78.

78.

What is the number of pitches Sonnanstine threw before being yanked for no apparent reason?

Andy Sonnanstine was cruising along against a fairly formidable Yankees' lineup last night; 5 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits while recording 3 strikeouts, issuing only 1 walk, and at the time was in line for the W.

Those numbers aren't spectacular, but I'll take them on any given night against any given opponent.

Here's where I get lost:

Why, when Sonny showed no signs of fatigue and never got himself into real trouble was he pulled out of the game? Why not let him pitch the 6th, and if that goes well, the 7th?

Instead, Maddon made the call to the 'pen and brought in Joe Nelson to start the 6th. Nelson did a fine job, but it was all down hill from there (with the exception of Brian Shouse who came in situationally and did well, also).

The other relief pitchers were all horrible.

Balfour, Howell, and Percy (the supposed "closer") combined to pitch 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and only combining to strike out 1, but, and its a big "but", i don't blame them this time (not entirely at least).

If Sonny had been left in the game until he reached his maximum pitch count (around 100, like everyone else) then the parade of mediocrity would've never taken place.

Let's say for the sake of argument that Sonny holds the Yankees to 1 or 2 baserunners in each of the next two innings (the 6th and 7th), but doesn't allow another run.
Let's also say the Rays don't score a run in the 6th or 7th either (because they didn't).

Now the pitching situation changes dramatically. Now the bullpen is only responsible for 6 outs so now you bring in Balfour/Shouse depending on where the Yankees are in their order and then *gulp* Percy in the ninth to close a 3-2 Rays win. Ta-Da!

I know its easy to see on paper, but it should've been easy for Joe Maddon to see in person. There is no conceivable reason as to why Sonny was limited to 78 pitches, none.

Its the first of many, many poor bullpen decisions I'm afraid Mr Maddon will make this season. He is a great manager, and I think he's the best for the job in Tampa, but he has no idea how to operate a bullpen/pitching staff (see Trevor Miller, 2008).

Come on Joe!! We deserve better than that. Sonny deserves better than that- he should not be "rewarded" for a good outing by being sat down after the 5th... unbelievable, and unacceptable!

CHEESE & WHINE: Do you have a 'Pen I can borrow?

RAYS: 3
YANKS: 4


CHEESE:

• Sonny. Sonnanstine allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 1 and striking out 3. While it wasn't a gem by any means, Sonny pitched pretty well and was in a position to get the W if not for a combination of mistakes by other people (more on that later).
• Carlos Pena. Pena was awarded his Gold Glove before the game and then reminded everyone why we really love him by blasting a homer into right field to recapture the lead in the fourth.

WHINE:

• Joe Maddon. He gets paid a lot of money to make good decisions, but nearly every pitching decision he made yesterday was the wrong one. Yes, I know the pitchers should take responsibility for sucking too (and they will), but the whole thing last night was a big clusterf%@&. Andy Sonnanstine was pitching a nice ballgame and was showing no signs of fatigue when Papa Joe decided it was time for him to go. Dumb. And it cost them the game (more on that later).
• Howell, Percival, Balfour. The last thing we need is for you clowns to start looking like the "laugh-staff" of years gone by. Get your crap together! The combined stat line for these knuckleheads last night: 1 and 1/3 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs while only managing 2 K's, with Howell blowing the save and Percival taking the lose. Well done.
• BJ Upton. Okay, so you made one amazing over-the-shoulder grab and it caught you a bunch of attention, great. That does not mean that you should be trying it every freakin' play. There is a huge difference between playing shallow and playing so close to Aki that he can hear you breathing. Come on man, if you're gonna play shallow then you better make sure that you're not too shallow to get to the wall before the ball.

CRACKERS:

• Joe Nelson did a fine job out of the pen, pitching 1 and 2/3's allowing no hits while recording 2 K's and issuing a walk.
• The Rays have now lost 2 of their first 3 series of the season.

No Affirmative Action in Boston?

JACKIE ROBINSON DAY.

Today is Jackie Robinson Day, so Happy Jackie Robinson Day. I don't really see why the color barrier talk still ruminates, but it does, and as it did I overheard the fellas over at WDAE radio here in Tampa talking about various teams and the number of African Americans on their rosters.

I thought there were a couple of interesting points (although, again I really think at this point in American society it doesn't really matter- we're past that (see Obama, Barrack). Regardless, here are those points:

• The Dodgers (ironically) lead the league with the most African American players.
  
• The Chowderheads in Boston have the least... Zero!
  
• The Rays aren't far ahead with only 2 (Crawford and Upton)

Dan Wheeler's lucky day...

