Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Drop Fourth Straight, 3-2

The Tampa Bay Rays dropped the second game of the series against the A’s by a score of 3-2 Wednesday night. Erik Bedard walked away with his first loss since April 24th, after putting together a 5.1 IP/1 H/3 R/1 ER/3 BB/6 K outing. In fact, the Rays pitchers gave up only one hit all night, a fourth inning solo shot off the bat of Brandon Moss, yet the offense couldn’t push across (at least) two more runs to give the Rays the lead and/or win. If ever there was one, this is a glaring example of pitchers deserving a better fate.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: The “Nobody Knows….” Edition

An air of frustration has permeated the Rays Republic. Evan Longoria is pressing at the plate, Wil Myers looks clueless in the box, and the fans — those who choose to attend games — have more in common with the population of New York, as exemplified in Ghost Busters II. (Editor’s note: if you didn’t “get” the Ghost Busters II reference, I recommend watching Ivan Reitman’s masterpiece) Last night’s contest wasn’t fun on the field or in the stands. Tampa Bay was shutout for the second time in three games last night, and they’ve now won only five of their last 15 games. The Rays have scored just 46 runs in those games, an average of (roughly) three runs per.

Rays 5/20/14 Starting Lineup, Etc.

Rays 5/20/14 Starting Lineup Guyer LF Jennings CF Longoria 3B Myers RF Rodriguez 2B Forsythe DH Loney 1B Escobar SS Molina C Odorizzi RHP Noteworthiness It would seem the Rays are set to keep Kevin Kiermaier through Wednesday’s game, then option him or Logan Forsythe to Triple-A Durham — or in the case of Brandon …

The New What Next: Enter The A’s — A Series Preview of Sorts

The Tampa Bay Rays return home to face a very hot Oakland Athletics, on the heels of a disappointing 3-4 West Coast jaunt. Had the Rays gone 4-3, the tenor may be different. However they didn’t. At this point, their only real glimmers of hope are the possibilities that the pitching will stabilize with the return of Alex Cobb, and — at five games back — no one has put together a massive run in the AL East. It’s a very different story of the 28-16 Oakland Athletics. The A’s are 9-1 over a their last 10 games, entering the Trop on a three-game winning streak. Furthermore, at 16-6 on the road, Oakland has been pretty damn dominant in other team’s facilities.

With the Return of Alex Cobb Looming, Who Gets Cut to Make Room? (Updated)

The Rays could send Gomes back to Triple-A Durham in hopes he’d work through his recent found pitching woes. I’d imagine a move like this could be construed as a last ditch opportunity for Lueke to prove his worth. However, I’d also argue the release of Bell should have sent Lueke a clear message — his spot in the ‘pen isn’t a certainty, nor is it safe. After all, if Friedman and company were willing to eat $5.5MM on an underperforming Bell, there is a very realistic possibility that Lueke could be the next to befall the axe.