Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Hellickson Sharp in His Return to the Mound

Suffice to say, at this point in the season Jeremy Hellickson needed to string together a good start. With all of the external factors effecting the probability of the Rays finding a postseason berth, compounded with the fact that Boston absolutely blew out the Tigers in an earlier game, the pressure was on Hellickson and the Rays to win. After a six start stretch where Hellickson relinquished (on average) 4.1 earned runs, while averaging only 4.1 innings per outing*, it would be safe to say that no one knew what we’d see out of Jeremy upon his return to the mound. But Hellickson came out of the fog Wednesday night, putting together a solid 5.1 inning shutout outing.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Angels Throttle Rays 11-2

Tampa Bay found themselves on the wrong end of an 11-2 loss against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Monday night. The game was ugly — filled with missed scoring opportunities, bad pitching (especially in the sixth and seventh innings), and lethargic ball play overall. The Rays start the day 5.5 games behind the Red …

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: The “Yeesh” Edition

For the moment, everything is coming up Milhouse for the Rays. Not even a dazzling 2 R/5 H complete game outing by Alex Cobb was good enough Saturday night, as Tampa Bay’s anemic offense couldn’t muster more than a run in the 2-1 loss to the Athletics. Even then, that run came in a late game rally off former Ray Grant Balfour. It certainly doesn’t take into account all of the squandered opportunities leading up to that point.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Drop Fifth in Six Games, September Call-ups Part One

It was a long night — the first of ten. I woke up this morning with a sickening feeling in my gut — and to be honest, I’m not certain if it had more to do with the booze I steadily consumed for six or so hours yesterday, or the Rays 4-3 loss to the A’s. Perhaps it was the unholy combination of both. Whatever the case, both happened, and both left me feeling empty. Adding insult to injury, Tampa Bay fell three-and-a-half games behind Boston in the AL East, and a half game behind Oakland for the first wild card slot. Bright side: The Rays have two more games against the A’s today and tomorrow.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: King Archer Strikes Again

The stats spoke for themselves; going into Wednesday night’s game, the Rays were 9-1 when Chris Archer pitched six or more innings. And after being in the throes of a three-game losing streak, what better pitcher to throw on the mound than King Archer? Suffice to say, the presumed rookie of the year put together another outstanding outing, going seven strong innings and leading the Rays 4-1 win against the Angels.