Dear Jake McGee, Fernando Rodney, et al,
To put it bluntly, you blew it last night. David Price put you in a good position — ahead by five runs in the waning innings of the game, to no avail. We watched as three of the four back end relievers gave up six runs on five hits and three walks, converting a comfortable lead into a demoralizing one run loss. We watched as the closer incurred the brunt of the damage on three consecutive RBI extra base hits in a third of an inning of work. We watched as you allowed a ground gaining opportunity to slip by the wayside. If I may, it felt like the beginning of the season when no lead felt safe…when the offense put crooked numbers on the board, yet the result was an embarrassing tally in the loss column.
To put it in context, y’all have given up 16 runs over the span of a three game game stretch, directly contributing to a three game losing streak — the Rays first since mid-June. Furthermore, Fernando, you’ve now given up seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits and six walks in your last eight outings — a span of 6-1/3 innings.
Jake, you certainly have no room to gloat. You’ve given up four runs on seven hits and four walks in your last 6-1/3 innings of work. And Josh, buddy, you got another opportunity to shine in the bigs, after putting up insanely good numbers in Triple-A. How do you show your appreciation? By getting tagged with a two out RBI double off the bat of Yasiel Puig. Bud, cough…ahem, you only needed to get one out. Outings like this will find you right back in Durham when Brandon Gomes is reactivated from the DL.
Trust me, I get it, these things are going to happen from time to time. However, it’s just the slightest bit disconcerting when things like this happen with consistency as we move ever closer to the post-season. To that end, this kind of thing should not come from the hands of the A relievers.
Please take these thoughts into consideration,
Schmitty/X-Rays Spex
Before I move on to The New What Next, I just wanted to comment on one last thing concerning last night’s debacle. Marc Topkin reported,
Rodney allowed a leadoff single to Skip Schumaker — the only pitch of the inning he said he regretted — then a one-out triple to Mark Ellis as Ben Zobrist got too aggressive and tried and missed a diving catch on a ball down the leftfield line, allowing the run to score. Nick Punto followed with a double to left that made it 6-5, and then Adrian Gonzalez delivered another double to right that tied it 6-6.
“The other pitches were down, good location. They hit the ball very well.” Rodney said. “There’s not a lot of frustration because I knew I made good pitches to try to get out of the inning.”
Hey Fernando, you must have selective memory if the leadoff single is the only pitch you regret. After all, I’d hardly call the misplaced change-up that resulted in an RBI triple a “good pitch to try to get out of the inning.”
The New What Next
That they have been able to beat up on Zach Greinke bodes well for the Rays. However, the erratic Roberto Hernandez will take the mound against Greinke and the Dodgers today, and he certainly isn’t the best candidate to be credited with the needed outcome. You can read about the pitching match-up here.
Rays 8/10/13 Starting Lineup
Zobrist 2B
Joyce RF
Longoria 3B
Myers CF
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Johnson LF
Molina C
Hernandez RHP
Noteworthiness
- Friday was 14th time the Rays blew a lead in the seventh inning or later this season, and 11th time they lost.
- Josh Lueke on last night’s loss, “Sucked. Plain and simple. Nothing else you can really say about it. Horse shit effort.”
- …And let the tug of war for the Rays commence. Noah Pransky asserts that we’re in the midst of a “who can spend more money on a stadium” like competition.