Tampa Bay Rays Sweep Red Sox; Gaining Momentum for the 2009 AL East CHASE!

It's official, the bandwagon is leaving the station, so hop on. After a number of scorching articles from the local rags (see below), the Tampa Bay sports writers seem to be jumping back on the Rays bandwagon. Today, after the Rays finished a 2-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox, Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune writes that the "Sweep Puts the Rays Right Back in the Race" and Gary Shelton from the St. Pete Times writes that "It's Official: Tampa Bay Rays Are a Playoff Contender."

Of course, as recently as July 28, 2009, Gary wrote that "By now, however, this has happened too many times to believe the Rays will simply wake up one day and snap out of it." He was talking about the need for the Rays to cash in their deep farm talent pool for someone like Halladay or Lee because the Rays don't have what it takes. And, on July 30, 2009, Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune wrote that Rays May Not Have Answers and said such silly things as: "[The Rays] won't see [the Yankees] again until September in New York, and by that point they might need binoculars to spot them"; "But it's also hard to believe that the current crew will emerge from its slumber for a true September run"; and "Wednesday [July 29, 2009], you could almost hear a playoff race disappear."

So I get that these guys are trying to sell newspapers and all that, but I also understand that they've never really been through a AL East Pennant CHASE either. So, I'll cut them a little bit of slack just this once.

Last night was a big night for the Rays. First and foremost, the Rays took care of their business by winning the second of a 2-game mini series against the Red Sox. This brings the Rays to within 3.0 games in the Wild Card race and gives the Rays an 8-4 head-to-head record against the Red Sox (this could be important if the Wild Card or AL East Pennant comes down to a tie breaker). In addition, with the Texas Rangers loss to the Oakland A's, the Rays have now drawn even with the Rangers in the Wild Card Race. For our friendly local sports writers, take note of how quickly things can change in baseball (Rays gained 2 games int he Wild Card on each of the Red Sox and Rangers in just 2 short days).

However, as I wrote in an earlier post, this is only the beginning of a very important week of baseball for the Rays. The Rays depart for a tough 6-game West Coast road trip where the Rays will meet the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (that's a mouthful). The good news is that the Rays appear to be catching a break as it relates to pitching matchups. While the Rays will face the Mariners' Ace on Friday, they will miss two of the Mariners young lefties and they will avoid the LA Angels two best pitchers (Jared Weaver; 11-3 and 3.79 ERA and LAA Ace John Lackey; 7-4 and 3.96 ERA).

Perhaps more importantly, some of the key players on the Rays are showing some signs of life. Carlos Pena hit a giant home run last night (on a full count), but he also worked a great at bat in earning a walk later in the game (again on a full count). If you've watched much Rays baseball, you know that Carlos Pena is hitting best when he's walking often. If he can take yesterday's game and carry that forward, we'll see some good things from Carlos Pena in the coming weeks. Secondly, Pat Burrell has 2 home runs in his last 8 games and looks more comfortable at the plate. It's way to early to suggest that Pat is breaking out of his season long slump, but it's encouraging to see him contribute.

While the Rays have their hands full with a west coast road trip, the Yankees and the Red Sox are going to duke it out in the Bronx for a 4-game set. This is sure to be a taxing series on both team and should provide the Rays with an opportunity to gain some ground (if we take care of our business). Following that series, the Red Sox will face the HOT Detroit Tigers for a 4-game set at home followed by a brief road trip down to Texas. The sum of all this is that the Rays may very well have a huge opportunity to make a move over the next week or so in the AL East (or at least the Wild Card).

Rays fans should stock up on Red Bull as we have a number of late nights ahead of us this coming week.

Getting back to "Raysball"?

Last night was the first night all season where I recognized the team I’ve come to love. No there wasn’t an explosion of home runs (at least HRs that mattered, sorry Carlos and JB) and there wasn’t anything fancy about the way the Rays chipped away at the Twins on offense with regular old timely base hits. The win was a combination of great starting pitching (hey, this Niemann guy sure has quieted down the “where is David Price” crowd with his stellar pitching after the first inning of his first outing), solid defense (no real blunders except the ball that Aki misplayed a bit) and a shut-down bullpen (no runs allowed). Were it not for the icing on the cake homeruns from Carlos and JB, this game, at 4-1, looked a lot like the Rays from 2008 (and that makes me very happy).

