Rays vs. Evil Empire, 4/7/12

Tampa Bay will again take on the Yankees in front of a sellout crowd at the Trop tonight. 26 year-old LHP David Price will take the hill against RHP rookie Hiroki Kuroda and the Yankees. By all counts, tonight promises to be yet another drama filled game, as the Yankees attempt to save face whilst breaking their four game losing streak at the Trop, and as the Rays attempt to keep up their momentum after last nights dramatic win. Granted this is only game two of a very long season. Then again, the Rays will need to charge into Detroit next week with some steam if they are going to be competitive against a Tigers team that seemed infallible against Tampa Bay last season… A Tigers team that has only gotten better in the off-season with the addition of Prince Fielder.

Kuroda didn’t fair to well against the Rays in his first major league spring training start on March 4th, where he lasted two innings, and had a slash-line of 2IP/3H/3 Runs (all earned)/2K. In that game, Kuroda had a 1-2-3 first, then gave up a leadoff single to Matt Joyce, an infield hit to Jeff Keppinger, and a two-run triple to Stephen Vogt, who later scored on a groundout.

Though the starting lineup has yet to be released, I could imagine that Luke Scott will be taking on the DH responsibilities tonight. I’d also imagine that Jose Lobaton will get his first catching start of the year. It will be interesting to see if Matt Joyce moves up in the mix, or if he bats in the nine hole again. I’d also be interested to see if Los moves up or down in the order, or if Maddon’s midnight premonition, which found him batting seventh yesterday, again finds him hitting seventh tonight.

On the flip side of things, tonight marks David Price’s first attempt at rectifying his somewhat lackluster 2011 season, where he went 12-13 with a 3.49 ERA. I say lackluster because it was, somewhat of, a far cry from his 2010 numbers where he was in contention for the Cy Young Award. In 12 career starts against the Yankees, Price is 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA. Those stats include last years game 162 start where he was knocked out of the game early.

In the past, if Price had a crummy outing, he would charge out of the door in his next start like a man possessed; like a man with something to prove. I’ve got to believe that with his last start against the Yankees, plus a disappointing spring, compounded to this being his first start of the year, will find him hell bent on mowing over the Evil Empire.

Price had some control issues this spring, and he will need to make sure that he has fastball command of the plate. He’ll also need to make sure that his fastball velocity is in the upper range to start the game, as well as rely on his change-up and off speed stuff if he is going to keep the Yankees off balance. Strike-outs are great. Then again, so are weekly hit grounders and pop-flies. Lord knows that if those numbnuts in pinstripes are good at anything, it’s hitting meatballs out of the park. I’ll update this post when the starting lineup’s are announced.

Rays vs. Evil Empire, 4/7/12 (Updated with starting lineup)

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4:43 Update:

The Rays 4/7/12 starting lineup:

Jennings CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Joyce LF
Zobrist RF
Scott DH
Keppinger 2B
Lobaton C
Brignac SS
Price P

Tampa Bay will again take on the Yankees in front of a sellout crowd at the Trop tonight. 26 year-old LHP David Price will take the hill against RHP Hiroki Kuroda who will make his AL debut with the Yankees. By all counts, tonight promises to be yet another drama filled game, as the Yankees attempt to save face whilst breaking their four game losing streak at the Trop, and as the Rays attempt to keep up their momentum after last nights dramatic win. Granted this is only game two of a very long season. Then again, the Rays will need to charge into Detroit next week with some steam if they are going to be competitive against a Tigers team that seemed infallible against Tampa Bay last season… A Tigers team that has only gotten better in the off-season with the addition of Prince Fielder.

Kuroda didn’t fair to well against the Rays in his first major league spring training start on March 4th, where he lasted two innings, and had a slash-line of 2IP/3H/3 Runs (all earned)/2K. In that game, Kuroda had a 1-2-3 first, then gave up a leadoff single to Matt Joyce, an infield hit to Jeff Keppinger, and a two-run triple to Stephen Vogt, who later scored on a groundout.

Though the starting lineup has yet to be released, I could imagine that Luke Scott will be taking on the DH responsibilities tonight. I’d also imagine that Jose Lobaton will get his first catching start of the year. It will be interesting to see if Matt Joyce moves up in the mix, or if he bats in the nine hole again. I’d also be interested to see if Los moves up or down in the order, or if Maddon’s midnight premonition, which found him batting seventh yesterday, again finds him hitting seventh tonight.

On the flip side of things, tonight marks David Price’s first attempt at rectifying his somewhat lackluster 2011 season, where he went 12-13 with a 3.49 ERA. I say lackluster because it was, somewhat of, a far cry from his 2010 numbers where he was in contention for the Cy Young Award. In 12 career starts against the Yankees, Price is 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA. Those stats include last years game 162 start where he was knocked out of the game early.

