Update: Go to sleep happy, wake up groggy… Well, it was a nice run, but with the Rangers 4-3 loss, the Rays are officially (mathematically) out of the playoff hunt. The emphasis officially shifts to “Rodney Watch: 2012,” and ending the season strongly. One would assume that the next two games will be the last for Carlos Peña and BJ Upton, at least in a Rays uniform. Get out to the Trop and send them off in style folks!
I’m not sure about the other Raysbaseball.co folks, but my emphasis now changes and I’ll be writing about the Rays Hot-Stove rumors shortly. Who we should expect to see on the roster next season? I’m on it! In any case, enjoy these last two games, and Let’s Go Rays! I love my small market team!
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The Rays are lingering in what feels like a perpetual state of uncertainty at the moment. No matter what they do, Tampa Bay’s destiny is no longer their own. But regardless of the outcome of the game out west, one thing is certain: the Rays are not going to just roll over and play dead. They’re going to battle Baltimore tooth and nail. And if the Orioles are going to win the AL East, they’re going to have to earn it the old fashioned way. In kind, if the Rays playoffs hopes are going to go the way of the buffalo later tonight, they’re certainly going to make a statement to end the season.
Make a statement tonight they did.
Maddon let it be known that rookie RHP Alex Cobb would be on a short leash tonight. Yet, a short leash would not be necessary. Cobb went out and absolutely dominated the Orioles, giving up only one run on two hits and two walks, while going seven strong innings. Posting a 7.0 IP/2 H/1 R/1 ER/2 BB/7 K line, Cobb’s only fumble came in the seventh inning, giving up a one run homer to Matt Wieters. Otherwise Cobb had a really good stuff, striking out seven, (three swinging) all the while inducing eight ground-outs and three pop-outs.
Kyle Farnsworth did his damnedest to ruin things for the Rays in the Orioles half of the ninth, promptly giving up a single to JJ Hardy which was followed up by a contentious two-run homer to Chris Davis.
Fernando “Dennis Eckersley” Rodney came on to close out the game from there, but not before he too got himself into a jam by giving up a pair of singles to Adam Jones and Matt Wieters. Rodney was ultimately able to tap into his inner Eckersley, getting a pair of Jim Thome and Mark Reynolds swinging strikeouts, then coaxing Endy Chavez to hit a weakly hit ground-ball back to the mound to end the game.
For those of you keeping track, that’s 47 saves and a 0.61 ERA in 74.1 innings of work, one inning greater than Dennis Eckersley. Technically speaking, Rodney has been able to sustain a fewer number of earned runs for a longer span of time. And let the watch for the elusive 0.60 ERA commence!
Offensively speaking, the Rays looked like, well…the Rays into the seventh inning when they were finally able to come alive. Sure, there was the huge Ben Zobrist blast to left (five rows over my head) in the fourth. But Tampa Bay was only able to tag Wei Yin Chen for a pair of singles before and after the fourth. Then the seventh happened:
When all is said an done, the Rays looked good. It could be argued that this incredible hot streak is a little too late; that they should have looked like this on that fateful road trip against the Orioles and Yankees, if not before. However it could also be argued that, similar to the Orioles hot streak to end last season, the Rays are setting a precedent for what’s to be expected in 2013. One could only hope that the Rays could find their way into postseason play, and set the bar for what’s expected out of Tampa Bay in 2013. You know, the good old let them eat cake kind of thing. It all depends on the Rangers at this point. I know that I’ll be sleeping with my fingers crossed.
…Because it bears mentioning
The collective head of every greaser exploded into one disgusting mess of Brill Cream, when the number of people at the game was announced. See, the paid attendance at the Trop was 13,666…you know 13 & 666, every cheese-ball rock-a-billy geeks favorite numbers. Let’s all get Rat Fink tattoos and listen to bad music.