Rays starter Alex Cobb loses his spring scoreless streak after 13 innings but continues his impressive camp with 5⅓ sharp “get-your-work-in” innings against the Red Sox.
Well, that was an ugly weekend of baseball. The Rays are coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. To add insult to injury, Jon Lester and three relievers took a no-no into the ninth inning Sunday in what ended up being a 5-1 loss
If Spring training is about preparing for the regular season, then the Rays will probably handle yesterday’s game in the manner they have many times before: not put much thought into it and move on to the next game.
“We have a lot of practice in rebounding from those kinds of events, so from that perspective it was not that big of a concern,” Rays skipper Joe Maddon said. “If anybody can deal with a perfect game or no-hitter, we can.”
The Rays have been on the wrong end of three regular-season perfect games, as well as a no-no, since 2009.
“We get one a year, might as well get it out of the way now,” Rays starter Alex Cobb said.
Speaking of Cobb, the Rays fourth starter saw his spring scoreless streak end at 13 innings. Cobb threw 83 pitches (55 for strikes) in his 5⅓-inning outing, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits, while fanning five and walking one. The Rays finished the spring 2-4 vs. Boston.
Oh well, there’s always tomorrow
Noteworthiness:
Sam Fuld (right hamstring tightness), who’s expected to return to exhibition action this week, should be ready to start the season reports Rays beat writer Marc Topkin. David Price will get some work in the back fields of Port Charlotte today, throwing in another minor league game.
Yeah, there’s this.
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Links For Finks:
- Marc Topkin of the Times wrote about Evan Longoria’s $100MM contract extension. “It’s an insane number,” Longoria said. “And it comes with a lot of territory. It comes with the expectation that I will continue to do what I’ve done, and nothing less. I don’t feel that burden. I feel the same way that I felt with the last contract, but there’s just, I don’t know if there could be more of a desire, but there is still obviously a strong, strong desire to live up to it. And to win.”
- In a piece titled, “Update: Maybe the Rays Can Afford David Price?” Shadow of the Stadium’s Noah Pransky asserts that “While the chic speculation amongst sportswriters these days is how the Rays may have to trade away David Price, it’s been the contention of this blog that the team’s financial future may not be as grim as some paint it.”
- I think the title of another Noah Pranksy piece says it all: “Times Hates Corporate Welfare; Except for Maybe Pro Sports Teams.”
- The Rays reassigned Wil Myers to minor league camp Saturday, much to the chagrin of fans and sports talk radio hosts alike. Why? Two reasons in my opinion: 1. He would benefit from a few months in Triple-A. Even Joe Maddon has said as much,
“I want to observe, and I don’t want to tell him what to do… I want him to do what he does naturally well, and we’ll work it from there. There’s no preconceived genius thought from our end that we’re going to impact this guy in any way. Let him go out and impact the game the way he can, and we’ll observe.” 2. The Rays could save some $20MM in the long-run, if they keep Myers in Triple-A until July. Michael Valancius of DRaysBay wrote on that very subject in a piece called Wil Myers and Super Two.