In the past, if Price had a crummy outing, he would charge out of the door in his next start like a man possessed; like a man with something to prove. I’ve got to believe that with his last start against the Yankees, plus a disappointing spring, compounded to this being his first start of the year, will find him hell bent on mowing over the Evil Empire.

Price had some control issues this spring, and he will need to make sure that he has fastball command of the plate. He’ll also need to make sure that his fastball velocity is in the upper range to start the game, as well as rely on his change-up and off speed stuff if he is going to keep the Yankees off balance. Strike-outs are great. Then again, so are weekly hit grounders and pop-flies. Lord knows that if those numbnuts in pinstripes are good at anything, it’s hitting meatballs out of the park. I’ll update this post when the starting lineup’s are announced.

Yankee fans named Scallopini, and how they pertain to the Rays and attendance

Rays principal owner, Stu Sternberg, in a pre opening day interview at the Trop on April 6. Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times

I spoke with a huge Yankee fan at a local grocery store earlier as I was attempting to make my way around him, en route to the dairy aisle. By huge, I mean of considerable size, not in affect. He could have bled pinstripes for all I know, but that’s not the point. I asked Scaloppini (we’ll just call him that since I couldn’t have been bothered to ask him his name) if he was going to make his way to the Trop tonight to catch the game. “No way, I hate that team,” was his response. Taken aback, I mumbled something about supporting his team. “I’m not giving that team (the Rays) my money,” replied Scaloppini. “I could just sit at home and watch the Yankees on Direct TV.” In a moment of snarkiness, I reminded him that he is giving the Rays his money by means of the luxury tax. He agreed and mentioned something like he couldn’t wait for the Rays to move. I was kind of over the conversation by that point.

Here is exhibit A of the typical Yankee fan response. The Rays, a team that’s able to contend with the big boys on a boot strap budget, get (as the kids say these days) hated on by the fans of other teams with a superiority complex. Scallopini’s response was indicative of those, whose only reasonable solution to the thorn in the side that is the Rays, is to hope that they’ll be gone at some point. Not, “oh hey, maybe my team needs to step up their game,” or “oh hey, maybe they need to try another way.” Nope, just let’s hope they’ll be gone. It got me thinking.

On the way to the Trop yesterday, I was listening to an interview with Stu Sternberg on WDAE 620. Big Dog asked Stu something about looking into property in the Channelside district, in Tampa. Stu responded with something like not really, and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. He also noted that with yesterdays sell-out, todays sell-out, and tomorrows game which is close to selling out, if the numbers were consistent finding the Rays were drawing 2-2.5 MM fans a year, the stadium issue could be put on the back-burner, for the time being at least. I had an epiphany.

In all of Stu’s hyperbolic and impetuous statements about fans and attendance, one thing holds true: this man really does care about his team, and I kind of like his bluntness…though more so in times when he’s not just seemingly whining. I’ve also came to the realization that he isn’t only trying to protect a financial investment, though that does have something to do with things. With this cold war (so to speak) between he and the city, it’s easy to see past this fact.

In the end, he genuinely wants his team to be successful, and he wants to do whatever it takes for them to be successful; be that dropping $20 MM plus, over the last six years, into a stadium that’s becoming more and more inadequate by the day, or wanting something better.

I think it should be noted by the critics of both the Rays ownership and Mayor Foster, that the Rays, as an organization, is very fan friendly. It also bears mentioning that they have made concerted efforts to get more butts in the stands. That tends to get lost in all of the tacit bickering. In the end though, one thing holds true: the Rays need to be able to depend on the businesses and corporations in the Tampa Bay area if the organization is to be sustainable, here, over the long-term. That’s especially true in this economy when there isn’t as much disposable income floating around.

What does all of this have to do with good old Scallopini? Maybe it’s just me, but watching the old guard sweat it out in lieu of the upstart underdog is highly entertaining. Sternberg mentioned in a different interview Friday that, “We should be up (attendance) a good amount this year…We’ll have a good amount more people at the gate.” And I truly hope that pans out. Not just for the players who, like any other entertainers, don’t want to perform to a sparse, less than enthusiastic crowd. And not just for the organization who can determine their payroll off of attendance. But also to piss off Yankees and Red Sox fans who can’t stand to watch their well worn turf get pissed upon by a team that they feel shouldn’t even be in existence.

Rays beat the Evil Empire in dramatic fashion, 7-6 AKA: Welcome home Los!

Tampa Bay Rays' Carlos Pena watches the flight of the ball after hitting a grand-slam home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees in St. Petersburg, Fla., Friday, April 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

I’m not really sure how to start this piece beyond just saying wow…I mean, wow! What a game!

