Identity crisis, the definition for this season. The season looked quite bright for most fans after the end of spring training. The Roberto Hernandez experiment looked strong, Rodney just dominated planet earth in the WBC — continuing his strong showing from last season, we gained some new pieces and it seemed we could weather the loss of Davis and Shields. We got to know new players like Kelly Johnson, James Loney, Juan Sandoval and Shelly Duncan, we learned to accept Escobar, we saw what a healthy Scott looked like, Longoria seemed ready, we saw dominance from prospects like Lueke, O’Malley, Figueroa, Anderson, Archer, Romero and Lee. Finally, we got to see our big pick ups, Myers and Odorizzi. Things looked great, especially following comments by Rays skipper Joe Maddon regarding the team’s strength as compared to previous rosters. But the wheels fell of quickly…
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The Post All-Star Game Hangover, Bud Selig On Attendance
Whoop whoop! The American League claimed home field advantage in the 2013 World Series, following the 3-0 shutout victory over the NL, in last night’s All-Star Game. The AL held the NL to only three hits, with the National League only getting into scoring position twice.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: King Archer Killed It
The Rays closed out the symbolic first half of the season Sunday, with their sixth consecutive series win thanks to an outstanding 5-0 complete game shutout by Chris Archer — The first complete game of his career. Tampa Bay ended its 10-game home-stand with a franchise best 9-1 record, now sitting a mere two-and-a-half games behind the first place Red Sox following a pair of losses. You can read a blow by blow account of the game at the X-Rays Spex Tumblr page.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Rally From Three-Run Deficit to Win 4-3
The Tampa Bay Rays came back from an early 3-0 deficit Saturday, taking the second game of their current three-game set by a score of 4-3. Roberto Hernandez FINALLY earned his fifth win of the year after giving his best David Price impersonation — That is to say, he gave up a few runs (3) in the first inning, then turned it on thereafter, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced. Fernando Rodney was credited with his 22nd save of the year.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Fall Short, 2-1
It was a tough night for the Tampa Bay’s hitters. The Astros rookie Jarred Cosart, making his major league debut, not only no-hit the Rays into the seventh inning, but he also shut them out into the ninth. And even when the Rays put base runners on, he quickly negated the threat, inducing three double plays (Editors note: Jose Veras, the Astros closer, would cull the fourth double play of the night in the ninth).