I’ve also noticed a couple of very positive trends:

1) the bullpen is really starting to come around - after a rough start, the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen has given up only 3 earned runs in the last 6 games over a total of 17 innings pitched (that’d be an ERA of 1.59 for those of you that are math challenged)

2) The starting pitchers are showing signs of progress. After a slow ramp up to full speed, intentionally done by Joe Maddon given the post-season run of 2008 (oh, the good old days), the Rays starting pitchers have not quite been themselves over their first few starts (you might equate these to what would normally be their last few starts of a normal spring training period).

• Shields looked a little rough in his first start against the Red Sox, came out smoking in his second start giving up only 3 hits in 7 innings, and then gave up 5 runs in his third start. Shields was anything if consistent in 2008. In his 4th start, Shields appeared to have very good control of his pitches, seems to have his velocity back up into the 92 MPH range and was mowing hitters down on his way to a 0-1 loss to Seattle.
  
• Kazmir has actually been pretty good with a few rough innings here and there (remember the 10 straight balls to begin the White Sox on 4/18…ugh). Well, he bounced back with 6 shutout innings against the A’s.
  
• Garza took a little while to get going last year, but his stuff is just plain nasty. I’ve not really seen Garza come around, but I am confident he will.
  
• Sonny has been roughed up pretty good in his first 4 starts. He’s simply not locating his pitches. But, Sonny is a feel pitcher and I’m hopeful that he’ll get the touch back soon.
  
• And, what can we say about Niemann? He has been more than we ever could have hoped for. Despite his record of 2-2, he’s kept the Rays in the game. With the exception of his first, very shaky inning, Niemann has been one of the Rays most consistent starters so far. If he can keep this up, I suspect you will see him in this rotation for a while in 2009.

3) Burrell is starting to hit and he is clearly seeing the ball better. Burrell was brought in to improve the Rays chances against lefties (especially the likes of Jon Lester, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitt). But, he’s also served as very valuable protection for Carlos Pena, who is currently leading the AL in home runs and RBIs. That’s no coincidence. When pitchers had the luxury of working the black on Carlos, he was not as potent. But, if they have to throw strikes to him, he’s going to make them pay. You could make the same argument for Longoria, who is also off to a very hot start. He's got Carl Crawform on one side and Carlos Pena on the other. Well, despite his .238 average, Burrell has an OBP of .364 for the 2009 season, AND, he’s hitting .272 over his last 10 games with an OBP of .429. Those aren’t eye-popping, but they are up significantly from the .100-something he was hitting in the first 10 games (it was so bad, I don't even want to calculate it). In addition, he’s drawn 9 walks in the last 10 games. When hitters are walking, they are hitting. Burrell is starting to come around and is likely about to break out for the Rays (that’s my prediction).

So, what am I worried about? Well, other than being in last place 12.3% into the season, I am most worried about BJ Upton. He’s been in a severe slump and it makes me wonder if his shoulder is just not quite right, yet. Maybe it would serve him well to hit #7, #8 or #9 for a couple of weeks to take some pressure off. After all, Aki and JB have been very strong in April and have both proven they are able to handle the leadoff spot. BJ is the future leadoff guy for this team and he has the potential to be a Ricky Henderson type leadoff guy (unique combination of power and speed). But, he can’t do it until he gets his head right. If BJ is not hitting, that hurts in a big way. In a lot of ways, the leadoff guy sets the tone for each game. Let’s recall BJ’s first game back against the Yankees on 4/13. He walked on 6 pitches to start the game. He then stole second AND third base! He then scored on a hit by Carlos Pena. That set the tone for a game that ended with the Rays a big winner 15-5 (BJ finished 1-3 with 3 walks, 2 SBs and 2 runs scored). BJ ate up 30 pitches in that game! For comparison’s sake, Game 2 of the Yankees series was a different story. BJ struck out swinging in his first at bat and was on his way to an 0-4 game with a hat trick (3 Ks and he only saw 16 pitches in that game). The Rays lost the game 7-2, collected a meager 3 hits and didn’t score until the 7th inning. Now, I am not blaming that loss on BJ since the bullpen was the real culprit that time, but I make the point that an impactful leadoff guy can get a team going early. BJ has the potential to shape each and every game right out of the gate.

