CHEESE & WHINE: King Me

Rays: 8
Royals: 7

CHEESE:

• Pat Burrell. Pat the Bat is heating up- it gives us a warm and happy feeling.
• Carl Crawford. CC was 3 for 5 (just another day at the office), with 3 runs and an RBI. It was also the threat of CC running that got Cruz out of his game plan in the 8th which then changed the way he pitched Longoria, and the rest, as they say, is history.
• Evan Longoria. Dirtbag came through in the clutch, took advantage of Cruz's split attention, and sent a changeup over the left field wall to put the Rays up 8-7 in the 8th.
• Back-end of the Bullpen. Wheeler and Howell pitched the final 2 innings, allowing zero runs, on zero hits and striking out 2.

WHINE:

• James Shields. The "ace" shouldn't give up 7 runs on 11 hits against a mediocre oppponent. And he should definately not say in a postgame interview that he pitched well (MLB).
• Carlos Pena. Let the post homerun derby slump commence.
• The Yankees and Red Sox won.

CRACKERS:

• At the ceremonial half-way point of the season the Rays still have 3 players with batting averages over .300, none of which has the last name of Pena or Longoria (Crawford, Bartlett, Zobrist).
• Tonight the Rays get their shot at young phenom Zack Greinke. Let's see if the Rays' own former young phenom (Kazmir) can keep up.
• If you get the chance to watch Yankees v. Tigers today at 1:00 you'll be treated to a great pitching match-up, Sabathia v. Verlander.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• Evan Longoria. Clutch is crucial.

CHEESE & WHINE: Royal Flush

RAYS: 3
ROYALS: 2


CHEESE:

• BJ Upton. Upton finished the night just 1 for 4, but the "1" just so happened to be a 2-run homer that put the Rays on top for good, and enabled them to complete their first 3 game sweep of the season. BJ also walked once.
• James Shields. Despite the fact that Shields can't seem to buy any run support (averaging somewhere around 2.5 runs per game, as opposed to Niemanns' 6+ runs of support per game recently) he still walked away with a W after battling through several tight spots. Shields finished the night having pitched 8 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, while striking-out 8 and walking none. Thank the lord that these starters are finally finding their stride, and I'm sure the bullpen is enjoying the rest as well. Pure coincidence that as soon as Kaz left the rotation the rest of the pitchers seemingly picked-up their game? Is it a matter of picking-up the slack in his absence or is Kaz just full of bad mojo?
• JP Howell. Once again JP came-in in the clutch and performed well; going 1 inning (3 batters) striking out 1 and picking up the save.
• Joe Dillon. All this guy does, apparently, is get on base. Last night Dillon was 3 for 4 out of the DH position.
• Double Plays. Last night we got to see 2 less-common double plays; with bases loaded and no outs Shields turned a "back at ya" grounder into a 1-2-3 (pitcher-catcher- first) double play, and later Aybar did a great job initiating a 5-3 double play (third to first).

WHINE:

• RISP. Once again the Rays did a horrible job with runners in scoring position, finishing the night 0-13. Last night the Rays were fortunate to escape with a W thanks to the long ball, but I'm fairly certain that they'll never win another game in which they finish 0-13 with runners in scoring position.
• The Middle of the Lineup. Aybar, Pena, Zobrist, Joyce were a combined 0-12. Its getting close to the time where we start to worry about the holes in Pena's swing.
• The Sox and Yanks won.

CRACKERS:

• Last night the Rays got back to .500 (28-28), so in case you didn't notice we've once again exorcised the Devil (hopefully for good this time).
• The Rays are now just 2 games back of 3rd place Toronto.
• Reid Brignac hit his first career triple last night.

CAVIAR:

James Shields. 8 solid innings with 8 K's and no walks... no brainer.

CHEESE & WHINE: Niemann!

TAMPA BAY: 9
KANSAS CITY: 0


CHEESE:

• Jeff Niemann. Niemann pitched an absolute gem; throwing a complete game shut-out, facing just 3 over the minimum, allowing only 2 hits (arguably only 1) and issuing just one walk while striking-out 9. Niemann was working on a no-hitter into the 5th, but if you were watching the game you heard some knucklehead in the background of the press box talking on his phone about how Niemann was pitching the no-no and he could be witnessing history, come on man, everybody knows that you don't talk about it. Geez!
• Ben Zobrist. Zorilla strikes yet again, recording his second grand slam of the season (10th HR), his only hit of the night. Zobrist also had a fine defensive game as well.
• Carl Crawford. Just another day at the office for CC; 2 for 3 with a walk, and 2 more stolen bases (33).
• BJ Upton. Thankful BJ has finally started to step it up, having another nice day at the plate; 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, a walk, and a stolen base (17)
• The Yankees and Jays lost.

