Rays of Light

Game #42: Interleague Rumble

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Thread  

What to watch for: Interleague play is always weird, so let’s see how the Rays respond. It can’t help the lineup to lose one of the bats every game, but the other 8 guys should be able to pick up the slack. The Rays almost never see these pitchers they are going to see, so that will definitely be something to keep an eye on, also.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Andy Sonnanstine - Sonnanstine had picked up wins in four consecutive starts prior to Sunday’s outing against the Angels, when he allowed five runs on eight hits while walking two to take a no-decision. Sonnanstine’s best pitch is the slider, but in order for him to pitch well, he needs to locate his fastball to set up the vast array of pitches he throws from all different angles. He is 3-0 with a 4.05 ERA in three road starts this season. This will be his first career start against the Cardinals.

Braden Looper - Looper skipped his side session after working 8 1/3 innings in the thin Colorado air the start before, but he said he felt physically fine when he allowed four runs in six innings against Milwaukee. He struggled keeping the ball down, and Ryan Braun took advantage by smacking two home runs in the Cardinals’ 5-3 loss. Looper only walked one and hit another batter ?- but both of those scored in the first inning to spot the Brewers an early lead.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Braden Looper.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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

3 Comments

The Kazmir Effect

By Jon Ziegler  |  Posted in General  

This is part two of a two-part series looking at the effect of the Scott Kazmir extension on future of the Rays pitching staff. Part one took a closer look at the future of the current major league rotation. Part two features an examination of the highly touted pitchers currently in the minors.

When the Rays drafted David Price with the #1 overall pick in the 2007 draft some baseball people felt that he was practically ready for the majors on draft day. As it turns out, it will take the most polished prospect in the draft almost a full year before he will throw his first professional pitch.

The great news is that with the Rays pitching staff performing at such a high level there is no rush to get Price to Tampa. While Price’s rehab from an elbow strain this spring has been pain-stakingly slow, for everyone involved in the process, it is hard to argue that caution is not the best thing long-term. In my opinion, one the worst things that could be done to a young pitcher is to throw him into his professional debut without full confidence in his health. It would be a recipe for failure from the very beginning. When both sides believe he is 100% ready to pitch then I expect him to hit the ground running.

Price is arguably the most talented pitcher to come out of college in several years as he possesses almost every tool that a scout is looking for in a pitching prospect. He is an athletic lefty with exceptional makeup that has the potential to throw 3 plus pitches with good command. Despite the injury, Price still has all the tools to rise quickly through the system, and it is not out of the question for him to get a look in Spring Training of 2009. Of course, much of that will depend on his progress through this season, and if he can prove that his injury is only a minor blip on the radar.

Therefore, barring injury, you can pencil David Price in the Rays’ rotation no later than opening day in 2010. Going to back to part one that gives us a 2010 rotation of the following players:

1) Scott Kazmir
2) James Shields
3) Matt Garza
4) David Price

Where will we look to find another starter for this rotation? Well, it looks like we will be forced to choose a 5th starter out of a list of four players from Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects. Let’s take a look at the contenders for the last spot in the rotation.

The Rays drafted Jeff Niemann with the #4 overall pick in 2004 draft and had expectations of him reaching the majors quickly. That plan has been derailed by injuries and consistency problems by Niemann even when he is healthy.

The towering righty did make his major league debut this season against the Baltimore Orioles. Niemann was very impressive in his short stint in Tampa flashing a mid-90s fastball, a sharp slider, and a big curve ball. Unfortunately, Niemann took a quick step back as injury problems resurfaced when he returned to Triple A. He is back in the rotation working on a pitch count, and it is unclear when he could have a chance at rejoining the 25 man roster.