Let’s all hope that BJ gets back into the swing of things soon (or just finds ways to get on base). We should all keep an eye on his progress. With some of the other pieces starting to come together, I strongly believe that BJ is the lynch pin that could ignite a nice run by the Rays in 2009.

Rays Look Impressive in Opening Series Against the Boston Red Sox

After dropping their Opening Day game 5-3 to the Red Sox (and a dominant Josh Beckett), the Rays answered with strong pitching performances by Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza, both of whom picked up a win at Fenway. Lest we forget that it took until mid-September in 2008 for the Rays to pick up a single win on the road against the Red Sox, this was an impressive couple of wins for the Rays and a great way to kick off the 2009 season.

Key take-aways from the opening series:
1) Rays first 3 starters looked very strong. Shields was roughed up a little bit, but he never lost control of the game even though he gave up a few more than we would have liked. The Rays were still very much in Game 1 and could have tied/won the game with one or two timely hits late in the game. Kazmir's fastball was alive and well. He had some crazy movement on his consistent 92+ MPH fastball and was very much on with his change-up. We saw a few good sliders, but I hope to see more of them this year. Garza looked like he hasn't missed a beat since the ALCS. He is really tarting to come into his own. His stuff is just nasty!

2) Rays bats were alive and well after a quiet, 3-hit showing against Beckett. In total, the Rays put up 26 hits (including 13 for extra bases) and scored 14 runs. Notables include Longoria who was 6 for 14 with 2 doubles, 2 homeruns and 5 RBIs; Iwamura who was 5 for 10 with 2 doubles and 3 walks (on-base of .615). Carlos Pena had a rough start to the season going 0 for 5 with 5 Ks, but he contributed a 2-run homerun in Game 2 as well as a single and 3 BBs. His on-base is still nearly .400 even with his very weak start. Finally, Matt Joyce collected his first hit and his first homerun as a Ray in Game 3 when he launched one over the right field fence at Fenway. I like the way this kid looks a lot. As a side note, Edwin Jackson (whom the Rays traded for Matt Joyce) pitched lights out in his Detroit debut (April 7th - pitching as Detroits #2 starter) in what was probably his career best performance. He pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing only 2 hits and only 1 earned run. I hope we didn't let one get away....

3) Rays defense was a little shaky in the outfield, but got the job done. Both Kapler and Joyce had a little bit of trouble in CF. CF at Fenway is no easy task, to be fair, but the Rays will be vastly improved when BJ Upton returns to his post in CF and Joyce and Kapler can spend more time in RF.

Up next for the Rays are the very potent Baltimore Orioles offense (just ask CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang). The Rays should not take these guys lightly as they clearly have the ability to put some runs on the board quickly. I will be keen to see how Sonnanstine's new Changeup performs as well as how the back end of the Baltimore rotation holds up. While the Orioles have plenty of offensive fire power, their purported weakness is the starting rotation. Game time is 7:05PM tonight, 7:05PM tomorrow and 1:35PM on Sunday. Happy Easter!

Pena Wins First Gold Glove; MLB Salary Arbitration Explained and more...

First of all, 9=8.com wants to extend a congrats to Carlos Pena for winning his first (and a Rays franchise first) Gold Glove for his defensive play at first base. Not only did Carlos lead all first basemen with only 2 errors all year, but he made a meaningful number of very tough plays during the regular season. As we saw this year and last, Carlos is one of the best first basemen in all of MLB (offensively and defensively) and has emerged as a leader for the Rays.

