What the Rays need to do to make a "run"

The last week has been real tough for the Rays and their fans. The joy of sweeping the Boston Red Sox and gaining ground in the wild card race was swiftly destroyed by a nightmarish west coast swing from Seattle to Anaheim.  Just when we were ready to start printing playoff tickets, the Rays revert back to the 3rd place team they've been pretty much all season.

So, what now? Andrew Friedman believes this team still has a run in them.  He believes they have a run that could make September really special. I'm not as convinced as Friedman is.  But, this is major league baseball and stranger things have happened. This team certainly has the talent to do it, but can they put it all together and make this a memorable run to the post season.

Here's what I believe needs to happen for the Rays to make a run at the wild card:

• Home domination.  For the most part, the Rays have been money at home this year. However, there has been some times when they've played rather lackadaisically at home.  The last time was the Yankees series. That kind of play has to stop now.  The Rays aren't going to win every home game from here on out, but they better win most of them if they want to make a run. Boston doesn't lose much at home.  The Rays have to lose even less than that now.
  

• Killer instinct from the starting pitchers.  I'm specifically referring to the staff "aces:" James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza.  A team like Toronto should be looking at the pitching match-ups right now and quaking in their boots.  The Blue Jay fans should be wondering how they got so unlucky to get these three guys in a row at Tropicana Field.  Instead, these guys scare nobody. They're just 3 guys the Rays are running out there for a 3 game series. I don't want to see anymore flopping around the mound, hitting the ground with your glove, dirty looks at the umpires, screams in frustration, etc.  Go out there like you have a pair and take care of business. We've seen it from each of you in the past. I want to see it again.
  

• Put the ball in play.  One thing that really frustrates me about this team is the strikeouts.  Last year, they did such a good job of putting the ball in play to make things happen.  This year it seems like strikeouts are always killing rallies.  We just got done watching the Angels' brand of baseball. They don't strikeout. They slap the ball into holes and before you know it, they've scored three runs. Then, they hit you with the long ball. This applies to the usual suspects, along with certain others who seem to fall in that trap.
  

• No extra outs.  The 2008 Rays were praised for their defense and their mental approach to the game.  The 2009 squad seems like the Bad News Bears out there at times.  Take pride in your defense. Don't force the issue. Do the right thing when the ball comes to you. Extra outs always seem to come back to bite you, so don't take the chance.
  

• Enough with the walks already.  Honestly, I'm tired of the walks.  I'm tired of leadoff walks. I'm tired of 2 out walks. I'm tired of close walks. I'm tired of 4-pitch walks. I'm tired of all of them. Somehow, someway... this pitching staff needs to figure out how to throw strikes.
  

• Have fun.  We heard the other day that Joe Maddon told B.J. Upton he needs to have fun.  That goes for the rest of the team as well.  Go out there an play ball. This team is way more uptight than last year's squad was.  Look, you have nothing to lose. You're in third place. Why put all the pressure on yourselves?
  

I also solicited some twitter advice for the Rays and what other people want to see.

TheBrainStem is looking for more productive outs from this team and would like to see Pat the Bat play some outfield.  Maybe that's a good idea. Get PtB in the flow of the game and see if it helps him become the monster we hoped he would be.  I'm definitely on board with the productive outs. I'm tired of the double plays all the time.

Pixie1212 is looking for more hustle/killer/instinct/desire/focus- whatever you wanna call it. I would like all of those wrapped in a nice 9=8 motto and taped all over the clubhouse.  Maddon did a good job of motivating overachievers last year. Can he figure out a way to motivate some underachievers this year?