If Niemann could suddenly shake the injury bug then he would be an excellent choice to slot in the rotation. His stuff is not the concern, and there is some belief that if he could remain healthy for an extended amount of time that his stuff could come close to returning to what he showcased as a starter for Rice. Unfortunately, how often is it the case that a prospect with a medical chart like Niemann’s can ever really become completely healthy? That makes it is difficult to believe that Niemann will ever be a part of the starting rotation for an extended period of time. He has the arm to be great out of the bullpen, but it is not as if he would become magically healthy in that role either. Hopefully, Jeff proves me wrong and Rocco Baldelli catches the final out of his first no-hitter in the 2010 ALCS.

That brings us to the dynamic duo of Wade Davis and Jacob McGee. In my opinion, the days of their tag team partnership are numbered for several reasons. First of all, everyone needs to come to terms with the reality that, in all likelihood, one of these guys is going to be a bust. If you look at baseball history it is extraordinarily rare for at trio like Price, Davis, and McGee to all come up to the majors and reach their potential. Personally, I believe the chances of Price busting are as minimal as possible, so that leads me to believe that one of these two guys will not make it as a major league starter.

I think you can make a legitimate argument for either Davis or McGee, but I am going to go the safe route in picking Wade Davis as my #5 starter. I just love everything about Davis as a prospect. He has had phenomenal results over the last two seasons, and still has the potential to refine his game further. I think projecting Davis as a #5 starter is practically his floor at this point.

McGee, on the other hand, is still a variable in a lot of ways. His ceiling is probably a bit higher than Davis’s, but the counter is that he has a much lower floor. He has been able to over-power hitters at earlier levels with his electric fastball, but he will find it very difficult to succeed in the majors if he can’t get his breaking ball over for strikes. Some people see McGee as a power reliever, but I still think a scenario where all three are successful in any capacity is unlikely. I hate to feel like I am singling out McGee, because there is a decent chance that this could happen to any of the “Big Three”.

In summary, that gives the Rays a 2010 starting rotation of the following:

1. Scott Kazmir
2. James Shields
3. Matt Garza
4. David Price
5. Wade Davis

While I think Davis is going to be the guy at the end of the rotation, the darkhorse in this race is Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson is currently putting together a season in Vero Beach that could surpass what Wade Davis was able to do last season. The only reason I didn’t give J-Hell more consideration for the final slot is due to the glacial pace that the Rays have moved him through the system. Until the organization gives me a reason to believe differently, I think Hellickson will be pitching in Durham or in another organization to open the 2010 season.

Of course, all of these projections are really just an educated guess. In actuality, a prospect from the group of Mitch Talbot, Heath Rollins, and Chris Mason could be better than Price, Davis, or McGee. I think all of those guys project to the bullpen currently, but, as with everything else, that is subject to change.

The great news is that the Rays farm system is absolutely loaded with pitching talent. The signing of Kazmir only gives the front office more flexibility to allow each prospect the time to fully develop. If only a few of the Rays top prospects develop into the type of player they are projected to be, then the organization has positioned themselves to have one of the Top 5 pitching staffs in baseball for a multi-year stretch.

2 Comments

RAYS 5, Yankees 2: Do you believe yet?

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Recap  

(Box Score)

Because, if not, you definitely should. The Tampa Bay Rays are for real. Just ask the New York Yankees.

To be fair, this New York Yankees team we’re talking about is now in last place in the American League East, so maybe it’s not a good team to compare them to. But still, even on a day when the team didn’t bring it’s “A”-game, it still found a way to earn a rather easy 5-2 win to close out the most successful homestand in team history. The Rays head into interleague play a full game ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the East now, and are certainly clicking on all cylinders.

Our House: You heard it in the stands. There was an electricity. And it wasn’t the, “Oh my Gawd! The Yankees are in town!” kind of intensity. It was full-blown, Rays fan intensity. It sounded like a playoff game in there today. The fans believe in this team, that’s for sure. It was so nice to finally see Rays blue in the stands instead of that pinstriped nonsense we’ve gotten used to. 19,976 might not seem like a lot of people, but for us to draw 20,000 people on a weekday is something special indeed.

Pretty Good Scott: Scott Kazmir is still searching for his groove. He’s not quite there yet, but it’s truly a testament to how good he is that he’s able to throw 6 innings of shutout ball with what definitely wasn’t his best stuff. Just imagine what he’s gonna be like once he’s got his good fastball.