A poster over at Rays Index who goes by "Brixology" just reminded me that Pillsbury (Dan Wheeler) was aweful last night!
I can't believe that i forgot to include him in the "Whine" section of today's Cheese & Whine.
It's too late in the day to care now, so he gets a free pass, but next time he pitches like that he won't be so lucky!

First pitch is only 5 mins away, so go grab a beer and we'll see ya on the flip side of another Rays' win.

CHEESE & WHINE: Oh It Burn(ett)s!

RAYS: 2

YANKS: 7

CHEESE:

• Matt Garza. Garza recovered from a rocky start to finish well. He pitched 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 9 and walking 2. Had he not run into a buzz-saw on the other side, those numbers would've earned him a nice win, but alas, AJ Burnett was better.

WHINE:

• BJ Upton. Upton backed-up his masterful 2009 debut performance with a totally forgettable one. Bossman went 0-4 from the plate with 3 K's.


• Evan Longoria. Dirtbag did his best BJ impression and also struck out 3 times. To be fair to both Dirtbag and Upton, Burnett was pitching very well, but suddenly Dirtbag looks like there's no meathod to his madness (could the early HR's be affecting his swing, circa the re-learning curve he experienced after last season's HR derby?).


• Carl Crawford. Crawford didn't do anything overtly wrong, but it seemed to me that he was horribly out of place on a couple of hits last night. Someone with his supposed speed should never look like they're out of position, and last night CC unmistakingly did.

CRACKERS:

• Longoria will not be in the line-up for the next few days, as he's returned to the left-coast to attend to some undisclosed family matter. (MLB.com)


• Don't forget, that you can win a pair of tickets to a Rays game just for guessing the "Sunburst Player of The Game" (contest details). Stop by Rays Index to see who last night's "Sunburst Player of The Game" was and remember to make your choice for the upcoming game's SPOTG. (Rays Index)

GIVE ME ONE REASON...

As a continuation of a segment I started late last season I'm re-introducing "Give Me One Reason". Which is fairly self-explanatory. So without any further useless babble here is 2009's first installment of "Give Me One Reason":

GIVE ME ONE REASON...

...WHY WE SHOULD PUT UP WITH IZZY'S MOUTH.
Isringhausen, who has been touted as a bit of a handful, has lived up to that reputation in his short stay with the Rays organization thus far. First he comes to spring training and requests James Shields' locker, which in and of itself is just ridiculous, just to stroke his own ego (Shields acquiesced by the way (like a true pro/good person)).
Now, just as quickly as I'd forgiven him of his first sin, he turns around and starts mouthing off about his extended spring training assignment (which he accepted) saying he's, "not getting anything out of facing high school kids.” (St Pete Times)
Hey Izzy, until you prove that you're even worthy of a roster spot just shut-up and "know your role"! You've been put "on notice" (see side-bar)

...WHY EVAN LONGORIA ISN'T THE (VERY) EARLY FAVORITE FOR AL MVP.
Dirtbag has flown out of the gates to start the 2009 season, and has shown no signs of slowing down. After week one Longoria has already been awarded the AL Player of the Week. Evan leads the AL in homers with 5, is 4th in the league with a BA of .467, is tied for the league lead with 12 RBI, and is sporting an OBP of .484, a slugging percentage of 1.100 and an OPS of 1.584. Dirtbag has also accumulated 4 doubles while walking once and striking out 5 times.

...WHY GABE KAPLER STRUCK OUT FACING NICK SWISHER.
I understand that situations like this are lose/lose for hitter; if you record a hit against an infielder who's pitching well great, you're supposed to, but if you don't then you're a knucklehead. But there's a huge difference between recording an out versus an infielder who's pitching (ie. Aybar, Pena) and actually being struck out by one!
Gabe Kapler's inherent value lies in the fact that he's a wily veteran presence who can still play the game, so what does that value equal when you can't have a decent at bat against the guy who was just playing 1st base?
I understand he probably just wanted to go home and that the at-bat was unimportant and meaningless, but striking out in that instance is unacceptable.
Gabe Kapler you've also been put "on notice"!

CHEESE & WHINE: A Banner Effort

RAYS: 15

YANKS: 5

CHEESE:

• BJ Upton. Bossman made his presence felt almost immediately, drawing a lead-off walk in the bottom of the first then promptly stealing second and third. Upton then followed his offensive production with by flashing the leather, making an amazing over-the-shoulder grab at the wall, and making it look easy. Upton finished the day 1 for 3 with 3 walks.