WHINE:

• Glancing at the lineup and seeing the infield look like this; Aybar, Brignac, Zobrist, Pena... depressing. Where have all my starters gone?
• Boston won.

CRACKERS:

• At one point last night there were three players in the game at the same time who's last names are Pena- none of which are related.
• Talk about run support; the Devil Rays (its getting harder to call them that) have given Niemann more than 8 runs per game (8.2) over his last 6 starts.
• It took Jeff Niemann exactly 100 pitches to dispose of Kansas City last night, 69 of which were strikes (that's 69% for all you Florida grads).

CAVIAR(game ball):

Jeff Niemann. I honestly saw this coming- really, I did. Check past posts I've been defending him all along.

Honorable Mention: Ben Zobrist

CHEESE & WHINE: Re-Joyce and Be Glad

TAMPA BAY: 6
KANSAS CITY: 2


CHEESE:

• Matt Joyce. Joyce has come kickin' and screamin' into the Bigs; last night he finished 3 for 4 from the plate with another homer, a double, and 4 RBI. Joyce already has 3 times as many homers as Melvin Upton. Sadly, this may mark the end of the Gabe Gross era in Tampa, and its a dirty, rotten shame if Kapler stays and Gross goes based solely on handedness.
• Andy Sonnanstine. Sonny looked good last night, showing great control of his pitches and making very few mistakes (2 of which were sent into the bleachers). Sonnanstine lasted 6 and 2/3 innings allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits while striking-out 3 and walking 0. These are the sort of numbers that have kept Sonny in the rotation over the past 2 seasons, because for a 4 or 5-guy those numbers are spectacular. I'm fairly certain however, that Sonny's days in the rotation are numbered regardless.
• Ben Zobrist. Zorilla strikes again. Davies was pitching a very good game when along came Benny-Boo in the 4th and spoiled his night by smashing a fastball over the right field wall for his 9th homer of the season. That's 1 homer every 14 at bats. Good numbers for a bench player by any stretch of the imagination. Just to put that into perspective Carlos Pena is averaging a homer every 11 at bats.
• BJ Upton. I said several weeks ago that when Melvin began hitting, and got his batting average over .200 I'd give him his nickname back. Well guess what happened while I wasn't paying attention. Last night BJ went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a steal. Upton is now sitting at .211.
• Grant Balfour. The Mad Aussie was up to his old tricks in relief of Sonny; facing 5 batters allowing 0 hits and striking out 3 in 1 and 1/3 innings.
• JP Howell. JP came-in in a save-type situation (although it wasn't actually a save situation due to the lead being more than 3 runs (at least that's how I understand it)), faced 3 batters allowed zero hits and struck-out 2 to end the game.

WHINE:

• Evan Longoria. Come on Dirt McGirt, what were you thinking? You can't get hurt- you're leading the universe in all-star votes, and the Devil Rays are in desperate need of your services.
• Pat Burrell. Did you forget that this dude was on the team? Stiff necks don't last 3 weeks- pre-existing spinal injuries do, label me a conspiracy theorist, I don't care. This is getting ridiculous.
• RISP. Once again the team was only 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

CRACKERS:

• Sonny now joins Garza, Niemann, Kazmir, and Shields with 4 wins on the season. Meaning that each of the original starting five now have 4 wins.
• Longoria says his hamstring is "okay", but the Devil Rays will administer an MRI today, and will approach the situation with the utmost caution.

CAVIAR (game ball):

Matt Joyce. Great showing in front of your home crowd, hopefully just a sign of things to come. This kid has the second prettiest swing on the team (Longoria), a thing of beauty.

*Honorable Mention: Andy Sonnanstine.

CHEESE & WHINE: Off Day

The Devil Rays were off on Monday, so instead of the usual Cheese & Whine (sorry we missed the Sunday game- suspensions have been handed down) we'll just do a mini series-preview:

PREVIEW

TAMPA BAY V. KANSAS CITY

Game 1
Tonight (first pitch 7:08)
Tropicana Field, St Pete, FL

Probable Pitchers:
Kyle Davies, RHP (2-4, 5.09) vs. Andy Sonnanstine, RHP (3-5, 7.66)

Davies is coming off a game in which he gave up 8 earned runs in just over 5 innings, and is looking to rebound with a more solid performance. Apparently, Davies has been pitching better than his numbers indicate, so we'll see how it all pans out tonight.