As with game 162, it was nice to have seen the batters doing whatever they could to assure a victory, when the starting pitcher looked less than ace-like. And they did just that today in front of a sold out crowd at the Trop. Overall, I have more good to say than bad. Though there are some criticisms to be noted. Let’s start with the good.

Welcome home, Los! Talk about a grand re-introduction to the Rays fans. Carlos Pena went 3-5 with five RBI’s and one run scored, including a first inning grand slam against Grimmace…urm, CC Sabathia, and the game winning single in the ninth to score Ben Zobrist. Pena easily had the most applause during the pre-game player introductions. I don’t know if that had a palpable effect on him, though it’s easy assume it did after the numbers he put up. Evan Longoria, too, had a big day at the plate, going 3-3 with one RBI and a run scored, after a third inning blast to left field, again off of Grimmace. This certainly isn’t to overshadow Ben Zobrist’s contribution in the least.

Though Zobrist went 1-5 overall, his ninth inning triple that scored Desmond Jennings framed up a win that will go in the books as another hard-fought, memorable victory. It could be argued that he was the unsung hero of the game. In the end, it’s easy to focus on that fact that the Rays did strand a few guys on base, some of which were in scoring position. Stranding runners in scoring position is a too common occurrence for the Rays. However, they were able to drive in runners in clutch moments when they ultimately mattered the most.

Box score, courtesy of ESPN

The game wasn’t without some unnecessary drama, and watching “Big Game” James revert to “All Fields” Shields was a tough pill to swallow. To be fair, Sabathia didn’t look too Cy Young award-winning himself. I’d love to chalk it up to opening day jitters. Here’s to hope that Shields will return to form in his next start, presumably against Verlander and the Tigers. Sabathia? I could give two craps if he returns to form, but I digress.

Shields didn’t look sharp. Yes, he threw a lot of strikes today, 66 out of 104 pitches to be exact. But those strikes weren’t exactly quality pitches. Watching him earn a 10.80 ERA in only five innings of work, all the while giving up six earned runs on nine hits, made him seem more like 2010 Shields instead of the 2011 beast that we had the privilege of watching last season. He was the most consistent starter in all of last season, not to mention this spring, and lord knows that I’m probably just blowing things out of proportion based off of one crappy start. Ask me again in a week.

James Shields pitch location, courtesy of Brooksbaseball.net

On the other hand, the Rays bullpen, which has been thrust into a bit of a state of disarray recently, did a knock-up job. Howell, Davis, Badenhop, McGee, Peralta and Rodney held the Yankees to four scoreless innings to keep the Rays in the game. I’ve got to hand it to Howell, who looked really good. Working 2/3 of an inning, Howell was able to induce two poorly hit pop-flies to get the two batters he faced out. Davis followed Howell and performed fairly well too, giving up one walk and no hits.

I’ve got to be honest, Fernando Rodney scares me. I’ve seen how poorly located some of his pitches can be. But I’ve got to hand it to him, his performance in the ninth really put my mind at ease. Pitching in place of Farnsworth, Rodney went three up-three down, including a strike out. Nine of his 16 pitches were in there for strikes, and he really seemed to locate his mid 90’s fastball well. Only time will tell if he can follow-up this outing similarly. Assuming and the Rays pen can, I can’t help but feeling like Tampa Bay will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Box score, courtesy of ESPN

PS: ESPN, tomorrow’s game is already sold out, and Sunday’s game is in line to do the same. Kruk and Co., chew on that one for a few.

Of injuries, part III (Farnsworth and Fuld)

Fuld in a very Charlie Day like moment.

The Rays made it official, and placed RHP “closer” Kyle Farnsworth on the 15-day disabled list. On the heals of their acquisition of former Cubs reliever, John Gaub, Tampa Bay called up reliever Josh Lueke from AAA Durham on Thursday. I don’t expect Lueke to instantly be thrust into the closing role. More so, he is probably in there to offer the Rays a bit more middle inning relief. It should be noted that the Rays would have called up Brandon Gomes instead, but they are giving him a little more post back surgery recovery time. Gaub is expected to offer Tampa Bay a bit more depth in AAA.

Farnsworth will require possibly up to six weeks worth of rest for his elbow strain. Similar to the end of last season when Farnsworth’s elbow issues initially reared its ugly head, the Rays are planning on using a match-up arrangement at the end of games. Joel Peralta will likely be the first option, but you could assume that Rodney, Howell, and Davis will all be thrust into that role at some point in the near future.

In other injury news, Sam Fuld successfully had surgery on his right wrist this week. Of the surgery, Fuld noted in a tweet, “Back in FL after successful surgery in Cleveland. Thanks to Dr. Graham and his wife CeCe for taking care of me!” Fuld is expected back on the roster at some point in August.