Disapointment settles in

I'm finally experience a new emotion as a Rays fan: Disappointment.  Never in the history of the team have I ever really felt this level of disappointment in the Rays.  The World Series? Nah. The fact that they were so far beyond my expectations last year lessened the sting.  This west coast trip was like a tornado ripping through my expectations.  When it all settled in Anaheim yesterday afternoon, I finally realized that I'm looking at a team that's probably not going to make the playoffs.

Coming into this year, I scoffed at the experts who picked the Rays 3rd in the AL East. The pitching rotation was pretty much intact.  The Rays added a few bats to the lineup.  The young guys were a year more experienced. BJ Upton was going to be the best lead-off hitter in baseball. Pat the Bat was going to bring a power element to the Rays that was going to benefit both him and Carlos Pena.  Evan Longoria was going to cruise as the AL MVP. And the Rays were going reaffirm the new AL East pecking order... showing the Yankees that money can't buy a championship.

Yet, here we sit. 114 games into the season and the Rays are chasing a wild card. They're 10 games behind the Yankees in the AL East and 3rd among 3 teams in the wild card standings. With a chance to pick up some ground over the last week, the Rays folded and went right back to the mediocrity that they've shown all season.

Of course, this team could still get hot and make a run. It's happened before. But, was there anything that really showed us this week that the Rays are capable of making the type of run needed to get back into this thing? I'm not sure there was.  All that I'm sure of is that the Rays are in third place this morning and that each day that goes by the playoff hopes grow dimmer and dimmer.

Here are some things I noticed in the Angels 10-5 victory over the Rays:

• Carlos Pena, team leader and home run leader. I will give Pena credit for picking up his game yesterday. He looked like a man trying to get his team out of a funk by example. Unfortunately for 'Los, his power surge was wasted with a homer by the 8th guy in the Angels lineup.
  

• Jason Bartlett, the good and the bad.  You really can't argue with 4 for 5 from the leadoff guy, unless the throws a ball away and gives up an extra run. Or maybe he lets a flyball drop between him and the left fielder. Don't get me wrong, I love 4 for 5... but, the Rays need tight defense more than offense from their shortstop.
  

• Jeff Niemann's day.  Give the big man credit,  he was able to keep the damage to a minimum most of the game. But just like Price and Garza before him, he fell victim to the Angels lineup. Some may complain that Joe Maddon pulled Niemann too early. To that, I say didn't you watch the other games against the Angels?
  

• Bullpen problems. The bullpen seems to not be immune to the funk going around the team. Grant Balfour served up a nice one to Gary Matthews, Jr to blow the Rays lead.  Dan Wheeler didn't fare much better.  Kevin Kennedy seems to believe that the lack of quality starts is causing the bullpen to fall apart.  I just think they've got the same funk going as the rest of the team.
  

• The Angels are really that good. I've been harping on how bad the Rays look, but let's face it... the Angels are a pretty good team in their own right.  That team comes at you from every different angle. It doesn't matter who's up to bat. It doesn't matter how many outs there are. That team knows how to win games.  The Boston Red Sox took the same 6-game west coast road trip in May and went 2-4.  The Yankees got a series in Seattle coming up... and in September, they get to do the Seattle/Anaheim roady.  If the Rays are close enough to strike....
  

One more day in west coast nightmare

The last few days have become a nightmare for Rays fans.  After winning 5 of 6 at home against the Royals and Red Sox and picking up some ground in the wild card race, the Rays have completely fallen apart during the 1st 5 games of their west coast swing.  Right now, they've only won 1 of 5. Two of the games were winnable. The other 2 were blowouts. Last night was a blowout... even after it started so promising.

Like I've said before, anything can happen before the end of a baseball season.  Right now, I think the Rays are at the lowest point in the season.  All year there's been "time" to come back. But that "time" is ticking away and the Red Sox seem to be back on track. The Rangers are still out there and Seattle's beginning to make a move in the wild card standings.

Maybe today the Rays can end their little west coast nightmare with a win in a getaway. It would make the return home trip a little more tolerable. And it might give Rays fans a little sliver of hope in a season that's rapidly become a letdown.

