The Rays will take the Red Sox in game four of their current four game set, following an absolutely demoralizing 13-3 shellacking last night. David Price is in the market for his 19th victory of the year in this all important game.
Rays 9/20/12 Starting Lineup:
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist SS
Longoria 3B
Joyce RF
Keppinger 2B
Scott DH
Pena 1B
Molina C
Price LHP
Noteworthiness: Maddon’s throwing out the same starting lineup against Buccholz as he did last night. Hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it I suppose. Still no word on Sam Fuld. As always, Let’s Go Rays!
ST. PETERSBURG – SEPTEMBER 19: Outfielder Desmond Jennings #8 of the Tampa Bay Rays triples in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox during the game at Tropicana Field on September 19, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Tampa Bay absolutely shellacked Boston tonight, in a 13-3 demoralizing victory at the Trop. The Rays matched their season high single game run total with 13, initially set back on June 9th against the Marlins. I know, it’s really easy to focus on the fact that the Rays have been really inconsistent this season. Nevertheless, with this win Tampa Bay assured us fans at least one thing: the Red Sox will not finish the season with a winning record for the first time since 1997. No matter how things get, at least the Rays aren’t the Red Sox!
The totals on the night go a little something like this:
Runs 13
Total hits: 15
Doubles: 3 (Jose Molina [wha???], BJ Upton, Luke Scott)
Triples: 1 (Desmond Jennings)
Homers: 2 (Jeff Keppinger, Carlos Pena)
RBI: 12 (Matt Joyce 2, Ben Zobrist, Jeff Keppinger 2, Carlos Pena 3, Desmond Jennings 2, Luke Scott, Jose Molina)
wRISP: 5-15, 10 LOB
Strike outs by Rays pitchers: 11
Please please please let them do this again…and again!
Oh yeah, the kid got his first major league win. Congrats Archer!
Tampa Bay Rays’ Sean Rodriguez reacts in the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
If yesterday was a Steve Miller Band kind of day, I’d imagine that Green Day might be on the docket today. You know, wake me when September ends. The Rays dropped another hard to watch, yet winnable, game last night by a score of 7-5. With scoring opportunities a plenty, the Rays were only able to tag the Red Sox for five runs on three hits and eight walks. Yes, THREE hits and EIGHT walks.
The Rays are a pitching and defensive team…it’s in their DNA after all. However, this is what happens when those two facets fail. Compound that with an anemic offense that can’t get that big hit, and you end up with a team that is feasibly ill prepared for the postseason. Let’s not fool ourselves, they looked sloppy at best last night, and there really wasn’t much pointing toward some grandiose improvement any time soon. Not that I want to see my team lose, but hell…even hard fought losses would have been better than the performances that we’ve seen of late.
There were two quotes from a Marc Topkin piece today that summed things up well. “I think that’s why you don’t see anybody else in the clubhouse right now. Guys are frustrated. Really can’t say much more than that. Guys are frustrated and there’s really nothing we can do about it.” said BJ Upton. Joe Maddon followed that up by saying, “I don’t have anything brilliant to say, we’re just not playing well and we’ve got to figure it out relatively quick. Not relatively quick, but very quickly.” And with the Rays now 5-1/2 behind the Orioles and 14 games left to play, it’s incumbent upon them to figure things out, stat.
By the by, Chris Archer will get the start tonight vs. Matsuzaka, not David Price who is getting an extra day of rest. Price will start Thursday instead of Juego G. Tampa Bay has a chance to turn things around tonight. They should be able to give Archer his first big league win if nothing else. Matsuzaka is 0-4 with a 10.33 ERA in six starts against the Rays since he beat them in Game 1 of the 2008 AL championship series. Matsuzaka, who’s in the final year of a $52 MM contract, could be making one of his last starts as a member of the Red Sox. The right-hander, 0-2 with a 13.06 ERA in his last three outings, and the Rays could use someone to beat up on. Ben Zobrist is batting .357 (5 for 14) with a double and a home run against Matsuzaka. He’s also batting .400 (10 for 25) with eight RBIs in his last six games overall. I guess you could call him the Rays offense in those six games. We’ll post the starting lineup as it becomes available.
Rays 9/19/12 Starting Lineup
Jenning LF
Upton CF
Zobrist SS
Longoria 3B
Scott DH
Keppinger 2B
Joyce RF
Pena 1B
Molina C
Archer RHP
…Because it Bears Mentioning
We’re going to start looking at the 2013 season shortly. I mean, if getting to the postseason becomes an even greater hurdle to overcome, why not adapt a Chicago Cubs attitude on things? You know, maybe next year. That said, I’ve culled a laundry load of names of current Rays that would be suited for either the “hey, stick around for a while“, or “hey, don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya” columns. That said, do you know of any potential free agents that would benefit the Rays? How about any players that Rays should send packing? Leave your comments below
Jose Molina can’t hit or block breaking pitches in the dirt, nor can he take a pitch for the team. What use is he?