Sonny is also coming off a poor showing (surprise) in Cleveland last week where he also allowed 8 earned runs in just 3 innings of work, including a homer by his arch-nemesis Ben Fransisco, who's lifetime stats against Sonny are of epic, video-game proportions (8 for 9, 5 HRs, 12 RBI).
--

Game 2
June 3 (first pitch 7:08)
Tropicana Field, St. Pete, FL

Probable Pitchers:
TBD v. Jeff Niemann, RHP (4-4, 4.44) (beautiful symmetry- lots of 4's)

The Royals starter for game 2 has been shrouded in secrecy, and has caused quite a stir throughout the baseball community. Who could it be? A long lost player back from retirement? A red-hot prospect getting the cal-up all the way from single-A? The world wants...no needs to know!
Just kidding, by this time tomorrow we'll know who will be on the mound to strike out Melvin Upton to start-off the bottom of the 1st.

Niemann has been showing signs of really being able to put it together, and it would be nice to see him make it past the 6th inning here. His last outing was cut short by Lake Erie acid rain in Cleveland (ahhh, the many days I spent frolicking in that toxic Lake Erie rain! The memories... aren't there because the mercury in the water has burned them out of my brain).
(FYI: I was born and raised on the shores of Lake Erie, in Erie, Pa.)
--

Game 3
June 4 (first pitch 4:08)
Tropicana Field, St Pete, FL

Probable Pitchers:
Gil Meche, RHP (2-5, 4.33) v. James Shields, RHP (4-4, 3.53)

Meche apparently spent a good portion of May fighting back issues so his numbers may be a bit misleading. Meche has been the Royals' go-to guy for the last several years, and for them to continue to compete they'll need more consistency out of ol' Gil... hopefully that doesn't start during game 3 of this series.

Shields has looked decent for most of the season, but finally put together a truly Shields-esque performance last week vs the Twins allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits through 7 innings and recording the W. So far this season Shields has been the one unlucky starter that hasn't gotten any run support (this is where a good writer would back that up with statistical evidence, but alas I am not one of those), so hopefully on Thursday Shieldsy will finally get a little help from his friends.
--

How I see it:
I see the Rays being able to pull-off at least 2 out of 3 and wouldn't be surprised (although I'd be ecstatic) if they were able to record their first series sweep of the season. The biggest wildcard being (of course) Sonnanstine, but I've not lost all faith in Sonny quite yet, so we shall see.
--

Tidbit:
Niemann, Shields, and Garza are all 4-4 at the time of this post. Peculiar considering all the positive attention Garza has garnered (and rightfully so) and all the negative attention Niemann has received (not quite as justified).

Royal Disappointment?

The sun is shining- not a cloud in the St. Petersburg sky, you can smell coconut shrimp as it co-mingles with the salty bay air. Folks are whistling "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" as they stroll down the boardwalk walking their Scottish terriers with their cute little Carlos Pena jerseys. Birds chirp as the sound of the surf methodically washes away ten years of frustration... and somewhere in the distance you can still hear Sox fans crying softly into their lucky charms.

So with their heads held high and their chests puffed-out, fresh off a series sweep of the defending World Series Champs- the Rays march back to the Trop for a series against the almost last place Kansas City Royals...

This has disaster written all over it.

How many times in the history of sports has a team risen to the challenge and beaten their arch-rival, or the "unbeatbale foe" just to follow it up with their poorest performance of the season? I'll tell you; it happens a lot.
Preparing yourself mentally for the big game is easy, adrenaline does the work for you, but getting pumped up for the run-of-the-mill games- well that's a different story altogether.

Even if you consider it from a fan's perspective, its difficult. I was so excited about the Sox series I couldn't wait until first pitch each night, it felt like I was a kid in school waiting for the eighth period bell to ring or lying in bed waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve- the games just couldn't start fast enough.

The Royals series? I love watching the Rays regardless of the opponent, but really- how pumped can you get about the Royals? Even if Bo Jackson himself marched out onto the field as the Kansas City clean-up hitter it would still be difficult to even begin to garner the same type of excitement as the Sox series.

This is where inexperience can get you caught with your pants down. This is that series where veteran teams know that by winning big they can start a snowball effect that will carry them to the Break, but the inexperienced team can just as easily start to sef-destruct.

Coming off a huge series in which they've built themselves a nice little division lead, and heading into a series against a much lesser opponent is dangerous for any team, but a young team that is just now learning how to win is doubly susceptible to the prototypical let-down.

These are the series that the Rays are going to have to dominate if they plan on being contenders all season long, after all (as Sox fans are so quick to point out) you don't get anything for having the best record in baseball at the All-Star Break (although it does have anice ring to it).

No, I don't believe that if the Rays lose this series that they'll just fade away into a second half of disappointmnet and mediocrity, but I do believe that if they aren't careful, they just may give away a game or two that they'd give anything to get back come September.