Gettin’ Riggy Wit’ It: Shawn Riggans hit a BOMB. An absolute BOMB. It helped pick up his teammates - particularly those in the middle of the order - who continue to scuffle. I didn’t know he had that kind of power in him.

Found His Stroke: Akinori Iwamura’s there, finally. He’s hitting the ball hard, hitting line drives, and finally avoiding swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone. He was on base 3 times tonight, and when he does that, you like his chances to come around a couple of those times.

Oh, Percy Me! Troy Percival just steamrolled through another inning, putting Tuesday night’s disappointing blown save behind him. Dan Wheeler was his usual stellar self, as well.

So Talented: Did anyone see that throw B.J. Upton made to third base when Morgan Ensberg tagged up in the 5th inning? B.J. threw flat-footed from deep right-center and nearly nailed Ensberg at third. My God what a gun he’s got on that arm.

Not Going To Rain on the Parade: This should be a day of celebration, so I’m not going to write about how Gary Glover still stinks and there’s a reason I don’t like him. Oops, I went and did it.

So, who’s winning? Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria continue their contest to see who can strike out more often. Today, Evan won with 3 Ks to Pena’s 2. Carlos is now at 49 strikeouts, which puts him on pace for 197 of them this year. Longo, meanwhile, is on pace for 152 of them (and that’s with having 10 fewer games than Pena).

Can It Continue? So now the Rays take the show on the road. I can’t wait to see if this team can actually carry this kind of intensity and great play over to games in other parks. We won’t have to wait long, though.

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Game #41: The “$39.5 Million Man” tries to deliver a series win

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Thread  

No pressure, Kaz, but after inking that big deal yesterday before the game, you’re now charged with delivering the Rays a series win in the 4-game finale with the Yankees. I don’t want to call it devastating, but a loss here would really erase a lot of the good feeling that’s built up over the past week. A split just doesn’t sound as good as a series win, plain and simple, especially after winning the first two.

On the plus side, at least Ian Kennedy is going for New York.

What to watch for: Kennedy has been bad in the big leagues. Really bad. And the Rays teed off on him when they faced him. This could be a huge offensive game.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir - The reigning American League strikeout king will make his third start of the 2008 season after missing the first month of the season while recovering from inflammation in his left elbow. Kazmir won his first game Saturday night against the Angels when he pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out six. Kazmir is at his best when he is locating his fastball, which makes his slider even more devastating. He is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA in nine career appearances against the Yankees.

Ian Kennedy - Kennedy was demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after going 0-2 with a 8.37 ERA in his first six appearances of the year. But after Kei Igawa was not much of an improvement, allowing six earned runs in three-plus innings and suffering a loss to the Tigers on Friday, the Yankees elected to make a switch. Kennedy has shown signs of turning his season around at Triple-A, allowing no runs on two hits over 8 1/3 innings while walking none and striking out eight. He threw a scoreless inning on Tuesday at Indianapolis and was pulled early to be prepared for the Rays.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Ian Kennedy.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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

2 Comments

The Kazmir Effect

By Jon Ziegler  |  Posted in General  

This is part one in a two-part series that examines the impact of the Scott Kazmir extension on the future of Rays’ starting rotation. Part one takes a look at its impact on the current rotation.

The announcement yesterday of Scott Kazmir’s contract extension is, without a doubt, one the most important moves in franchise history. Not only does it lock up the Rays’ young ace for the next four seasons, but it will also a have major impact on the plans for Tampa Bay starting rotation over those years. If you are even a casual fan of the Rays then you are aware of the wealth of talented young pitchers that the Rays possess in their farm system. The popular saying is that you can never have enough pitching, which is absolutely true, but the Rays are going to run into a situation in the near future where some tough decisions will have to be made.

