CHEESE & WHINE: Thin Air

Rays: 3
Rockies: 5


CHEESE:

• Jason Bartlett. JB is picking-up right where he left off before his trip to the DL. After going 2 for 4 last night Bartlett once again went 2 for 4, including a triple.
• Dioner Navarro. Navi was 2 for 3 from the plate with an RBI and a walk. Navi also caught Barmes trying to steal second.
• The Bullpen. What was the Rays' Achilles' heel for the first quarter of the season has started to become their bright spot (sunburst, if you will). Last night Nelson (who gave-up his first hit in 8 outings!), Balfour and Choate combined to allow 0 runs on 2 hits in 3 innings of work. The trio combined for 0 walks and 4 K's. Solid gold.

WHINE:

• Matt Garza. Matty-G struggled with his control for the second straight outing, that's not good. Garza looked his old-self out there losing control of his emotions. I hope the next time Hickey comes out to see him and he (Garza) walks away while Hick is still talking that Maddon will give him the hook immediately. That behavior of showing-up your pitching coach is selfish, childish, and unacceptable. Garza lasted 6 innings, giving-up 5 runs on 4 hits (3 HRs), while striking-out 5 and walking 2.
• Blown Opportunities. The Rays were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and left 12 men on base.
• Evan Longoria. Dirtbag looked like an A-baller at the plate last night. Come on Evan, see the ball, hit the ball. Longoria was 1 for 4 with 3 strikeouts and a HBP.
• Carlos Pena. Pena should've excelled in the thin Colorado air, but failed to generate any offense last night, going 0 for 4 and leaving 4 men on base.
• The Yankees and Red Sox lost. This is usually a good thing (and it still is), the bad part is the fact that the Rays could've made up a game on both teams and didn't.

CRACKERS:

• The Rays are now 2 games behind Toronto, 3 behind New York, and 6 behind Boston.
• Many Thanks to The Rocket Scientist. TRS has been writing here for just a few months, but his comedic stylings have been tickling readers from the start. Well it turns out that you can't keep big-league talent in AAA for too long, so TRS has taken his show on the road with a few of his friends and started another new Rays' blog. Check him out at Trop It Like Its Hot, but don't forget to come back Rays the Stakes when you're done.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• Jason Bartlett. Another .500 night, another opportunity for me to beg the question why he's not leading-off.

CHEESE & WHINE: It Had To End

Rays: 3
Rockies: 5

CHEESE:

• Evan Longoria. 2 for 4 with yet another homer. This was Dirt McGirt's 16th homerun and his 60th RBI. Evan's batting average is hovering around .300 (.308 to be exact), and it would be nice to see him keep it closer to .325, but I'll take .300 any day.
• David Price. Or at least his control, and pitch count control. Price threw 72% strikes last night (71 of 99) which is a full 10% more strikes than league average (according to Kevin Kennedy). Price also lasted 7 full innings in a losing effort during which he allowed 5 runs on 10 hits, not overly horrible for Coors Field. King David also recorded a pickoff when he gunned-down Fowler at first base. The pitch efficiency and location control were both extremely encouraging despite the loss.

WHINE:

• Run Support. Yesterday we posted about how few runs the Rays average after a big offensive day, last night they proved my research almost to a tee. Check it out (Repeat Runs)
• BJ Upton. 0 for 4, again. At this point moving Bossman out of the lead-off spot wouldn't just help the team, I think it would help him too.

CRACKERS:

• Last night The Rays managed 3 runs on 8 hits. Of all the players who recorded a hit Longo was the only one to record more than 1.
• The Rays issued ZERO walks last night.

CAVIAR (gameball):

• Evan Longoria. Another homer, another .500 game (plus there really wasn't any other competition)

CHEESE & WHINE: Rocky Mountain High

Rays: 12
Rockies: 4


CHEESE:

• Gabe Kapler. I'm still one of Gabe's biggest critics, but credit is given where credit is due: The Hammer finished the night 3 for 4 with 4 RBI, including another homer (his 4th). Kapler finished a double away from being the first Rays player to hit for the cycle.
• Ben Zobrist. I might as well call this the Zobrist & Whine post every morning. Zorilla ended the day 3 for 5 with 1 RBI (coming on his 14th homerun of the season). Zorilla also finished a double shy of being the first Rays player to hit for the cycle.
• Jason Bartlett. How great was it to see JB back in the lineup? I was slow to come around on this guy, but his value is no longer arguable. In his return from the DL Bartlett managed to go 2 for 4 with an RBI and scored twice.
• BJ Upton. Upton was 3 for 5 on the night with a home run and 3 RBI. Bossman also had 7 total bases in the game. Of course he couldn't help but get picked-off at first, again.
• Joe Nelson. Nelson has been about as good as you can be over his last seven appearances; allowing zero runs and, believe it or not, zero hits in that span. Last night Nelson threw for 1 and 1/3, walking 1 and striking out 3, allowing zero runs on zero hits. Go ahead and keep doing that Joe.
• Longball. The Rays combined for 5 homers in the game, one each for Upton, Pena, Kapler, Longoria, and Zobrist.

WHINE:

• Boston, New York, and Toronto all won their respective games as well- so much for making up ground. C'est La Vie.

CRACKERS:

• The Rays are now 4 games over .500 for the first time this season.
• Ben Zobrist has just one fewer homer run than Evan Longoria despite having 60 less AB's so far this season.
• Pena's 21 homers leads the AL.

CAVIAR (gameball):

• Ben Zobrist/Gabe Kapler. These two are on fire.