Cheese & Whine: Yankees @ Rays, Part 3

RAYS 2, New York 6

CHEESE

Hmmm. Well, Garza threw an alright game, giving up only three runs in seven innings, and both C.C. and Longo had a couple of good moments at the plate. That's about it.

WHINE

The Rays offense did not show up, which allowed Joba "Six Innings" Chamberlain to make it through the eighth inning throwing only 101 pitches and allowing only four Rays' baserunners. Ugh. Pat the

Dan Wheeler put an exclamation point on a weak showing by the Rays' bullpen by giving up two homers in the top of the ninth.

CRACKERS

The upshot of the past several days is this: the Rays are going to need a lot of help from the Yankees, Red Sox, and, if things keep going the way they look to be going, Rangers if they're going to make the playoffs. As of today, their chances don't look good.

Well, the Rays ought to be able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and pummel the Royals for the next four games. Not that doing so bears upon their apparent inability to win big games, or big series', against good teams.

Let's hope for the best anyway.

GO RAYS!!

- Dustin

Cheese & Whine: Yankees @ Rays, Part 2

RAYS 6, New York 2

CHEESE

Scott Kazmir was great, and he managed to work into the 8th inning. I really can't remember the last time I saw Kaz on the mound that late in a game (pretty sure it was July, 21st of last year in a 4-0 win over the Athletics) but it was sure nice to see it again. This is the kind of performance--in a big game, against a hot team--that makes people excited about Kazmir, and also what makes us so frustrated when he underperforms. Kid-K struck out four while only walking one and giving up one run on five hits. Not a bad night's work.

The Rays Defense didn't necessarily "wow" on every play, but it was solid. This was in direct contrast to the Yankees defense, which looked sluggish and inept through most of the game. These two factors, in combination with Kazmir's excellent pitching and good relief work (how cool was that double play Balfour got Jeter to hit into?), go an awful long way towards explaining the line score.

Speed kills. The Rays hit three triples and two doubles to go along with Longoria's solo homerun, thereby illustrating the fact that stolen bases ain't the only way fast runnin' helps a team.

The Boston Red Sox lost to Oakland.

WHINE

Since I live in NYC and do not own a TV, I watched this game at a bar full of Yankee fans (since I live in Brooklyn, there're usually more Mets fans than Yankee fans around, but for some reason even the Mets fans were pulling for the Bombers last night, almost as though they were bitter about something...). When you watch the Rays beat the Yankees from such a vantage point, it's hard to find things to whine about. Oh, sure, Pat the Rally Killer and Carlos "El Gatinho" Peña went a collective 0-fer with a 5:1 K-BB ratio, but I don't feel like I need to bring that up.

CRACKERS

Coolstandings now has the Rays' chances of making the playoffs at 30.6%. That number will take another leap forward if the Rays pull off the series win tonight. If the Good Matt Garza shows up, the Rays have an excelleng shot at winning. If the Bad Matt Garza shows up, the Rays still have a shot at pounding Joba Chamberlain and the Yanks into submission.

With the Red Sox helping out by forgetting how to win, the Rays have a real opportunity here to make up some ground. On the other hand, the Rays are still five games behind Boston in the loss column, and they really can't afford to let that number get any bigger. Point being: the Rays have got to take this series tonight and build up some momentum so they can buzzsaw the Royals when they roll into town tomorrow.

GO RAYS!

- Dustin

Cheese & Whine: Yankees @ Rays, Part 1

RAYS 4, New York 11

Not much to say about last night's misery, other than...

CHEESE

It ain't much, but BJ Upton put up two hits, scored two runs, and did not get thrown out on the basepads. Meanwhile, Pat Burrell hit a dinger, which would've been great if he could've done it a couple days ago. Last night, it was meaningless.

WHINE

Oh, there's so much to say here. For example, we might wonder: at what point do we start to worry about James Shields? I understand that he's been bad against the Yankees since forever, but he's been mediocre for a longer stretch than I remember having seen. A shaky start plus a leaky bullpen is a recipe for, well, pretty much exactly what we saw last night.

CRACKERS

The Rays obviously gotta do better than that. Unfortunately, they've got Scott "The Five-Inning Kid" Kazmir on the mound tonight against C.C. Sabathia. Cross your fingers and hope tonight's the night Kaz figures it out and looks like the dominant starter we all though (and some of us still think) he could (or can) be.

GO RAYS!!

- Dustin

Monday Weekend Wrap-Up

Greetings all! I, Dustin, will be taking over daily duties here at Rays the Stakes while our regular host, everybody's favorite DirtbagFan, tries his luck on the links and soaks up the relatively pleasant summer weather in northern PA.

I apologize for any disappointment this causes any of our readers. I assure you that this arrangement is temporary. With any luck, we'll all get through this. Enough throat clearing; onto the weekend's games.

SATURDAY: RAYS 10, Toronoto 9

This game looked over until the 6th, when the Rays began to launch the biggest comeback in franchise history. David Price gave up six runs and three dingers in only three innings of work (hey, at least he didn't walk anybody, right?), and Lance Cormier gave up two more in the fourth to make it 8-0 in favor of the hosts. Meanwhile, the Rays offense managed only two baserunner through the first five innings (Kapler singled to lead off the third and went nowhere; Crawford singled to start the fourth and was promptly cut down in a 6-4-3 double play).