Here are some things I noticed in the Angels 6-0 victory of the Rays:

• Yes, the Angels are that good. While it would be easy to blame the Rays for all their woes this week, a tip of the cap is due the Angels. Like the Yankees, you got to respect how good they are. They keep coming at you. They make you pay for your mistakes. They seem to be flawless. The Rays had trouble in Anaheim last year, so it's no surprise they're having trouble against one of the hottest teams in baseball.
  

• Dr. David and Mr. Price.  Things fell apart quickly for the Rays rookie. After 4 innings of no-hit ball... a single up the middle lead to a complete breakdown. The Angels aggressive base running and timely hitting allowed them to put up 3 on the Rays in the blink of an eye. They did it again the next inning making it an almost insurmountable lead.
  

• Glad Gregg Zaun decided to show. It seems like the Rays crusty new catcher was the only guy that decided to show up offensively... getting two hits off Ervin Santana. Evan Longoria got the only other hit.
  

• So long my old friend. Troy Percival will be calling it quits. Percy made a clubhouse appearance yesterday with the team. He told reporters that his body just isn't able to do it anymore.  I know Percy was a favorite whipping boy of Rays fans, but he was an extremely important piece to last year's squad. He helped the Rays early in the season both on the field and off the field. He was one of the veteran leaders that helped the young Rays realize their true potential.
  

Rays make sure status quo remains in AL East.

Just like that, all is right in the world of Red Sox Nation.  Yankees lose. Check. Red Sox win at Fenway. Check. Rays lose on the west coast. Check. The reason Red Sox fans can be so smug this morning is that they woke up and realized their 6 game losing streak didn't really hurt them that bad.  They're still in 1st in the wild card standings. They're still within striking distance of the Yankees. And the Rays missed the opportunity to slingshot themselves past them into the wild card driver's seat.

It's time to face facts. The Rays are not a playoff team.  They lose games they should win. They're not getting quality starts out of their starters on the road.  The bullpen is a ragtag group of other people's has-beens. The center fielder is moping. The high priced DH doesn't come through in the clutch. The manager's forcing lineups. And they just can't get the bounces.

I'm not writing the season off, just yet.  But time is running out on these guys. If they're going to turn the corner, they need to do it now.  Pitching performances like we saw from Matt Garza last night and Scott Kazmir the day before are unacceptable.  The starters have to go out there and give their team a chance to win. The Rays need to make their own luck.  They need to stop hanging their heads and get angry... show some heart.

The Rays are doing just enough right now to keep us interested. For every step forward they take, they go back a step. That's not going to be enough to get it done. At some point someone's got to step up and say: We're not going out like that! I'm not sure who that person is, but they better hurry up. Time is wasting and everything is right in Red Sox Nation.

Things I noticed from last night's 8-7 loss to the L.A. Angels:

Just a few more inches higher, please? Ben Zobrist was so close, yet so far.

Matt Garza turns in to Scott Kazmir. Honestly, that was the worst I've seen Garza pitch all year. The Angels really could've broken this game open in the 4th when Garza went into full meltdown mode.  Fortunately for him, Lance Cormier came in and got a double play ball to keep the damage to a minimum.  The Rays can't afford those kinds of starts from Garza. 

No love from the bottom half of the order. The radio guys kept harping on this last night. One hit from the bottom 4 of the line-up.  That's unacceptable.  It's hard to keep a rally going when you've got that kind of dead zone going.

The Willy Aybar at 2nd experiement. Still a failure. I'm not sure why Maddon keeps running Aybar out there at 2nd base.  Last night his error gave up an early run and in a 1 run ballgame that could be the difference in the game.  Of course, we'll excuse those kind of miscues if we get the Applebottom Bat... instead, we got 0-3 with 2 strikeouts.  One thing this experiment is showing me: Expect Akinori Iwamura to take his rightful place at 2nd when he comes of the DL. Ben Zobrist will probably become the everyday right fielder.

MVB, almost a cycle.  Jason Bartlett knocked off the hard part of hitting for the cycle: the homer, triple, and double.  He couldn't close the deal in the 8th, striking out in his final at bat. The Rays have never had a player hit for the cycle.

Entertained in Anaheim. If nothing else,  Angels versus the Rays series are always entertaining. I would love to see these two teams and their managers get the chance to battle it out in a postseason series. It would be fun to watch.

B.J. Upton. Really? You're better than that.