Before we ponder the unknown, lets look first at what we know to be true. Barring injury you can pencil in these two names at the top of rotation through 2012:

1. Scott Kazmir
2. James Shields

This past offseason, without the fanfare of the Scott Kazmir deal, the Rays inked James Shields to a contract extension that will keep him under team control through 2014 with a contract that could be worth up to 44 million dollars. Some people in baseball questioned committing that much money to a pitcher that many deemed “unproven”, but Shields continues to make the front office look great with his tremendous start to 2008 season.

Shields has only a minor history of injuries, shoulder surgery at the Low-A level, and, with his seemingly flawless mechanics, the risk of injury should be minimal. Even if Shields never improves above his current, which I believe he can, his contract will look like a steal when it is time to pick up his option years. I have every expectation that Shields will be a frontline starter in Tampa Bay at least through the end of his contract.

Moving on to Kazmir, to be honest, I am still a little stunned by the extension. In my mind, I had already made peace with Kazmir’s impending trade this offseason, and building our future rotation without him. Obviously, his extension changes everything that I had projected in the past. Kazmir was one of the top starters in MLB over the second half of last season, and, with an All-Star game already under his belt, it is easy to project Kazmir as one of the game’s elite pitchers over the next four seasons.

The only caveat with Kazmir has always been the risk of injury. That is one of the reasons that I am perfectly fine with the length of Kaz’s new deal. If Kazmir remains healthy then the Rays have an experienced, elite talent locked up reasonably through 2012, but the deal also protects the club if Kazmir blows out his elbow. Hopefully that fear will never come to fruition, and Kid K will be striking out Red Sox and Yankees for years to come.

Now, lets take a look at the guys that I think will have a legitimate chance to lock down a rotation slot in the next few years.
When Matt Garza was acquired by the Rays this off-season from Minnesota he was automatically slotted into #3 slot in the rotation. Despite some shaky outings and an injury scare, Garza has rebounded to showcase the promising talent that made him one of top pitching prospects in baseball. Garza, who is under team control through 2013, will be given every opportunity to succeed with the Rays. Management would not have dealt former #1 overall pick Delmon Young to the Twins unless they were convinced that Garza would be a fixture in the rotation for many years. Therefore, I feel confident slotting the trio of Shields, Kazmir, and Garza in the rotation for 2008 and beyond.

After Garza, it becomes really difficult to predict what the Rays will do with the other two slots. One guy who has to be under consideration is the much-maligned Edwin Jackson. “Nuke”, who is currently riding a streak of 15 consecutive shutout innings, has put together his most impressive season to date in 2008. I have no idea what “it” is, but many people in the organization seem to believe Edwin is closing to finding it. Still, I think there is one central argument against including Jackson in the organization’s long-term plans.

Jackson is about to become expensive for the Rays to keep on their roster. Starting next season, Jackson will be eligible for salary arbitration, which could push his salary north of one million as early as 2009. While not a ton for a quality starting pitcher, the question becomes is Jackson $700,000+ better than someone else in the organization who could fill his rotation spot. If he is finally starting to harness his talent then answer is probably yes, but I would like to see the rest of the season play out before making a decision. Taking those factors under consideration, I think the most likely scenario is that Jackson is traded prior to or after the 2009 season. It is always scary to let a talent like him go, but there are equally talented, cheaper options within the organization. If he continues to build on his impressive start to the season then I think people may be surprised with the type of return Jackson could generate in a potential trade.

Finally, I just don’t see a future spot in the rotation for Andy Sonnanstine. Many people, including myself, see value in Sonny as a back of the rotation starter, but is he a better option there than Garza or Wade Davis? The truth is that Sonny has a 5.64 ERA and an ERA+ of 78 in 30 career starts (180.1 IP). His peripheral numbers are impressive, but, for all the talk of how was unlucky he was last season, he has only been marginally better this season. His K/9 is lower, his walk rate is worse, his ERA is down (to 5.07), and his WHIP is basically the same. That is not to say that it has all been bad for Sonny. If you agree with Joe Morgan that the most important stat to judge a pitcher is wins then he is the staff MVP. I will let you guys decide for on your own. I’m not sure if Sonnanstine’s future is in the bullpen or with another organization, but I don’t think it is in the Rays rotation.

