Rays give one away

The Rays margin for error is slim.  They can't giveaway games like they did last night too many more times. The Yankees are playing lights out ball and the slumping Red Sox are making moves to right their ship. It's imperative that the Rays are able to close the door on games that they're up 3-1 on in the 7th inning.  Last night, a series of misadventures lead to a White Sox comeback that gave them new life and took some of the wind out of the Rays sails.

Here are some things I noticed in the White Sox 4-3 victory of the Rays:

• Big Game James Shields still not dominating.  While Shields wasn't horrible last night, he did make a couple of mistakes that cost him the game.  He couldn't get the final out in the 7th inning and walked Gordan Beckham.  That walk turned into 3 runs for the White Sox.
  

• BJ & Bartlett.  Both made costly defensive mistakes in the seventh.  Jason Bartlett tried to rush a throw. It ended up in the dugout.  And Bossman misplayed an Alexi Ramirez fly ball that drove  in 2 of the 7th inning runs. I'm not going to call either player out, both have been superb defensively all year.  However, those are the types of plays that seperate playoff teams from those on the outside looking in.  The 2008 Rays made those plays.
  

• Where's the offense? Seriously, the Rays offense for the most part has slumbered since the break. I keep waiting for the break out game, but they can't seem to score more than 4 runs. Maybe they're saving it for the Yankees on Monday.
  

• Trade rumors. There are plenty of trade rumors swirling around the Rays as we approach the deadline. First off, I don't think the Rays are going to trade Carl Crawford.  Secondly, I believe the Rays may make a deal for a right-handed middle reliever. I don't think we'll see any "big" moves unless something falls into their laps that is too good to pass up. It's interesting that last year's team seemed to have more glaring holes, but they had the better record. Stay tuned.