Rays 8/27/12 Starting Lineup:
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist SS
Longoria DH
Keppinger 1B
Roberts 2B
Fuld RF
Molina C
Johnson 3B
Price LHP
Noteworthiness:</em Maddon has put together an interesting lineup, with Evan Longoria at DH and hitting fourth, no Matt Joyce, Carlos Pena or Luke Scott. In their place are Sam Fuld in right and hitting seventh, and Elliot Johnson at third base and hitting ninth.
The Rays will start a series against the AL West leading Texas Rangers in Arlington on Monday. Coming off a lukewarm six game home stand, Tampa Bay looks to right the ship (in a manner of speaking) and return to their five runs per game form. Beyond being bested by Oakland, I’m not really certain what happened in the A’s series. I do know however, that this was an important series, and the Rays didn’t succeed at what they could or should have, excepting Thursday night’s 5-0 gem.
That the Rays ended their season series against the A’s with a 4-5 record doesn’t help either. As it stands, if the Rays and A’s were to end up as the two wild-card teams with the same record, the Athletics would get to host their one-game playoff based on the tiebreaker of the season series. Too, if they were to end up tied for the second wild-card spot, the same rule would put the play-in game in Oakland. There is a provision for the commissioner to assign the site based on travel considerations. And that this is predicated on a three run deficit over two days is mighty frustrating. But there’s nothing that we can do about the past…history is history.
The Rangers are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and have a very potent offense. Averaging over five runs a game, the Rangers are first in the American League in runs overall. They are, if I may, a damn good team offensively. However, they’re the fifth best pitching team in the AL with a team 3.88 ERA. The Rays will be depending upon their stellar pitching staff to equalize things, and level the playing field. Who better to take on the Rangers than David Price, James Shields, and Alex Cobb? The Rays have an opportunity to suppress Hamilton and Co., while pouncing on mediocre pitching. Stats and other various nuggets are below.
I was trying to figure out a way to frame up what I wanted to say regarding Luke Scott’s recent interview with Marc Topkin and the Tampa Bay Times. Low and behold, DRaysBay did a good job of doing just that:
The RNC is officially in town, and of course, that gave Marc Topkin a reason to question Luke Scott about his political views. They’re as extreme as ever — even without the birther talk thrown in there — so be forewarned before clicking that link: it is political-talk, and it could be frustrating to read. Personally, I prefer to have as little reminder as possible that Luke Scott is a bit of a whack job.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Luke Scott can believe what he wants. He can also speak his mind openly and freely…as long as he’s productive at the plate. We were well aware of the extent of his extreme opinions when the Rays signed him. We’d have to be idiotic to assume that maybe he’d have a clean season without saying something controversial. Thankfully, the only off the cuff comments have come at the expense of the Boston Red Sox up to this point, but it was only a matter of time that he’d become engaged in a conversation about his politics.
I’ll reiterate my stance, he can say what he wants as long as he’s productive. Well kids, he hasn’t been productive. His numbers are down across the board, partly because he’s spent a significant amount of time on the DL with injuries extending from back problems that most 70 year-old’s don’t even face. Maybe if he was as adamant about having productive at-bats, or even a stretching routine that would keep him off of the DL, I’d be able to chalk his comments up to Luke being Luke. But he hasn’t.
If I may, Luke is being paid $5 MM this season to produce with his bat, not his mouth. I’m sure that any right-wing talk radio outlet would kill to have a young and somewhat hip new host, assuming that he’s looking to get paid for his opinion. But he’s certainly not here for what he thinks, Luke Scott is here to hit the ball consistently.
So Luke I say to you, shut your trap, hit the damn ball, and earn your keep with this organization. The Rays have had a hard enough time finding a spot for you in the lineup. You’ve given the Rays reason enough to continue their search for the perfect DH…don’t give them another reason.
Oh yeah, my buddy James (a supporter of this here blog among other things) threw out the pitch in Thursday’s game against the A’s. Below is a video of him doing just that.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFhwuQAUVcs]
(James Bowman of Against Me! throwing out the first pitch at the Trop on August 23, 2012)
Tied up at four games a piece, the Rays walk into an early game at the Trop intent on taking both the season and current series against the A’s, following a disappointing 5-4 loss last night. Matt Moore pitched well, save for a few fastballs left up over the plate, however the real story of the night was two-fold: A rare blunder on Peralta’s part, and an offense that couldn’t tack on a few runs in the waning innings of the game. A few bulleted high and low-lights are below.