Part Two, which will be released tomorrow, will take a look at the impact of the extension on the young arms in the Rays minor league system.

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Yankees 2, RAYS 1: Them’s the breaks

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Recap  

(Box Score)

Win streaks can’t go on forever (as much as we wish they could), but I think we’d all much rather see a win streak ended with a game like last night’s rather than something much sloppier. The Rays actually played a pretty good ballgame, and had it not been for one extremely unlucky line drive, we might be looking at a different outcome.

The Big News: Almost as if Stu and Andrew knew that the Rays would lost, they softened the blow by announcing the  contract extension that I never believed was going to happen. Here’s the breakdown:

The deal guarantees the lefthander $28.5-million and has a maximum value of approximately $39.5 million.

“As we continue to win games and play in October we envision Scott anchoring the staff for us,” executive VP Andrew Friedman said. “We envision it being a series of contracts that keeps Scott in this uniform for a long time.”

Kazmir would be eligible for free agency after the 2010 season, so under this deal he gives up one year of free agency and a second if the Rays exercise their option.

Kazmir is guaranteed $6-million in 2009, $8-million in 2010 and  $12-million in 2011 for what would be his first year of free agency. The Rays hold a $13.5-million option for 2012, or will pay Kazmir a $2.5-million buyout.

This deal SCREAMS team-friendly, so Kudos to Andrew and Stu for getting it done. What caused Kid K to sign for below market-value? Were he and his agent swayed by the recent winning and promise of more winning? Did his early-season injury issues lead him to want more financial security in the event on something more serious? I can’t answer either question, I’m just glad that he’s here for the long-haul.

It’s things like this that make me so happy to be a fan of the Rays right now. One by one, each of the important pieces to the future success of the team is falling into place and signing a long-term deal. Kaz and Shields to anchor the rotation for at least the next 4 years is a thought that the rest of the American League East should be very, very worried about.

Could the deal blow up in the Rays’ faces? Sure. Anytime you give a pitcher multiple years, you’ve got the chance that his arm will explode and you’ll be left with a very expensive ornament. It’s a calculated risk to take, though, as he is one of the superior pitchers in the American League by far.

Tough Luck: Obviously, the big play of the game was the screaming line drive that Gabe Gross hit that happened to be right at Derek Jeter. At the very least it had bases loaded written on it. At the best, the game was tied. Instead, it turned into a double play when Cliff Floyd couldn’t get back to second fast enough.

I heard a couple of people baggin’ on Floyd for getting doubled-off there, but I’m not really sure what you want him to do there. He’s already into his secondary lead at this point, and that ball was hit so hard, he had no time to react. With his less-than-ideal wheels, that entire play just had a bad mojo to it. No matter; it was just purely unlucky, plain and simple. Sometimes those things happen.

As an aside, one Yankee blogger thinks that a line drive hit right at Jeter proves that his defense isn’t as bad as people have said in the past:

UPDATE, 9:12 p.m.: Ladies and Gentlemen, the captain of the Yankees, Derek Sanderson Jeter. The statheads hate on his defense. But the man makes plays when the Yankees need plays to be made.

Right. Because standing in the exact spot that the ball was hit means that he’s a good defensive player. No offense, but *I* would have caught that ball.

Shields Solid: No complaints from me on James Shields last night. He was very, very good and gave the Rays every chance to win. You can’t ask for much more; it just wasn’t enough last night. He’d win that game with the stuff he had most every other time out.

Anything you can do, I can do better: Dioner Navarro and Cliff Floyd are engaged in some kind of battle to the death to determine who can have the higher batting average. Early returns go to Cornelius and his .407 clip. Navi’s not too far behind, though, batting .387. Both had two more hits last night, and Navi had the Rays’ lone RBI.

