CHEESE & WHINE: Emotional Rollercoaster

RAYS: 7
INDIANS: 11


CHEESE:

• Ben Zobrist. Zobbie did his part in trying to mount a comeback for the ages, hitting a 3-run homer in the 6th inning to bring the Rays within 3 after having trailed by as much as nine.

WHINE:

• Akinori Iwamura. Aki made an uncharacteristic error in the 5th with 2 outs and 2 on. Aki mishandled the ball and the inning continued. Three unearned runs later and the route was on. Aki exemplified the lapse of focus that the entire team seems prone to be struggling with so far this season.
• James Shields. Shields looked good early, but then Dwayne and Kevin interviewed Jim Hickey live from the dug-out during the game, and Hickey was dumb enough to say that everything was going well and that barring some unforeseen melt-down it would be a good night for Shields. Brilliant. Shields lasted 5 innings allowing 5 runs (only 2 of which were earned (see Aki above)) on 10 hits, recording 5 K's and walking 1. All-in-all not too bad, but not acceptable for the "ace" at home against the worst team in the AL.
• Melvin Upton. Another o-fer. Yes, he reached base and quickly recorded 2 steals, but 0-4 again is ridiculous. Melvin's average is down to .172. I've put it off as long as I could, but Mr Upton you are officially "On-Notice" (see sidebar).
• Joe Nelson. Nelson worked only 2/3's of an inning, but allowed 4 runs on 4 hits. I'm not sure if he's paying attention, but someone in the bullpen will be sent packing very soon, so this type of performance isn't helping his personal cause either.

CRACKERS:

• Carlos Pena hasn't hit a homerun in 6 games (21 at bats). And no longer leads the league in HRs.
• BJ Upton hasn't hit a regular season homerun in 27 games (126 at bats) dating back to Sept. 26th of last year.