At this point in the season, when it – as a whole — has been largely conceived as a waste, the best a fan can do is look for the little things to celebrate; a good pitching performance, setting a franchise record, watching a team shutout one of the best teams in baseball. As a fan, I’ve resolved myself to do just that, while also look at the Rays in the future context with the simple question in mind: What are the Rays doing in the present tense, that may carry over into Spring Training and the 2015 season? If the last two games are indicative of anything, the pitching staff looks like it will be solid once more, while the offense is going to need some offseason work on situational hitting.
Category Archives: Looking Backward While Moving Forward
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Drop Second Straight, 7-4
I must confess; between celebrating my brother’s birthday and writing a piece on the Rays infield moving forward, I didn’t get a chance to write about the 7-4 loss at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. Let’s be honest, Chris Archer yielding six runs and a power outage — both literal and proverbial — don’t really make for a compelling game of baseball. The short and narrow, Tampa Bay dropped its first home series to Toronto for the first time since April 2007 — a span lasting 21 series. Ouch.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Hellickson, Rays Pounded 8-2
My friend, Tim, who works at the Ale and the Witch summed up last night’s 8-2 loss in layman’s terms,
Hellickson was Hellickson, Dickey was Dickey, and the Blue Jays offense was the Blue Jays offense.
I can’t argue with his assessment of the game.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Strike Back, 7-0
For those of you pining for the acerbity of the Rays and Red Sox games of yore, the acrimonious linkage returned to The Trop Saturday night, in what would go down as one of the more truly bizarre games in recent history. A power outage to start the game, five hit batsmen, and a TKO of Dustin Pedroia later, the Tampa Bay Rays walked away with a combined 7-0, one hit shutout of the Boston Red Sox.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Red Sox Rip Rays, 8-4
It didn’t feel like a Rays/Red Sox game Friday night. It also didn’t feel like a contest that was relevant or important — and let’s be honest, it wasn’t. From the half empty stands to the hushed crowd, the atmosphere at The Trop felt stale. And despite what Joe Maddon said, about the Rays still having a shot at the playoffs, the good guys are playing as though they’ve resigned themselves to mediocrity. The first and second innings epitomized that feeling to a T. If only the Rays could be credited with a win based on their play in segments, not as a whole — they easily would have won the game from the third through ninth innings.