As the top goes, so go the Rays: Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford combined to go 0-for-7, with Aki reaching base once via a walk by Joba Chamberlain, but as we’ve said before, if those two guys aren’t getting on base, it becomes that much harder for the Rays to put up runs. Its no coincidence that the Rays play their best ball when Aki and Carl are going well.

Is it a sign? 2 hits for Carlos Pena. Could El Gato finally be waking up from his long nap?

Good Problem to Have: On any given day, do you start Gabe Gross or Eric Hinske? Maybe toss a coin? It’s a great problem to have. Hinske’s still the more dangerous hitter, but Gross is no slouch with the bat and certainly plays the superior defensive right field.

Welcome back: Al Reyes was back in uniform, and he retired the only batter he faced last night. To make room, Scott D’OH-mann was designated for assignment.

8 Comments

Game #40: Can this please go on forever?

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Thread  

The Rays have agreed to a 4-year contract extension with Scott Kazmir. We will have much more on this breaking news in tonight’s recap.(Source)

The red-hot Rays had another boost of good news prior to Wednesday’s game against the Yankees, as the team agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension with ace Scott Kazmir.
The contract guarantees Kazmir $28.5 million, and has a maximum value of approximately $39.5 million. The agreement is also guaranteed through 2011, with the team holding an option for the 2012 season.

If ever there was a game that illustrates the stark differences between the Rays and the Yankees, this might be it. The brash young ace who makes even the toughest lineup look silly versus the grizzled old veteran who can barely make it through 5 innings anymore. When Mussina is on, he’s still a very good pitcher, but when he’s off, he’s really bad. Not only that, but he’s kind of a cross-section of the entire Yankee team. Old, worn-down, and working on borrowed time. A win today, and the Rays guarantee a series win in this pivotal four-game tilt.

What to watch for: Mussina’s fastball and command. If he’s in the mid-80s, the Rays should be able to tee off. Also, will James Shields (and the rest of the team) have a hangover after last night’s thriller and this amazing win streak they’ve pulled off?

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
James Shields - Shields pitched the best game of his career Friday night at Tropicana Field when he twirled a one-hit shutout to lead the Rays to a 2-0 win over the Angels. In his last two outings at home, Shields has thrown 18 consecutive scoreless innings while allowing just three hits. Shields’ best pitch has always been his changeup, but he also has a plus fastball and curve and he’s added a cutter that has helped him throw inside to left-handers. He is 0-5 with a 7.83 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees.

Mike Mussina - Mussina, who seems to be on a nice rebound from a mediocre 11-10 2007 season, has won four straight starts and given up just eight earned runs in 23 innings over that span. While the veteran with 255 career victories got off to a 1-3 start this season, the victory was against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium, a game in which he gave up one run on two hits over six innings. Mussina is back to changing speeds, has been throwing a good changeup, and his control, as five walks in 43 1/3 innings proves, has been great so far this season. He’s 7-5 in 16 career starts at Tropicana Field.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Mike Mussina.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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

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RAYS 2, Yankees 1: RAYS… ARE… IN… FIRST!!!!

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Recap  

(Box Score)

The Tampa Bay Rays are in first place.

I repeat, THE TAMPA BAY RAYS ARE IN FIRST PLACE.

Could it be that on October 1 we’ll look back to May 13, 2008 as the turning point for the entire Rays franchise? Could it be that May 13, 2008 goes down in history as the day that the Tampa Bay Rays became “for real”? Could it be that these Rays, the same team we’ve lamented, cajoled, become furious at, expressed hope for, praised, and - most importantly - steadfastly supported for all of this time, have finally broken through and are THE team in the American League East.

Look no further than this fact: if they playoffs began today, the only team represented from the American League East would be the Tampa Bay Rays. And the team that would have home-field advantage through the American League playoffs? Those same Tampa Bay Rays.

I believe it to be IMPOSSIBLE to overstate the enormity of this moment, and hence that’s why it took me so long to finally get this game recap up. I simply didn’t know how I could write it without allowing my homerism and sheer joy to splash all over the page into an unintelligible mess of cliched phrases. And do you know what else is impossible? It’s impossible not to believe right now.

