Looking Backward While Looking Forward; the Night-Cap Edition (Rays 8/22/12 Starting Lineup Included)

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – AUGUST 21: Outfielder Matt Joyce #20 of the Tampa Bay Rays is picked off first base as Eric Hosmer #35 of the Kansas City Royals applies the tag during the game at Tropicana Field on August 21, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

This will be another short one. I’m exhausted, frustrated, and frankly pretty upset with the outcome of tonight’s game. See, 10,877 people (myself included) endured what could be aptly titled the goddamn deluge, only to watch the Rays with their most potent offense since the month of April, get Hochevared once again.

Had you told me that the Rays would get two hit and shut out by a pitcher that had a 6-11 record with a 5.24 ERA prior to this game, I’d have laughed in your face. Yet with the exception of Luke Scott who hit a double, Tampa Bay’s offense forgot to show up. Ugh. I’ll bullet some thoughts below.

  • Props to Luke Scott on the aforementioned double. Scott came within 90-feet of scoring a run following an absolute blast of a sac-fly to dead center by Ryan Roberts. That sac-fly would have been a two-run bomb in any other stadium. Sadly Jose Molina and Desmond Jennings were unsuccessful in bringing LUKE home, with both striking out swinging.
  • Can someone please tell me why Jeff Keppinger, one of the Rays most consistent hitters, didn’t get the start at first in lieu of Carlos Pena? It could be argued that ‘Los had a negative effect on the team at the plate and in the field. Pena went 0-4 with two strikeouts, and two pop-outs. He also didn’t react to Ben Zobrist’s off-line throw in the tenth inning in a manner that would keep Jeff Francoeur out of scoring position. Sure the error was charged to Zobrist, and it would have been tough play to make even if he made a perfect throw. However in Zobrist’s defense, he did keep the ball low and it wasn’t air-mailed out of the reach of Pena. Carlos should have attempted to make the save, not the play. The fact of the matter is, had Pena taken his foot off the bag in an attempt to save the errant throw from ending where it did, Francoeur wouldn’t have made it to second on an infield hit. He also wouldn’t have come home on the Eric Hosmer bloop single that followed.
  • 0-3 wRISP, with four left on base. Ick.
  • What a shame of a waste David Price’s 8 IP/3 H/8 K gem.
  • Hochevar looked like Cy Young, collecting eight swinging strikeouts with 10 K’s total. The Rays looked like dear in the headlights, as Hochevar kept the ball down while pounding the glove side of the strike-zone.
Rays 8/22/12 Starting Lineup

Jennings LF
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Longoria DH
Zobrist SS
Keppinger 3B
Pena 1B
Roberts 2B
Lobaton C
Shields RHP

Noteworthiness: Color me surprised that Luke Scott, who actually has a hit against today’s starter mind you, isn’t getting the start at first yet Carlos “0-4 last night” Pena is. Mind = blown. Evan Longoria is again the DH, hitting in the fourth hole. Hey, at least Kepp’s back in the mix!

Rays 8/21/11 Starting Lineup

Rays 8/21/11 Starting Lineup:

Jennings LF
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist SS
Pena 1B
Scott DH
Roberts 2B
Molina C
Price LHP

Noteworthiness: The Rays will try to extend the streak to six straight when they take on Hochevar and the Royals tonight at the Trop. The big news of the day, Evan Longoria is getting his first start at third base since April 30th. Luke Scott is also in the lineup at DH following his reactivation from the DL earlier today. This will also be the first time that Longo, Pena, and Scott have been in a game together since April. With Roberts hitting better, and knowing what ‘Los is capable of, my god…the one through eight spots look mighty beast like tonight. Too bad Keppinger can’t also catch.

Six Man Rotation and SS

Below was a response to a comment made by a reader of the blog. After posting it, I thought that it could stand on its own, if only to generate some dialog with you, the dear readership of Raysbaseball.co. Thoughts? Leave ’em below!

With the imminent return of Jeff Niemann, I think an argument could be made for a six man rotation when the rosters expand in September. A six man rotation could be a wise choice if only to give Moore, Helly, Shields, or Price a day off going into the playoffs. Who then would be the primary starter, Alex Cobb who’s done his part to earn a spot in the rotation, or Jeff Niemann that’s been out for the majority of the season. Another question begs: could you also move either Cobb or Niemann to the pen for the duration of the season?