The final game of the season series against one another finds Jeremy Hellickson (8-8, 3.28 ERA) going up against Brandon McCarthy (6-5, 3.16 ERA). Hellickson is coming off of a huge seven inning one run performance against the Royals. McCarthy, on the other hand, is coming off of a three inning outing where he gave up six earned runs on six hits to the Twins. He’s been a tough cookie to crack, with the Rays posting a .215 BA/.291 OBP/.355 SLG/.646 OPS line against. Luke Scott and Carlos Pena have put up some good numbers against McCarthy. He doesn’t typically give up many homers, so I’d imagine that this is going to be a BABIP kind of day. Come on BABIP luck dragons!
Jennings LF
Fuld CF
Joyce RF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist SS
Scott DH
Pena 1B
Roberts 2B
Lobaton C
Hellickson RHP
“The Tampa Bay Rays have played so well recently it’s hard to believe their lineup failed to produce a base runner a little over a week ago,” noted the author of ESPN’s preview of tonight’s match-up, which pits Matt Moore (10-7, 3.57 ERA) against Jarrod Parker (8-7, 3.48 ERA). I’ll give them some credit for what was written, if only because ESPN actually gave the Rays a compliment, albeit a backhanded one. The forgot to acknowledge that Tampa Bay has been doing well since the All-Star break. I’m more inclined to debate them though, after all, the Rays won seven straight a game prior to being perfecto’d…not to mention that they’ve seemingly turned that corner. Besides, did you really think those fat bloated blowhards would offer the Rays anything but a backhanded compliment?!
Any who, the Rays have been playing on another level lately where five run games almost seem par for the course. The rule, not the exception as it were. We like that. We also like that Tampa Bay starts the night just two-and-a-half games behind the Yankees in the AL East, while leading the AL wild-card race. That certainly doesn’t suck. Ponder this, if you will: The Rays have outscored their opponents 134 to 62 over the last 30 games while going 21-9. Too, on July 24th, the Rays were eight games behind the Yankees and sixth in the wildcard race. Their resurgence has been quite refreshing.
Sure, there are still a number of things that the Rays needs to work on offensively. But I can’t help but feel that the Rays are finally putting action to words. Joe Maddon has said all along, Tampa Bay was better than the results indicated back in June and July. I don’t think his sentiments are up for debate any longer.
Some thoughts going forward. The addition of a few more bats in the lineup when the rosters expand in September is all but certain. Lots of speculation has been made over the potential of Henry Wrigley or Leslie Anderson (or both) getting called up on September first. At this point, I’d think it to be reasonable to assume that Wrigley will be making his was up sooner than later. Call me crazy, but the way that Carlos Pena has been playing doesn’t really inspire that much fear in the opposing pitcher. Pena hasn’t quite cut it, and the Rays will need to bolster their lineup from within before the post-season. Henry Wrigley or Leslie Anderson, two first-basemen, would give the Rays some defensive flexibility. I’d also imagine that if Robinson Chirinos isn’t reactivated by the end of the month, Chris Gimenez will likely be recalled.
Now Cobber…the Rays find themselves in a convoluted situation with Alex Cobb, especially with the imminent return of Jeff Niemann, while also taking into consideration what Cobb has given the Rays this season. What’s more, Cobb has accrued a significantly higher number of innings under his belt this season than Jeff Niemann. For all intents and purposes, Alex Cobb has been the Rays fifth starter in 2012, not Jeff Niemann. Call me crazy, but Cobbs 9 IP/4 H/0 R/2 BB/8 K gem last all but solidified his position in the starting rotation. Cobb was incredible, and it would be a damn shame to the see him get bumped down to the pen because of Niemann…who, incidentally, hasn’t been so hot in his rehab stint. In either case, Cobb certainly hasn’t made it easy for Niemann to just reclaim what was his after Spring Training. It also bears mentioning that with a certain degree of certainty, Cesar Ramos, Brandon Gomes, and possibly Chris Archer will return to the fold to help bolster an already lights-out bullpen. As much as I’d like to speculate any further, there’s a game to be played tonight.