I’m not a huge fan of Steve Miller or the rest of his band. Over indulgent arena rock was never my thing, and its bloated corpse is no better. Nevertheless, he had an seven word lyric that must be haunting every Ray or Rays fan: Time keeps on slipping into the future. Whether good old Steve meant to, he has just defined (some thirty years in advance, of course) the last fifteen games of this, as of now, clusterf**k of a season. Part of me wants to keep the candle of hope lit. After all, the Rays are not mathematically out of the hunt. However, if last night’s sloppy underwhelming mess of a game is indicative of anything, it may just be that Tampa Bay has already mentally eliminated itself from the race.
I present to you evidence for my case:
BJ Upton led-off both the fourth and sixth innings with singles. Upton, who obviously has some speed and the ability to swipe bags, did absolutely nothing to disrupt Cook’s rhythm in any way, nor did he even attempt to swipe a bag until the ninth inning when it was, arguably, too late. Granted Cook is very good with controlling the running game (allowing a total of 45 stolen bases in his 10 years in the majors, and only one this season) however nary an attempt was made while Cook was on the mound. Two things are obvious.
When Upton stole in the ninth, he created a run.
Even if Upton was thrown out in the fourth or sixth inning, the outcome would have been no different…there wouldn’t have been a net loss. In fact, let’s assume that BJ was successful in both innings. In each inning Ben Zobrist then grounds into a fielders choice, moving Upton to third. Matt Joyce either drives in Upton in his following at bat, or Luke Scott gets a chance to plate a run in both innings. The probability of things happening that way aren’t great. But, the odds of scoring a run are greatly increased. Were two runs enough to win the game? Nope. However, they would have been enough to keep things within striking distance.
Not putting Evan Longoria in the game because he was feeling a little heavy legged? Ouch. DRaysBay said it best, “Listen, Maddon, I understand wanting to protect Longoria, but what are you protecting him for if the Rays don’t make the postseason? With two weeks left in the season, Evan should be demanding to be in the lineup every day, hell or high water. And given the Rays’ offense, he needs to be out there, unless you’ve already essentially given up.”
Jose Molina, I’ve had my fill with you not running after balls that you couldn’t even block in the dirt in the first place…among other things of course. And though Joe Maddon downplayed the situation that occurred between he and Alex Cobb, chalking it up to boys being boys and nothing else, I’d imagine that some of the altercation can be blamed on the frustration of Molina playing the game lackadaisically. Good thing he’s Lobaton and Gimenez’s mentor.
Two runs on six hits and a walk, does not a playoff team make. Neither does striking out seven times to a pitcher that notoriously induces ground balls, as opposed to striking out a lot of batters.
Pinch hitting with a player (Vogt) that is 0-fer in all of his MLB at-bats, while doing so in what could be construed as a high leverage or clutch situation, (In the least) was akin to shooting oneself in his/her foot.
Throwing a player in the game (Sean Rodriguez) that had no fielding practice following a stint on the DL…especially when that DL stint was due to a fracture in his hand really didn’t work out well, did it?
Sure, I’ll contend that Cobb didn’t look so hot last night. BUT only three of his runs were unearned. Compound that with the fact that two of the five overall runs were unearned and never should have happened. Blame the fielders on three errors. In any case, a four run deficit should not be a chasm too wide to cross for a team that is scoring four runs plus a game.
So, here we go, today is another day. Yet, those another days are running out. It’s truly now or never. C’mon boys, at least finish the season on a high note. You’re better than this.
Rays 9/18/12 Starting Lineup
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist SS
Longoria DH
Keppinger 1B
Francisco RF
Roberts 2B
Gimenez C
Rodriguez 3B
Hellickson RHP
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist SS
Joyce RF
Scott DH
Keppinger 3B
Peña 1B
Roberts 2B
Molina C
Cobb RHP
Noteworthiness: No Longoria in the lineup? Maddon said that Longoria was a little “heavy legged” today, but expects Longo to play rest of the series. Sean Rodriguez has been cleared to hit by doctor this morning. He hopes to hit on field Tuesday. Finally, OF Sam Fuld said that an MRI revealed a moderate hamstring strain. He won’t be doing anything today as a precaution.
