As it turns out, I got home in plenty of time to watch the Rays-Phillies matchup on Saturday evening. And it turned out to be a bit of a slugfest at a breezy Bright House Field in Clearwater. Mitch Talbot - one of the outsiders for the rotation's fifth spot - was starting for the Rays, and suffered a rough first inning. He gave up five runs and three homeruns before getting out of it. Still, he came back and pitched a scoreless second and third, so it wasn't a total disaster for him.
Next up in the battle for rotation duties was Jason Hammel, starting against the Jays on Sunday. By all accounts he put himself to the front of the line with four scoreless innings (three hits allowed). Carlos Hernandez followed, but was hampered by some shaky defense - it looks like the Rays have been comitting more than their fair share of errors so far this spring. Not that I'm overly worried. Not yet, anyway.
Positive signs are coming from the few regulars who have been playing so far - CC belted two triples in Sunday's game, while Evan Longoria hit 3 doubles in 2 games over the weekend.
Yesterday, Wade Davis went to the hill for the second time this spring. He's the longest shot of all to make the rotation, but he had another fine outing anyway - 3 2/3 innings, no runs, just one hit allowed. The Rays won that one over the Cards, to move their spring record to 2-4, if that means anything at this point.
Story so far on the pitching - definitely looking good. The big four (Kaz, Shields, Garza and Sonnanstine) won't start pitching until the weekend, but the competition behind them is looking fierce. Right now, Jason Hammel is looking the favourite to get the nod, although it has been solid outings all round. I reckon we could well see Hammel take the fifth spot, with Jeff Niemann in the 'pen to start the year. Then we'll have Wade Davis, Mitch Talbot and David Price starting the year at AAA - I'd advise hitters looking to get their swing honed to avoid playing against Durham for the first month or so of the season!
Showing posts with label spring training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring training. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Spring watch - 26/2
I rushed home from work last night to catch the first televised Rays game of the spring - against the Yankees in Tampa. Missed the top of the first (which is fairly usual for weekday afternoon games), but caught the rest of what turned out to be the Rays' second straight loss to start the spring.
Best performance for the Rays by a distance was from Wade Davis, who was making the start. He mowed through two perfect innings against a strong Yankees team (Damon, Jeter, Teixeira, A-Rod, etc), picking up three strikeouts along the way. What with the plethora of choices that we have for the fifth spot in the rotation, its highly unlikely that Davis is going to be starting the season anywhere other than AAA. Still, its an encouraging start for him, and a great reminder to everyone that the pitching talent in the Rays' farm system isn't all about David Price.
Following Davis on the hill was Chad Orvella - a very welcome site following his struggles with injuries. He gave up a homer to Jorge Posada with his first pitch, but retired the next three batters in order. If Orvella can get fully healthy then its possible that he'll have an outside shot at making the 'pen. I was a big fan of his when he first broke into the majors, so it'll be interesting to see how what kind of shape he's in now.
At the plate there wasn't an awful lot going on for the Rays. They picked up their first run of the spring courtesy of an RBI-single from Jon Weber, but otherwise it was pretty quiet. The highlight play on defense was a terrific running catch by our late-inning centrefielder (who I'm reliably informed by the St Pete Times was Ray Sadler).
Still, despite the loss, it was good to see the Rays in action again (even if it meant watch the YES network's coverage...). Next live game is Saturday afternoon against the Phillies. I'll be at a Six Nations Rugby game, so not sure if I'll be able to see any live, or if I'll be watching on Sunday morning. Mitch Talbot will be starting that one for the Rays I think - another of the contenders for the rotation (Jeff Niemann is starting today). What with the good performances so far from Carlos Hernandez, Jason Hammel and now Davis, it's looking like it could be an interesting spring.
Best performance for the Rays by a distance was from Wade Davis, who was making the start. He mowed through two perfect innings against a strong Yankees team (Damon, Jeter, Teixeira, A-Rod, etc), picking up three strikeouts along the way. What with the plethora of choices that we have for the fifth spot in the rotation, its highly unlikely that Davis is going to be starting the season anywhere other than AAA. Still, its an encouraging start for him, and a great reminder to everyone that the pitching talent in the Rays' farm system isn't all about David Price.
Following Davis on the hill was Chad Orvella - a very welcome site following his struggles with injuries. He gave up a homer to Jorge Posada with his first pitch, but retired the next three batters in order. If Orvella can get fully healthy then its possible that he'll have an outside shot at making the 'pen. I was a big fan of his when he first broke into the majors, so it'll be interesting to see how what kind of shape he's in now.
At the plate there wasn't an awful lot going on for the Rays. They picked up their first run of the spring courtesy of an RBI-single from Jon Weber, but otherwise it was pretty quiet. The highlight play on defense was a terrific running catch by our late-inning centrefielder (who I'm reliably informed by the St Pete Times was Ray Sadler).
Still, despite the loss, it was good to see the Rays in action again (even if it meant watch the YES network's coverage...). Next live game is Saturday afternoon against the Phillies. I'll be at a Six Nations Rugby game, so not sure if I'll be able to see any live, or if I'll be watching on Sunday morning. Mitch Talbot will be starting that one for the Rays I think - another of the contenders for the rotation (Jeff Niemann is starting today). What with the good performances so far from Carlos Hernandez, Jason Hammel and now Davis, it's looking like it could be an interesting spring.
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