Evan Longoria and Joe Maddon look poised to collect some well-deserved hardware next week as well, so stay tuned!

On another note, there has been a lot of talk about what's going on with the Rays, salary arbitration, trade talks, etc. I am working on another post to talk about the Rays needs and potential deals (for free agents as well as trade rumors/ideas), but I'll save that for another day. Today, I wanted to share some details on salary arbitration as it can get a bit confusing. The Rays have the following players elgible for salary arbitration and this will definitely raise the payroll for the 2009 Rays with their 2008 salary noted (hopefully not to the point where they can't get the everyday RF or closer that they need):

• Grant Balfour ($500,000);
• Edwin Jackson ($412,700);
• Dioner Navarro ($412,500);
• Willy Aybar ($401,200);
• Jason Bartlett ($416,600);
• Jonny Gomes ($1,275,000); and
• Gabe Gross ($414,000)

The Rays will need to address these players through arbitration assuming they wish to keep them for 2009. Of those on the list above, it's very possible that the Rays let Jonny Gomes go on his way (or at least offer him much less than his $1,250,000 salary). Other notable salary relief the Rays will get include the following players who might not return in 2009 (or, if they do, they will likely earn less than in 2008): Rocco Baldelli ($2,250,000), Cliff Floyd ($2,750,000), and Trevor Miller ($1,600,000). Also, Troy Percival ($3,897,797) will be done after 2009 when his contract expires, so the Rays know they will have that money rolling off next year. There are lots of things to consider this off-season (per this article in the St. Pete Times yesterday). Will the Rays trade BJ Upton? Will they trade Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine? Maybe Scott Kazmir? Lots of crazy rumors have been flying around, so check back for my post on possible trades the Rays could make or free agents they could sign. In the mean time, here's the breif education on Salary Arbitration in MLB.

Salary Arbitration (from Wikipedia)
If a player is drafted and is offered a contract by his drafting team (or any team he is traded to) each year, he may not become a free agent until he has been on a major league roster or disabled list for at least six years. Otherwise, any player without a contract may become a free agent and sign with any team.

A player is eligible for salary arbitration if he:

• is ineligible for free agency
• is without a contract
• cannot agree with his current team on a new contract
  has been on a major league roster or disabled list for at least three years

"Super Two" exception - A player with at least two years of experience may be eligible for salary arbitration if he:

• Meets the first three requirements from above
• Played in the majors for at least 86 days in the previous season
• Is among the top 17 percent for cumulative playing time in the majors amongst others with at least 2 years, but less than 3 years experience
• In this process, the player and the team both submit a salary offer for a new contract; the arbitrator chooses one number or the other, whichever is thought to be most "fair" given comparable wages among players with similar ability and service time. Players thus rely on arbitration and free agency to increase their salaries.

Players eligible for neither free agency nor salary arbitration are very seldom offered contracts for much more than the league minimum salary, as the player has no recourse to try to obtain a better salary elsewhere. For this reason, in the first three major league years of their careers, players accept comparatively low salaries even when their performance is stellar. This is an accepted practice; talented, young players are usually content to "pay their dues" in this way and earn a chance to negotiate for more in their fourth year. Occasionally, a team may wish to sign a player in his second or third year to a long-term contract, for which negotiation can take place for a much higher salary.

WOW: Believe in the Tampa Bay Rays - a Season of Destiny?

First some business - sign up for our blog via email (click here) and you will have a chance to win 2 tickets to see the Rays play the Twins. Drawing will be on Monday, September 15.
Also, let's fill the PIT for the Red Sox and Twins series.

GREAT SEATS AVAILABLE ON STUBHUB - CLICK HERE!

------------------------------------

First it was Carl Crawford (our #3 hitter), the defensive stalwart and key member of the Rays offensive attack. No problem, we have Rocco Baldelli, Ben Zobrist, Eric Hinske, Justin Ruggianno, Gabe Gross, Dan Johnson...

Then, it was Evan Longoria (our #4 hitter and team leader in HR, RBIs and Slugging %). No problem, we have Willy Aybar.

