Going into Thursday night’s game, the Rays easily had the advantage over the Yankees — on paper. After all, of the 10 times Price has opposed Sabathia, Tampa Bay won eight of those matchups with Price going 6-1 with a 2.68 ERA, while Sabathia was 1-6 with a 6.11 ERA in his previous eight starts against the Rays, and 0-5 with a 4.50 ERA in his past eight at Tropicana Field. Then again, nothing, on paper, has panned out for the Rays this season. Tampa Bay was able to beat RA Dickey, yet lost to Mark Buehrle. They were also able to beat Johnny Cueto, yet lost to Miguel Gonzalez. They’ve had a lot of fun against Grimmace (urm…Sabathia) in the past, yet they collectively looked like a dear in the headlights against the soft tossing lefty Thursday night. Tampa Bay dropped the first game of their four game set against the Yankees by a score of 10-2. Oof. A few game low-lights are below.
Game low-lights
- First, a senryu if I may:
Lifeless at the plate
Our ace was ineffective
Sean Rod, triple play
- After giving up a run in the bottom of the first, and the hitters did nothing in the top half of the inning, Price came back in the second and got beat up. First, he gave up a double to Scott Sizemore. Then Brian Roberts scorched a triple (yes, Brian Roberts), scoring Sizemore. Jacoby Ellsbury followed, scorching a triple of his own, easily plating Roberts. Derek Jeter singled, subsequently driving in Ellsbury, and putting the Yankees up 4-0. It bears mentioning, Brandon Guyer gave his best Sam Fuld impersonation by diving for a ball — yet his dive was approximately 25 feet behind the ball.
- Things started to look up for the Rays in the top of the second. Evan Longoria singled to center and Wil Myers walked, putting two on and nobody out. Sean Rodriguez, with an opportunity to put Tampa Bay right back into the game, stepped into the box and promptly GROUND INTO A TRIPLE PLAY. Over the span of his career, the designated rally killer has ground into two triple plays. A simple question: Is this a statistical anomaly, or something telling about Rodriguez as a hitter? I’d argue it’s the latter, not the former.
- Once again, things started to look up for Tampa Bay in the fourth. Logan Forsythe led off the inning with a single. Longoria followed up with a weak grounder to Jeter. The Yankees captain tried to turn a double play, but he was too slow to second with his throw. In kind, Roberts tossed a poor throw to first that Sizemore had to leave the bag to grab. Longo was called safe at first on the error. A real opportunity presented itself with two on and no outs, and Myers at the plate. Instead, Myers stood in the box and watched as an 88 MPH meatball passed over the heart of the plate for strike one. When he made contact a pitch later, Myers ground into a momentum erasing double play. Wil Myers looks lost out there, with no seeming ability whatsoever to make an adjustment.
- In the fifth, Price gave up back-to-back homers to Alfonso Soriano and Brian McCann. Price’s outing amounted to him heaving meatball after meatball into the zone, which the Yankees hitters used as batting practice.
The New What Next
Clark W. Griswold said it best,
“Worse? How could they get any worse? Take a look around you, Ellen. We’re at the threshold of hell! Ha ha!”
Erik Bedard will make his first start for the Rays tonight, toeing the rubber opposite of Hiroki Kuroda. Sure it’s Bedard, and sure he’ll, ideally, be serviceable at best. My question; Why make a big deal about the Rays three through five pitchers, when their ace and number two pitcher can’t get it done? You can read about Friday night’s matchup (and more) in our series preview.
Rays 4/18/14 Starting Lineup
DeJesus CF
Zobrist 2B
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Forsythe DH
Escobar SS
Hanigan C
Bedard LHP
Noteworthiness
- Tonight Erik Bedard will be the 21st starting pitcher used by Rays since 2008, three fewer than any other team (San Francisco Giants rank second).
- “When you have all these kinds of adverse moments, like triple plays and line drives being caught, all that stuff, and then your best pitcher having a bad night, it just happens sometimes When you start lamenting it or crying about it or feeling sorry for yourself, that’s when it gets more profound.” — Joe Maddon
- Marc Topkin wrote, “The Rays have always used data and metrics to position fielders. That trend has taken off, especially in the AL East, which has contributed to the Rays’ hitting woes.” On the subject of the use of sabermetrics, “I really believe with the buy-in by a lot of teams regarding defense, it makes offenses even less productive,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “And with the buy-in, all the metric stuff, it makes pitchers more effective. So there’s all this buying in going on everywhere all of a sudden, and I really wished they had not, because it really makes our job more difficult because now we’re looking in the mirror a lot more often. I really preferred (2008-10) whereas everybody thought we were nuts. … So when you’re talking about the razor-thin line between winning the league, this is a laser-thin line. We’re almost there and whatever comes after that.”
- A little ray of sunshine in the bleakest of moments; the Rays attendance is a hair under 20,000 (on average) so far this season. That number should continue to rise this series against the Yankees. Brett Morgan of Top Off the Trop put a positive outlook on things, writing, “I will continue to suggest that by supporting some key off nights and prime time games that we can upset the past balance of attendance and progress. It’s a young season but I really do think progress can and MUST be made here.” Whether it does or doesn’t depends on all of us. I, for one, would kill for an honest discussion of the Rays on the field, devoid of negative attendance talk.