It’s no secret that I’m very critical of Derek Shelton. It’s very easy to find a scapegoat for the Rays anemic offense, and well, Shelton became mine. Reasonably speaking, I know that unless he’s at the plate and doing didly squat, it’s certainly not all his fault that the Uptons, Brignacs, and Longorias aren’t producing. To that end though, I’d be a fool to ignore that he does have an effect on the Rays performance at the plate, and I’ve got to say that his (and Merlot Joe) idea, that a walk is as good as a hit in clutch situations is a bit, urm…you get the idea. Nevertheless, I must give credit where credit is due, because over the course of their last three home games, the Rays have out scored two very good teams (the Cardinals and They Who Shall Not Be Named) 22-10.
Likewise, all of the credit for the increase in production at home cannot be put on Shelton’s shoulders alone. The Rays have been playing as a “team” under the teflon roof of late. I must say the pep talk that Shelton gave certainly lit that proverbial fire though.
Hopefully that production will continue over the course of the rest of the season, both at home and on the road. It’s especially important that the Rays remain consistent since they play both They Who Shall Not Be Named and the Evil Empire 25 more times, and could make up some serious ground against them.
And what better way to add to the good guys confidence, than to throw Complete Game James on the mound against John Lackey who, reportedly, loses five miles an hour of velocity on his fastball when his mouth is open. I wonder how quickly they can knock Lackey out of the game today? The Rays leeched the air from Miller’s balloon last night after 85 pitches in only 2 2/3 innings, which found him giving up seven runs on five hits and five walks, including a grand slam by Ben Zobrist. All of this off of a guy that has a much lower ERA than Lackey, who sits at a cool 6.84. In short, the Rays need to beat up on Lackey, and ideally knock him out of the game early. Can they do that though? Yes, as long as Shields is on top of his game, and the Rays are, again, aggressive early.
Rays starting lineup: Damon (DH), Zobrist (2B), Kotchman (1B), Longoria (3B), Joyce (RF), Upton (CF), Fuld (LF), Shoppach (c), Brignac (SS).
Starting Pitchers: Shields RHP (8-7, 2.33 ERA) vs. John Lackey (6-8, 6.84 ERA)
Worth Mentioning: Kotchman in the three hole and Longoria hitting cleanup, Shoppach getting the start after have a good night at the plate last night (reaching base three times), Lackey losing five MPH on his fastball when good ole Marbles pitches with his mouth open.