The New What Next: Enter The A’s — A Series Preview of Sorts

The Tampa Bay Rays return home to face a very hot Oakland Athletics, on the heels of a disappointing 3-4 West Coast jaunt. Had the Rays gone 4-3, the tenor may be different. However they didn’t. At this point, their only real glimmers of hope are the possibilities that the pitching will stabilize with the return of Alex Cobb, and — at five games back — no one has put together a massive run in the AL East. It’s a very different story of the 28-16 Oakland Athletics. The A’s are 9-1 over a their last 10 games, entering the Trop on a three-game winning streak. Furthermore, at 16-6 on the road, Oakland has been pretty damn dominant in other team’s facilities.

The New What Next: Rays vs. Halos — A Series Preview of Sorts

I wouldn’t say the Rays are out of the weeds just yet — after all, they’re still down a couple of pitchers and Ben Zobrist is out for the time being, while he mends from a bone dislocation in his left thumb. Yet, I can’t help but feel a sense of cautious optimism. Generally speaking, the pitching staff seems it may have turned a corner, and over the last week or so the team has started to play like the vintage Rays — their wins Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday speak to that. Tampa Bay still hasn’t shown it can win more than a few games here and there, so the next step for the Rays is to string together wins with consistency. They’ll attempt the to do just that in Anaheim, where they’ll face the Los Angeles Angels (or as Neil deGrasse Tyson called them, The The Angels Angels) in a four-game weekend series.

Rays 5/12/14 Starting Lineup, Alex Cobb Rehab, Etc

Rays 5/12/14 Starting Lineup DeJesus DH Zobrist 2B Joyce LF Longoria 3B Loney 1B Myers RF Jennings CF Escobar SS Hanigan C Ramos LHP Noteworthiness A good sign in the recovery of Alex Cobb: per a report from Port Charlotte, Cobb tossed a four inning simulated game Monday, giving up only two hits while striking …

The New What Next: Rays Head to Seattle For Three — A Series Preview of Sorts

The Tampa Bay Rays returned to the Trop, following a grueling 10-game road trip last Monday, riding high on a huge wave of momentum after going 5-5. Yet they just left for the West Coast Sunday after going 1-5 over the six game span of their most recent Tropicana Field residency. In short, they’re struggling to keep their heads above water at the moment. The first stop on their forthcoming trip is Seattle, where they’ll take on the 19-18 Mariners.

The New What Next: Enter the Indians — A Series Preview of Sorts

The Tampa Bay Rays resumes their six game home stand Friday, with a three-game weekend series against the Cleveland Indians. Oh…the similarities between the Rays and the Indians. Both teams are under .500, toward (or at) the bottom of their respective divisions. Yet the Indians are on a hot streak, having gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, while the Rays have whimpered — posting a 4-6 record in the same span, and fresh off a sigh-inducing three-game sweep at the hands of the Orioles. Cleveland just completed a 5-2 home stand, capped off by a sweep of Minnesota.