Navarro's put himself in position to score with a one-out double in the sixth, and Upton managed to bring him home with a single. Not satisfied with this, however, the junior Bossman ran himself into an out at second. Of course, since Upton makes so few mistakes on the basepads, we won't criticize him for it; neither will we bother mentioning that he was caught stealing second in the 8th after it was clear the rally was on (seriously, I know it's been said many times in many places, but while I'm all for being aggressive on the bases, the Rays in general--and Upton in particular--seem to be running into a lot of outs. Not good. There's gotta be some middle ground between aggression and stupidity).

Anyhow, though the Rays gave the run right back in the bottom of the sixth (to make the game 9-1, for those who are counting), the offense came out swinging in the seventh. Carlos Peña made it 4-9 with a three-run triple, and the inning ended 5-9 after Aybar got El Gato home. I said I wasn't gonna mention BJ getting caught stealing in the eighth, but I think I must. He lead off the inning with a single, and then promptly erased himself with C.C. at the plate. Now, C.C. grounded out to second, which might have been placed such that it would have been possible to double up him and Upton. MIGHT. Anyhow, the result was the same: two outs, none on. A walk, a single, and a passed ball later, however, and Pat the Bat singles in Longo and Benzo to cut the lead to two (and then he gets gunned down trying to stretch the single; inning over). Peña and Aybar tied it up with a pair of solo shots in the nineth, getting to Downs once again (think the Rays will be beating closers like Papelbon and Rivera? I have doubts).

This game is an excellent example of how schitzophrenic the Rays can seem. Through the first five innings, the offense is positively anemic, and the hitters look lost. Then, all of a sudden, the flood gates open, and the next thing you know it seems like they might actually make the game competative, even if a win still seems more than a little bit far-fetched. A few innings later, Bartlett enters the game, doubles in a run, then Nelson's recording a save, and the Rays take it 10-9. It's hard to complain about a win, and there was a lot to like (Peña's power and Balfour striking out the side, for example) but a few more like this one will definitely turn my hair grey.

SUNDAY: RAYS 1, Toronoto 5

This game was no fun at all, as the Rays seemed to sleep-walk through it. Maybe they were just anxious to get out of town. Jeff Niemann gave up 5 runs in 6.2 innings, and didn't actually look all that bad. As has been pointed out elsewhere, it was really one bad pitch--a slider that hung up right over the plate and which Scott Rolen promptly sent over the fence--that sank him. The other thing worth noting about the game is this: Rays with RISP? 0-5. Crawford personally accounted for 100% of the Rays' scoring, and kudos for that. Too bad he did it in the sixth and not the eighth, with Upton on base. That might've got things going again. Anyhow, a fine effort by Niemann, solid work by the Rays bullpen, and utterly dreadful offense, especially from Pat the Designated Rally Killer. Not the way I hoped the weekend would end.

The Week that Was

According to Bill Chastain, "any winning road trip can be counted as a positive." I suppose that's true, so I shouldn't be upset about the Rays' 6-4 performance since the All Star Break. Along similar lines, Mark Lancaster wonders whether the Rays should “lament missed opportunities or be thankful that the majority of the 50-50 toss-ups seemed to fall in their favor?” He comes down, unsurprisingly, in favor of the latter rather than the former, which is fine. But I think it's important to do both. The Rays won some close games this trip. That's something they haven't done much of this year. However, most of those close games were against teams that are going to be in competition for last in their divisions. Against the one team that's in contention, the White Sox, the Rays dropped three of four, including the utterly humiliating complete game hurled by Buhrle. As I suggested last week, there's no way the Rays can give and miss opportunities at the present pace if they want to beat good, or even middling teams. The swing through Chicago bore this out. It was important that they managed 2-3 in Toronto, but that doesn't make up for failing to split with the Sox.

The Week that Will Be

Coolstandings has the Rays' chances of winning the division at 13.3%, and it gives them only a 33.6% chance of making the playoffs.

Starting this evening, the Rays begin a series against the Yankees that really couldn't be bigger. The season series is tied 4-4 thus far, and the Rays are 6.5 back in the standings coming into the homestand (they're 2.5 behind the Red Sox, and they're currently third in the Wild Card standings). If they're going to stay in contention in the East, if they're going to stay in the Wild Card hunt, the Rays must--MUST--take at least two from the Yanks.

Doing so will not be easy. The Bombers are hot right now, and they will send Burnett, Sabathia, and Chamberlain up against Shields, Kazmir, and Garza. Burnett tends to pitch very well against the Rays, and Shields hasn't won since June 20th (he's 0-1 with five no-decisions). Sabathia is Sabathia, and the Rays will have to hope to get at least five good innings from Kazmir and another strong performance from their bullpen. Since the 'pen is likely to see a lot of action on Tuesday, we have to hope for good outings from Shields and Garza. Both are certainly capable, but it's a really big IF. At the very least, let's all cross our fingers for an orange-lit dome tonight.