• Carlos Pena. El Gato started the day with a three-run double in the 1st then proceeded to one-up himself by hitting a grand slam in the second. He also played a nice defensive game (see link above). Pena finished the day with 6 RBI.


• Scott Kazmir. Kaz was finally able to limit his pitch-count. Finally. Kaz looked really, really good last night, giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 6 and more impressively walking, wait for it... none! Kazmir has the look of a pitcher who will spend the whole season flirting with the no-no.


• Championship Banners. The way I see it, the drawn out ceremony may have seemed over-done to the casual fan, but the music coupled with the audio highlights in the background really made the ceremony special to me. I got the chills/goose-pimples no less than 3 times. How sweet to see those banners raised after so many years of complete garbage. Awesome. My only complaint was that it was the Yankees who were forced to watch it and not the Red Sox (although they'd have been my second choice).

WHINE:

• Gabe Kapler. What the heck are you doing getting struck out by an infielder? Embarrassing. And unacceptable.

CRACKERS:

• Evan Longoria (AKA Dirtbag) was named AL Player of the Week. And rightfully so.
• Condolences to the Kalas family on their tremendous loss.

Welcome Home: A letter to no one.

Well, I've decided to give the Rays Blog-o-sphere another shot.

I have scaled back my own expectations though, and have no illusions that I'll be as efficient as the "legitimate" blogs (ie Rays Index).

I will however try to be semi-consistent, and continue to complain as much as I possibly can.

I will be reinstating my "Cheese & Whine" segment (modeled after RI's Good, Bad, Telling), but am not guaranteeing that I'll be able to cover every game (I've got a real job, and I have actual paying writing jobs that take precedence).
In fact, I don't even sign-on to a CPU on Sundays or Mondays so I can guarantee that I won't be around on those days.

I will however try to be objective and provide some useful info in regard to my first love, The Rays (don't tell my wife).

CONGRATULATIONS TAMPA BAY RAYS,

2008 ALCS CHAMPIONS!

Give Me One Reason...

GIVE ME ONE REASON...
Why Percival is still the Rays Closer:

Percival has been nothing short of a determent, at best, since the all-popularity break. Percy has been on and back off of the DL twice since the break, and is now "day-to-day" for the remainder of the season.
Since returning from his latest trip to the DL he has been underwhelming to say the least: 2.1 innings, 5 hits, 5 walks, 7 runs! And trust me on this; if Jason Hammel has to come into the game to relieve you during the 14th inning (Sept. 10 v. Boston) then its time to take a seat and watch for a while (well done Mr. Hammel, by the way). Those numbers are indicative a young, inexperienced middle reliever not the man known as having the 9th most saves in league history.

If the Rays truly believe that they can make a run at the Series then its in the team's best interest to sit Percy down for the remainder of the season and let him get back to some semblance of his early-season form. Until then Grant Balfour or Dan Wheeler can hold down the fort nicely, I'm sure. In fact, I'm fairly certain that Balfour (what an unfortunate surname for a pitcher) will be Tampa's closer next season.

GIVE ME ONE REASON...
Rays fans shouldn't be routing their hearts out for Toronto:

Toronto began a 4-game set with Boston last night (Friday). Although the 'Sawx' dismantled them 7-0 in game one of the series the Jays are as hot as any team in baseball right now, going 24-11 since early August and holding opposing batters to an OBP of only .300. If they can find a way to win at least 2 of the next 3 against the Sox then the Rays will be one giant step closer to putting it into cruise control as they waltz into the post-season for the first time ever, and as AL East division champs to boot! Gives me goose-pimples just thinking about it.

GIVE ME ONE REASON...
Why Joe Maddon isn't Manager of The Year:

Admittedly I'm not the biggest supporter of Joe 'Jimmy Buffet' Maddon, but despite all of his misuse of pitchers (see Trevor Miller) and lack of utilizing the bunt/sacrifice he has propelled a perenial loser into the stratosphere, a team whose season is usually all-but-over by mid-June, and turned them into real, legitimate contenders.
Albeit he has a ton of talent, the likes of which Tampa has never seen, but someone's gotta keep them boys in line, and I believe Joe has been great at making sure that no one is "above the law" (i.e. BJ Upton) and keeping the wheels from falling off (especially during that pre-all-star-break-meltdown). Joe has worked around an incredible rash of injuries down the stretch and has all of his bench players over-achieving (ie Ruggiano, Riggans). In my opinion Maddon's a shoe-in for the award. Period.

sidenote: Cliff Floyd should get honorable mention as co-manager or player/coach. Some GM somewhere should be paying attention to how well he handles the young guys, and should convince him to manage their club as soon as he hangs up the cleats (prob. after this season).