As for the middle infield conundrum, I really like what I’ve seen of Zo at short, in his limited number of starts on the left side these last few weeks. He’s solid defensively, and we know what he can do at the plate. I really tried to like Elliot Johnson. When his offensive numbers were at their peak, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But if today’s small sample size exemplifies anything, it’s that sometimes circumstances surrounding this game are, well…shitty. Sean Rodriguez is, arguably, better defensively. Yet if things pan out the way they’re rumored to, he’s probably going to get sent down to Triple-A (albeit for only 20 days) to make room for Luke Scott on the roster, and Elliot Johnson, who made three really offline and questionable throws to first tonight (not including his error) gets to stay on the roster because he’s out of options. I don’t care how high his WARp climbs because of offensive production, Johnson is a defensive liability. Just look at what he’s done on the field tonight for validation of that argument.

Rays 8/20/12 Starting Lineup

Rays 8/20/12 Starting Lineup:

Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist DH
Keppinger 1B
Roberts 2B
Rodriguez 3B
Fuld RF
Lobaton C
Johnson SS
Hellickson LHP

Noteworthiness: First baseman Carlos Pena, right fielder Matt Joyce, and defacto DH Evan Longoria are getting the day off in game one of this three game set against the Royals. In their place are Jeff Keppinger, Sam Fuld, and Ben Zobrist. Elliot Johnson will also get the start at short. Luke Scott is expected to be reactivated prior to tomorrow nights game. Whispers have Sean Rodriguez being optioned to Triple-A (at least until September 1 when the rosters are expanded) in order to make room for Scott on the 25-man roster.

Rays vs Royals Series Preview, and Other Random Musings

Tampa Bay ended their most recent road trip on a huge high note, sweeping the Angels in four games. The Rays will return home for a pair of three game series against the Royals and Athletics. Returning with an 8-2 record, this was easily the best Rays road trip in recent history. The Royals are 54-66, yet they still stand as a formidable speed bump the way of the Rays. Mind you, Kansas City is 13-6 since July 31st, with the AL’s second-best mark in that span. More on the last series and the next after a quick look at the Rays and Royals pitching and hitting statistics. (below)

Rays and Royals starters over the last 14 days.
Rays and Royals hitting at home and away, (respectively) and over the last 14 days.
  • Tampa Bay holds the AL’s top wild-card spot after winning 11 of 13, including the four-game road sweep of the Angels.
  • Tampa Bay homered nine times and scored 37 runs , a franchise record for a four-game set.
  • The Rays are now 84-45 in the month of August since the 2008 season. That’s a .651 winning percentage, and a league best.
  • Interesting fact: following another stolen base, Jose Molina now has as many steals (3) as Robinson Cano, Jeff Francoeur, Yunel Escobar, Mike Moustakas, and Gordan Beckham.
  • This was Tampa Bay’s first four-game road sweep since April 2010 at Boston, and their first-ever four-game sweep of the Angels.
  • How do the Rays fare against the Royals’ starters?
  1. Will Smith (4-4, 5.09 ERA): This will be the first start against Tampa Bay for the rookie LHP
  2. Luke Hochevar (5-5, 5.24 ERA): The Rays have posted a .257 BA/.308 OBP/.397 SLG/.705 OPS line against Hochevar, with seven doubles, four home runs, 21 RBI, and eight walks in 136 at-bats. Sam Fuld (1-2), Elliot Johnson (2-3), Evan Longoria (6-13, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB), Carlos Pena (6-15, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB), BJ Upton (7-20, 2 2B, 2 RBI), and Ben Zobrist (4-15, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) have all had success against the rightie.
  3. Luis Mendoza (7-8, 4.26 ERA): A handful of Rays have faced Mendoza, with even a fewer number having a level of success against the Royals rightie. The Rays have posted a .600 BA/.600 OBP/1.000 SLG/1.600 OPS line in five at-bats. Of the four Rays that have faced Mendoza, both Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez have hit doubles.
  • Tampa Bay were averaging 4.22 runs per game when they last faced the Royals prior to the All-Star break. The Royals swept the Rays in that series. Though the Rays are averaging approximately the same amount of runs per game since the All-Star break, they’ve upped the ante of late, averaging just under five runs per game in the month of August.
  • The upcoming RNC is responsible for an upcoming wonky schedule for Tampa Bay, including moving things up a day, forcing the Rays to play 19 consecutive games without a day off. Joe Maddon has been forced to be creative, figuring out a way to get the Rays regulars time off without a drop-off in output. Ben Zobrist and Jeff Keppinger were off Sunday, and Evan Longoria will reportedly get the day off today. They will also have a reduced pre-game workload, having the players report later where they just show up and play.
  • Luke Scott is expected to be reactivated from the DL Tuesday after going 8-26 in an extended rehab assignment with the Stone Crabs. He’s projected to take on some of the first base duties so Tampa Bay can get both Scott and Longoria in the lineup on a fairly consistent basis.

We’ll post more in this thread shortly. It’s late, and I’m tired!