-run Cliff Floyd shot, and a 2-run blast from Carlos Pena) aside, and it was a story of missed opportunities at the plate. Twice we loaded the bases - once failing to score with only one out, and once scoring only once despite having nobody out. You've got to convert in those situations.
That being said, in truth the six runs we did manage looked like they would, and indeed should have been enough. Garza pitched nicely without ever completely getting on top of the Orioles' hitters, and, as often seems to be the case with the Rays, was hurt by the longball - a two-run shot by erstwhile Ray Aubrey Huff being the blow that saw him lifted in the sixth. But with a one-run lead, and Gary Glover and Dan Wheeler shutting down the rally through the seventh, and things seemed ok.
Despite all the changes, we are still the Rays, however. And I was wary of the way things were going from one (non-)decision in the top of the eighth. I suppose that the choice that Joe Maddon had was in a way a question of baseball philosophy. One run up, two innings left, do you want a good hitting outfielder or a good fielding outfielder in the game? Perhaps I'm biased because one of the players in question is Jonny Gomes. But look at the situation. One out, facing a difficult lefty (Jamie Walker), Nathan Haynes coming up. Now Haynes was in the team because left handed hitters beat up on Daniel Cabrera, the O's starter. But now its a lefty - and of Haynes' 48 ML plate appearances before last night, all but two had come against right handers. Which, while far from conclusive does indicate that maybe he's not so good facing the lefty.
So what do you do? Do you pinch hit with Gomes, who hits 70 points better against leftys than rightys, and is actually a much better outfielder than people either realise or give him credit for. Or do you leave in Haynes, which is all but surrendering an out, because he plays superior defense. Now I don't know about you, but I always do whatever I can to go after that insurance run.
Maddon of course saw things the other way, and Haynes struck out rather pathetically on three pitches. And, just to rub salt in the wound, he went on to make an error, misplaying a Huff drive of the wall in the bottom of the inning, ultimately leading to another Baltimore run.
Not that I'm blaming Haynes for the loss. Or Maddon for that matter - although once again he showed his rather worrying habit for leaving a pitcher in when it was clear he didn't have his stuff. The guy in question last night was Al Reyes, who coming into the game in his new setup role, walked the first hitter he faced on 4 pitches. Even watching on TV it was obvious that Reyes just could not find his groove, and by the time there were two men on and Huff was at the plate, the right course of action was pretty clear. Bring on the lefty from the 'pen (we've got two of them this year!) and look for the ground ball double play to escape the inning.
But he didn't, Huff doubled, and by the time the inning was over the O's had turned a 6-5 deficit into a 9-6 win.
If I sound overly frustrated about all that, then its most probably because I'm tired. And I know that its early days, but if the Rays are serious about progressing up the standings, then we absolutely have to be able to close out games when we have a lead going into the home stretch. Especially against teams like the Orioles.
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Crawford back for more
Expected news from the Rays yesterday, as the announcement was made that Carl Crawford's option for 2009 has been picked up, while Rocco Baldelli's has been declined. Obviously given his situation, the decision over Rocco's option is no surprise - though like many fans I'm sure I do hope that we haven't seen him in a Rays uniform for the last time.
Of course picking up CC's option was an even bigger no-brainer. At $8.25million, he will still be one of the biggest bargains around, and I for one hope that he will be in St Pete for years beyond this current contract. Though for the stat-watchers there is obviously a big question mark hanging over him this year - his 5-year streak of increased batting average is getting tougher and tougher to keep going. It was up to .315 in 2007, and you know what, I think the smart money could be on a .316+ year in '08!
We've also signed Dan Wheeler to a 2 year extension which, considering the cost - $10m - is an encouraging sign that the bullpen is a serious focus. Its one of the last pieces of the puzzle, and Wheeler is the sort of solid pitcher that we need to have around for the late innings.
Meanwhile, tonight Matt Garza makes his Rays debut, and I am looking forward to it. Midnight first pitch UK time, so whether I watch tonight or tomorrow is still to be decided - it will probably depend how awake I need to be for work in the morning!
Of course picking up CC's option was an even bigger no-brainer. At $8.25million, he will still be one of the biggest bargains around, and I for one hope that he will be in St Pete for years beyond this current contract. Though for the stat-watchers there is obviously a big question mark hanging over him this year - his 5-year streak of increased batting average is getting tougher and tougher to keep going. It was up to .315 in 2007, and you know what, I think the smart money could be on a .316+ year in '08!
We've also signed Dan Wheeler to a 2 year extension which, considering the cost - $10m - is an encouraging sign that the bullpen is a serious focus. Its one of the last pieces of the puzzle, and Wheeler is the sort of solid pitcher that we need to have around for the late innings.
Meanwhile, tonight Matt Garza makes his Rays debut, and I am looking forward to it. Midnight first pitch UK time, so whether I watch tonight or tomorrow is still to be decided - it will probably depend how awake I need to be for work in the morning!
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