Then, it was BJ Upton (our #2 hitter and team leader in walks, OBP as well as the AL leader in outfield assists), who has been playing with a torn Labrum in his left shoulder, who strained his quad chasing a ball on Monday at Fenway Park (in the biggest series the Rays have had in FRANCHISE HISTORY). He misses Tuesday and Wednesday's games. No problem, we have Fernando Perez, Ben Zobrist, Dan Johnson, Gabe Gross, etc.

Then, it was Troy Percival. Troy has been hurt for months now and doesn't seem to be getting any better (despite what he is telling Maddon and the trainers). No problem, we have Dan Wheeler, and...JASON "the Hammer" HAMMEL!

The Rays just continue to find ways to win. Anchored by the #1 starting pitching staff in the AL and maybe the majors (sorry, Blue Jays, the Rays are the best) and the #1 bullpen in the AL and probably the Majors (if we had a closer), the cast of characters that have scored runs for this team seems to change every night.

Tuesday, it was Dan Johnson, who, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, after hitting a game-tying HR in the top of the 9th inning Tuesday night after being recalled from Triple-A, became the first player in the last 50 years to hit a September home run in the 9th inning (or later) in his first at-bat for a first-place team. I was listening to Boston Sports Radio during the game and the commentators couldn't even figure out who it was that tied the game! Then, it was Fernando Perez who, despite having some serious challenges hitting from the left side of the plate, smokes a near home run off of the Green Monster for a double. Navarro drove him in on the next at bat and Perez ended up being the winning run. Both Perez and Johnson were not even on this team a few short days ago (Perez joined on 9/1).

Last night, Carlos Pena came through with a CLUTCH home run in the 14th inning. Perhaps this was the least surprising hitter to do so as he's the only guy left standing in the heart of the Rays order. But, even this was not routine as Carlos hit the HR to the OPPOSITE FIELD! If you follow the Rays, you know that many teams play "the Shift" against Carlos because he always pulls the ball. Opposite field homer in the 14th inning?

Finally, our mop-up reliever, Jason Hammel, came into the game with bases loaded and nobody out. He promptly notched his FIRST CAREER SAVE with a strong showing against the heart of the Red Sox order (Kevin Youkilis - an AL MVP contender, Jason "should have been a Ray" Bay and Alex Cora). He threw some nasty pitches to "Not a Ray" Bay (first Red Sox player to go 0-for-7 in nearly 10 years) and stayed strong against Youk and Cora. JASON HAMMEL, Rays fans!!!

The only conclusions I can draw from these dramatic events of Tuesday and Wednesday (not to mention a bunch of other amazing comebacks, walkoffs and leaping, game-saving catches (Gabe Gross, Justin Ruggianno, BJ Upton, etc.) are the following:

1) This team has incredible heart. After starting September slow and hearing all the pundits say "I told you the Rays would fold..." this team picked itself up and notched the 2 biggest wins in franchise history! AND

2) This is a team of distiny. The Rays have found a way to win despite not having their #2, #3 and #4 hitters in the line-up and despite having no closer (sorry, Percy, you don't count right now). This is only possible

The Rays still have plenty of baseball left to play, but Tuesday and Wednesday may just prove to be the pivital moment in the 2008 Rays season. GO RAYS!!!

Rays Win and Take Over MLB's Best Record: A Win to Remember

I wasn’t at the game tonight since I am out of town, but I was able to catch it on TV. WOW! I believe we are going to look back on this game and realize that it was clear statement game for our young team. This game is classic 2008 Rays. There were so many things worth noting:

1) Stellar starting pitching: James Shields had great stuff tonight pitching 8 innings giving up only 2 runs and Dan Wheeler closed it out with a strong 9th inning.

2) Great defense: not only were there no errors by the Rays, but Gabe Gross made a leaping catch up the left field wall (Web Gem #4), Jason Bartlett made a great leaping grab doubling up the runner at first and BJ Upton made a sensational throw to home plate saving a key run (can you say laser show? - Web Gem #2).