Jarrod Parker will toe the mound for the A’s tonight. Parker is coming off of a complete game shutout of the Indians where he gave up only six hits while inducing 17 ground balls and 11 fly balls. He’s a decent pitcher, though he’s given up four or more runs in six of his 21 starts. The A’s have only won two of those six games. Tampa Bay has posted a combined .348 BA/.423 OBP/.435 SLG/.858 OPS line against, with a pair of doubles, three RBI, and three walks in 23 total at-bats. Ryan Roberts (2-3, RBI), Jeff Keppinger (2-3, 2B), Desmond Jennings (1-2, 2 BB), and Carlos Pena (1-3, 2B) have had their way with Parker, and will play an integral role against him tonight. Parker had a decent outing against Tampa Bay on August 1st, allowing three runs in six innings of a 4-1 loss. It should be noted that that was prior to the Rays offensive upsurge.
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Longoria DH
Zobrist SS
Keppinger 3B
Pena 1B
Roberts 2B
Molina C
Moore LHP
Noteworthiness: Longoria is back at DH tonight with Luke Scott getting the day off. Jennings is also back in there in the top of the lineup. As always, Let’s Go Rays!
The Rays did it! Following a very successful 8-2 road trip, the good guys took their most recent three game home set against a pretty hot Royals, following their 5-3 win Wednesday. The story of the day was James Shields.
Juego G seems to have bounced back from his mid-season slump. Posting a 7.2 IP/5 H/3 ER/1 BB/7 K line against the Royals Shields threw 106 pitches (71 for strikes) in all. His most dangerous pitch on the day was his change-up, throwing it for a strike 73% of the time (with a 20% whiff rate). Shields did get in trouble in the eighth inning, giving up a single to Johnny Giavotella which was followed up by an Alcides Escobar RBI triple two batters later.
Jake McGee came on in relief and promptly gave up an RBI single to Alex Gordon. Kyle Farnsworth came in to get the final out of the eighth, leaving the Rays with an uncomfortable one run lead. Jose Lobaton was able to steal one run back on a 419 foot blast to center, giving the Rays a two run lead they wouldn’t again relent. Fernando Rodney came on in the ninth and did what he does best. The rest is history.
It was refreshing to see the Rays bounce back from Tuesday nights embarrassing two hit offensive implosion. Tampa Bay was able to score five runs on nine hits and six walks. They ended the day 1-13 wRISP while leaving 10 men on base. Suffice to say it would have been nice to see them tack on a few more insurance runs. However, they only struck out one time (as opposed to 10 times the night before) and continually applied the pressure to the Royals throats, eventually breaking through. We can only hope that the Rays offense shows up in the next series against the A’s.
Tampa Bay will start a three game series against the Athletics on Thursday. The Rays seek to hold on to their one game lead over the A’s for the first wildcard spot, while sitting pretty, a mere three games in back of the Yankees in the AL East following three straight losses. We’ve seen how dangerous the Athletics can be. Similar to the Rays, the A’s are 6-4 in their last ten games. BUT their pitching isn’t as strong on the road as it is at home, with a significantly higher team ERA and FIP on the road. The Rays have ample opportunity to pounce this weekend. If the Rays can continue averaging almost five runs per game as they have in the month of August, they could start to pull away from the rest of the pack in the wildcard race when they walk out of the Trop Saturday. And that friends, would rule.
By the by, my good buddy and friend of the blog, James, (from the band Against Me!) will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in Thursday nights game. How’s about you’s Rays fans come out and give him lots of cheers…and you know, help the Rays put more than 11,000 butts in the seats. You can read an interview that James did with ESPN.com a few months ago, here.
News broke yesterday that A’s starter and Carlos Mencia lookalike, Bartolo Colon, failed an MLB drug test, and has been suspended for 50 games. Brett Anderson returned to the Athletics starting rotation yesterday, filling the hole vacated by the swarthy 39 year-old starter who went through a resurrection of sorts following his $2 MM acquisition this past off-season.