Watching the game last night, even as the Yankees came back to tie the game in the ninth inning, I couldn’t help but feel that I was watching a changing of the guard in the AL East. The old, crumbling monolith that once was the scariest team to waltz into any ballpark now looks old and lethargic. The aura is gone. The mystique is gone. On the other side of the field, our Rays played with conviction, with intensity, and - most importantly - with a purpose. That’s one thing we’ve never, never, never been able to say before - this team finally has a purpose. And the purpose isn’t to “not finish in last place” or “maybe hit .500.” This team is playing with a purpose to win, and win a lot.

Forget for a second that the offense still isn’t producing and that there are pitchers on this staff who are throwing way over their heads. Who is to say that these hitters won’t finally start to turn it on? Who is to say that the bullpen won’t continue on its stellar roll? I’m not about to say that they can’t. I’m a believer.

No More Ed-Loss: Every single one of us owes Edwin Jackson an apology. There wasn’t a man among us who gave him any chance in hell of performing at a high level. Not a one. We figured that he was just keeping this rotation spot warm for Jeff Niemann or J.P. Howell or some other starting pitcher who came down the pipe.

To Mr. Jackson - I apologize. I was wrong. You’ve finally figured it out, and with every start I grow more and more confident that you are going to deliver the Rays a win. Last night, you were truly brilliant, and it’s just a shame that you don’t have a win to show for it

Still think it was a bad move? Gabe Gross has been EVERYTHING the Rays could possibly want. He’s a solid defender. He’s got a great arm. He has TREMENDOUS at bats. And now he’s starting to get hits. What a huge hit yesterday. I suspect he might be finding himself with more and more playing time, which might mean a bit of a decline for Eric Hinske.

Getting Defensive: Would I be out of line to say that we have the best defensive infield in the American League? Another truly stellar defensive effort. Turning double-plays at will. Nifty glovework. Fantastic range. The defense is actually FUN to watch. Compare it to that of the Yankees - a slow, plodding defense that only gets to balls hit right at them and you realize just how good our defenders are.

Howell of a Job: J.P. Howell has been brilliant out of the bullpen, and he did it against yesterday. At this point, I’m honestly more comfortable with him in a game than Al Reyes when he returns. I love our bullpen so much, even with Troy Percival getting a case of blown save-itis the past week.

No worries: Troy Percival made one bad pitch, and it just happened to be to the wrong hitter. His stuff looked pretty good tonight, and most nights he would’ve locked down this save. It’s just a shame that Edwin had to lose out on another win because of it. He’s much better than 2-3 right now.

Just a reminder: THE TAMPA BAY RAYS ARE IN FIRST PLACE

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Game #39: Is hoping for another great Edwin Jackson performance too much?

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Thread  

On paper, this one sure doesn’t look like it favors the Rays at all, does it? But with Edwin Jackson, you never quite know what might happen. Last time out, he was absolutely brilliant in throwing the 8 shutout innings against the Blue Jays. He didn’t get the win when Troy Percival blew the save, but the Rays still picked up the win and he should get the lion’s share of the credit for that.

On the same token, Chien-Ming Wang is absolutely fantastic, but if his sinker’s not sinking, or if the ground balls find some holes near the signpost that is Derek Jeter at shortstop, the Rays can put up a few runs in a hurry.

What to watch for: Eric Hinske is a career .444 hitter (12-for-27) with 5 doubles and 2 home runs lifetime against Wang. Think he might get a chance to play tonight? He could be the difference-maker in this game.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson pitched well in his last outing, Thursday against the Blue Jays, when he put up eight scoreless innings but did not get a decision as the Jays scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth against Rays closer Troy Percival. Jackson continues to show electric stuff, which brings the expectations of future greatness and keeps him in the rotation. But inconsistency has plagued him time and again. He is 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA in nine career appearances against the Yankees.