After the Yankees, the Rays face the Royals in a four-game series. The first game, on Thursday, features Sidney Ponson against David Price. That should be the first of four totally winnable games. There's every reason to figure that at this point next week, the Rays faithful will be looking forward to a Monday night sweep. Let's cross our fingers and hope that, when we get to that point, we can plausibly hope that by sweeping KC, the Rays can solidify their position as contenders in the division.

The trade deadline expires on Friday. The Rays have been linked to a number of rumors, but nothing particularly substantive. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, plays out. I for one think the Rays are and ought to be able to win with what they've got as long as they can stay out of their own way. If they can't do that now, I'm not convinced that any move they might make will help.

It's not totally crazy to call this series against the Yankees make-or-break. The Rays need to win it, and they're perfectly capable of doing so. The Rayshead faithful will, as ever, make their presence felt.

GO RAYS!!

- Dustin

P.S. The Hardball Times ranks the Rays 5th on their Dartboard. On the face of it, that's pretty good. Unfortunately, however, that puts them behind the (#2) Yankees and (#4) Red Sox.

Gone Golfin'

Just a quick post to let everyone (all 7 of you that actually read) that I will be taking a much deserved golf trip/vacation back to home (Erie, Pa).



I'll be gone from today (7/25 - Wednesday 8/5).

I am leaving the blog in the capable hands of our friend Dustin... please direct all complaints directly to him.

GO RAYS!

-Dirtbag Fan

CHEESE & WHINE: Not Losing Hope

Rays: 4
Jays: 2
(10 innings)

CHEESE:

• Rolling with the Punches. Games like the perfect game in Chicago can break a team's spirit. Being in the AL East, where one bad week can end your season can break your spirit. Combining the two is a deadly combination, but the Rays came right back and found a way to beat the AL's best pitcher, thanks in large part to...
• Matt Garza. That's the Garza we've come to love. The sooner this kid realizes that pitching to contact is the easiest way to win with a defense like the Rays' behind him the better the entire team will be. Garza out-dueled Roy Halladay, pitching 9 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits while striking-out 9 and walking... none. Beauty, eh?
• JP Howell. Please bring all of your items to the front of the stadium, JP Howell will now be closing. It's uncanny to see JP pitching so well, I'm a huge fan, and have been since he made the move to the 'pen before last season, but the images of Howell's feeble attempts as a starting pitcher in '07 still make it hard for me to grasp how great of a reliever he's become.

WHINE:

• Nah. The Rays rebounded and beat one of the league's best pitchers, and everyone always says I'm too pessimistic, so I'll just savor the win- I won't mention that Carlos Pena was 0-5 against a right-handed pitcher again or anything, I swear.

CRACKERS:

• The Rays are now 3-0 against the Jays when Halladay gets the start. I'm fairly certain I still don't want to see him in a Boston or New York jersey though.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• Matt Garza. Who else?

Angels, and Indians, and Blue Jays, Oh My!

Suddenly, like a storm off the coast of Africa, the Rays are being mention as a potential suitor for just about every big-name free agent that is supposedly being shopped-around.

First it was scouting Pedro Martinez as a potential closer.

Then it was rumored that they were looking-into what Toronto wanted for Halladay. Then it was checking under the hood of Cliff Lee in Cleveland.

Oh, and don't forget about the new Victor Martinez rumor too; and suddenly the Angels may have some interest in Kazmir (have they been watching this kid?).

Its otherworldly to me to see a team that was considered to be completely maxed out on payroll two weeks ago, all of a sudden become the sexy pick to make a big trade deadline splash.

Some of these deals have legs, some do not, but I can speculate with some degree of certainty that none of them will come to fruition.

I'd set the odds for the Rays making a splash before next week at about 75:1.

CHEESE & WHINE: (Im)Perfection

Rays: 0
White Sox: 5


CHEESE:

• It ended quickly, and it's always fun to witness a no-hitter or a perfect game- even against our beloved Rays.

WHINE:

• Being on the losing end of a perfect game.
• Watching a shell of the formerly formidable Scott Kazmir.

CRACKERS:

• Buehrle's perfect game was the league's first since 2004.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• For the first time ever, a non-Ray: Mark Buehrle

This Afternoon's Line-ups

This afternoon's game will feature two solid pitchers, Kazmir(4-5) and Buehrle(10-3).
Here's the rest of the usual suspects as well:

First pitch is set for 2:05

TAMPA BAY (52-43)
Upton - CF
Crawford- LF
Longoria- 3B
Pena- 1B
Zobrist- 2B
Burrell- DH
Kapler- RF
Hernandez- C
*Bartlett- SS

CHICAGO (49-45)
Podsednik- CF
Ramirez- SS
Dye- RF
Konerko- DH
Quentin- LF
Beckham- 3B
Nix- 2B
Castro- C
Fields- 1B

*How great is it that the Rays have the type of lineup where they can set-up the league's fourth best batting average to hit out of the 9-hole. I love it.

Way off the Wall

This would most certainly never happen, but just for fun let's see what people think:

Online Surveys & Market Research