3) Very timely “hitting”: hitting is in quotes because the game was actually tied on an RBI walk to Carlos Pena (3 walks on the night). Appropriately, Willy Aybar stayed hot (the Rays fill in player for Longoria) and stepped in and drove in 2 runs with 2 outs in the 8th to seal the victory. He is now batting .364 with 3 HRs, 9 RBIs and 6 extra base hits since taking over 3rd base for the injured Evan Longoria on August 8th (11 games).

4) Finally, you had Joe Maddon aggressively back up BJ Upton when the first base umpire made one of the worst calls I’ve seen all year. Maddon was ejected and BJ now knows that his coach and team mates have his back despite the couple of rough weeks he’s been through. This year is all about TEAM and this aspect of the Rays showed up big tonight.

This game puts the Rays into first place in all of MLB and it is appropriate that it happened the way it did. Remember this game as the year nears a close. I’ll be at the game tomorrow night with my brooms. Go Rays!


Don't forget, to celebrate the launch of 9=8.com, we are giving away two (2) tickets to a 2008 Rays home game as we race to the finish line. If you want to enter to win these free tickets, simply sign up to receive our blog posts via email. We will select 1 winner from our email list over the next few weeks. Check back later this week for more information. Sign up now!

COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT by Matt Garza: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers: August 15, 2008

Matt Garza pitched an absolute gem today with a 2-hit shutout (it should have been a 1 hitter, but the scorer was harsh on a ball that bounced off of Ruggiano's glove). He was throwing smoke early in the game (96-97 MPH) in all the right locations. The offense didn't need to do too much today, but they did deliver 4 long balls and some great hustle on the bases (especially Cliff Floyd). The only blemish on this win (6-2 on this road trip) was that Joe Maddon had to yank BJ Upton from the game for not running out a double play. It's just too bad that BJ has not gotten the message yet. Doesn't he realize that this opportunity doesn't come along everyday (just ask Carl and Johnny who've been in a Rays uniform for many years). Here is a quick and dirty summary of the game:

It's great to have Jason Bartlett back at short stop today for the first time in over a week. Mat Garza came out hot today and really found his groove in the 3rd inning with a 1 pitch pop out and 2 3-pitch strikeouts. That must have inspired Willy Aybar who hits a first pitch HOME RUN in the top of the 4th!

The Rays really opened the floodgates in the 5th inning even though Texas registered 3 strikeouts in the inning (Upton, Aybar and Riggins). Carlos Pena started things off when he smoked a slider into the right field seats for a solo HOME RUN. Cliff Floyd kept things going with a sharp line drive into the left field gap and legged out a double. Hinske then followed up with a 2-RUN BLAST to center field and Gabe Gross finished things off when he hit a FROZEN ROPE over the left field wall. So, the fifth inning featured 3 home runs and 3 strikeouts from the Rays giving them a 5-0 lead. Meanwhile, Garza continues to look very strong striking out the side in the bottom of the 5th (no hits thru 5).

Things were a little more interesting in the 6th inning when BJ Upton hit into a double play and didn't quite hustle to 1B, so Joe Maddon immediately yanked him for Justin Ruggiano. In addition, Kinsler hit a looper into center field that bounced off of Justin's glove and was ruled a hit (this probably should have been an error, in my opinion). Josh Hamilton did hit a hard single up the middle in the 7th inning, so the potential controversy from the prior inning was lessened. The Rays did add another run in the top of the 7th on the double by Cliff Floyd that scored Carlons Pena.

After a strong 8th inning from Garza and some additional insurance in the 9th inning (1 more run scored on a ground out by Eric Hinske), Garza successfully lobbied Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey to allow him to finish off the Rangers, which he did 1-2-3 (culminating in a line-drive out from Josh Hamilton).

When it was all said and done, the Rays won another road game (6-2 on this road trip) against a contender with contributions up and down the line-up. In fact, every slot in the line-up had a hit and four different guys WENT YARD. Great game Rays.

Visit ESPN for the complete box score.