Chien-Ming Wang - Wang pitched well enough to win on Wednesday in New York, limiting the Indians to three runs over seven innings, but it wasn’t a good night for it — not with Cliff Lee and two relievers shutting out the Yankees. Wang wasn’t at his best but found a way to get by, even though his command of his sinker was only “so-so” and he wasn’t able to control to both sides of the plate as well as usual. Wang started the year 6-0, and one of those victories came over Tampa Bay on April 6, when he threw six innings of scoreless four-hit ball, walking two and striking out six. Wang is 5-2 with a 4.11 ERA in seven career starts at Tropicana Field.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Chien-Ming Wang.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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

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RAYS 7, Yankees 1: Marvelous Matt Garza

By Scott Caruso  |  Posted in Game Recap  

(Box Score)

Did you ever need more proof that a new day is dawning on the Tampa Bay Rays? Well, tonight, there was nothing less than a “Yankees Suck” chant ringing through the Trop. That’s right - the Trop was alive with the sound of cheering Rays fans.

Matt Garza Is Better Than You: And, quite frankly, better than a whole lot of pitchers in baseball right now. That trade to get him and Jason Bartlett is looking better and better every day, isn’t it?

The most amazing thing about Garza is that he is able to do it essentially using just one pitch, a really sick fastball that moves something fierce. He puts it where he wants, mixes up the speed, and opposing teams don’t stand a chance. Mix in that ridiculous curveball that he throws, and you’ve got a guy who is virtually unhittable. He made the star-studded Yankee lineup look like a bunch of amateurs tonight.

That marks the third straight great outing for Garza, and though he’s not striking people out (14 Ks:14 BB in 32.2 IP), he’s getting some really big outs and causing some really weak swings. The strikeouts will probably come, especially with his stuff. It’s perhaps even MORE impressive that he’s been able to do what he’s been doing without having the strikeout in his repertoire. If he keeps throwing like this, is there any doubt that Kazmir-Shields-Garza is the top trio in the division, and, perhaps, the league?

*Subliminal Message: VOTE*

Jonny B. Very Goode: I love Jonny Gomes. Let’s get that out of the way right now. I love watching him play. I love knowing he’s in the lineup. I love when he steals bases and knocks in runs and brings the kind of energy that only Jonny Gomes can bring to the park.

And, oh yeah, he was really good tonight.

*Subliminal Message: VOTE*

Do the Bartlett: Looks like Jason is finally snapping out of his offensive funk, but it’s his defense that wows me each and every night. He goes into the hole so well, turns a double play so well, and has the kind of range you can only dream of from a shortstop. He might be the single biggest reason why the Rays’ pitching staff is so greatly improved.

*Subliminal Message: VOTE*

It’s Our House: Yeah, there were still a lot of really loud Yankee fans in the house, but as the Rays jumped out to the lead early on, the carpet-baggers got quiet and the Rays fans took back their house. Though the stadium wasn’t anywhere near full, it actually sounded like there were more Rays fans than Yankee fans there for a change. As the Rays keep winning games, this trend will only improve.

*Subliminal Message: VOTE*

Going Streaking: 2 more hits, and Akinori Iwamura somehow has a 10-game hitting streak going on. It might be the quietest 10-game streak ever, since I cannot remember him being good for that long. But what do I know?

*Subliminal Message: VOTE*

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers: Courtesy of Marc Lancaster,

At 22-16, the Rays have their best record ever after 38 games and are six games over .500 for the first time

The Rays are now just a half-game back of the Red Sox

The Rays are now 3 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees in the standings, their largest lead ever over New York

Their five-game winning streak is the longest active run in baseball

Their 10-game home winning streak is a club record and the longest in MLB this season by two games

All 10 of those wins have come against teams that finished with a winning record last season

The Rays have won 14 of their last 19

At 16-11 against the AL East, they are the only team in the division with a winning record in the division

Rays starters have a 1.29 ERA (six earned runs in 41 2/3 innings) over the last six games

And finally, Andy Pettitte’s last (and only other) loss at the Trop came on Sept. 16, 1998. Check out the box score from that bad boy for some blasts from the past.

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