Trade deadline suggestion: Stay the course

Staying the course is never easy. It wasn't easy last year when the Rays were in first place, trying to hold off the Red Sox.  The 2008 team had some holes. They needed a right handed bat. They could've used a solid closer.  Those holes led to rumors.  This closer is coming here for so-so. That team wants some unknown prospects for the right-handed right fielder.  We've got to make a move! The Red Sox are dealing, so should we.  The Yankees are making moves, we need to slow them down.  In the end, the Rays front office didn't get any major moves done. Yet, the Rays still won the Al East.  The Rays still went to the World Series.  The Rays still finished better than the wheeling and dealing teams.

Fast-forward to 2009.  These Rays don't have as many glaring holes as the 2008 Rays, yet they're in 3rd place.  Panic is setting in.  And the rumors are flying again. Big names. Big prices. To read some publications, you would think Andrew Friedman is on the phone non-stop, figuring out ways to get Cliff Lee for Scott Kazmir.  Or Victor Martinez for Carlos Pena. Or even Carl Crawford for Roy Halladay. What a deal, right?

I'm going to say that none of those deals really make any since in the long run.  Would I like to see Roy Halladay in a Rays uniform? Of course. Would I like to gut the farm system to make it happen? No.  Would I like to see the Rays trade Carl Crawford for Roy Halladay? No.

Here's the deal.  The Rays are a talented team.  There is no doubt that this group of guys has what it takes to compete with the Yankees and the Red Sox.  This is a team that struggled in April and has been playing catch-up ever since.  This is a team that is capable of going on a run and scooting right past the Yankees and the Red Sox.  It's also a team that has a friendly August and September schedule to do just that.  The Rays don't need to mortgage the future now. They just need the players they have to play better.

And then there are those who say the Rays should start selling. Get rid of Kazmir. Trade Crawford. Dump salary. Start over.  I disagree.  The Rays are still very much in this race.  They are 9 games above .500.  They have plenty of games left against the teams ahead of them. It would be foolish for the team to give up on the season right now.  

What kind of message would that send to the locker room? What kind of message would that send to the entire team? Guess what guys? You're playing good ball... but, not good enough. We have standards. You'd better be in first place by the trade deadline or we're throwing in the towel.

As for those who say the Rays can't afford to keep the roster, I would like to remind everyone that baseball does *not* have a salary cap.  The only spending limitations the Rays have are their own, self-imposed limits. Limits that Stu Sternberg has already shown willing to break. We don't know what goes on inside the Rays front office.  This is a team looking to get a stadium. They're not going to have a fire sale with some of their most bankable stars.  Sternberg didn't buy this team as an investment. He bought it because he wants to own a baseball team.  And that means he wants to win.  Am I suggesting that he's going to go deep into a hole? No. I'm suggesting that the Rays are more flexible on payroll than you might think.

Maybe I'm just a little too loyal. Maybe I don't get the "business" side of things. But, I just think it would be a travesty to trade Carl Crawford or Carlos Pena or Scotty Kazmir in the next couple of days. It would be overreacting. Stay the course. Catch fire. Return to the playoffs. This team has the talent as it stands right now.

Emotional roller coaster ends with the Rays breaking the .500 ceiling

Talk about a roller coaster ride.  The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees battled it out for 3 and 1/2 hours of up and down baseball. But, when the smoke cleared... the Rays held on and showed the Yankees why the AL East is far from a done deal.  

I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my nails as Dan Wheeler gave up back-to-back doubles that lead to two runs. I jumped out of my seat and celebrated when Joe Dillionaire knocked in Ben Zobrist with an RBI single. I screamed at the umps on my TV screen with Grant Balfour when the Rays got a bad call.  I screamed again with Joe Maddon on a bang/bang double play call that went the other way.

This game featured everything that's great about baseball: Dominant pitching. Clutch hitting. Lead changes.  It also featured some of what's bad with baseball: Bad umpiring. Launching pad stadiums. And plenty of errors to go around.

But, in the end, the "W" was one of the biggest of the season.  Later this year, we could point to this game as a big turning point in the season.  The Rays have finally won 4 in a row.  They were able to continually overcome adversity throughout the game and get the win.  The Rays are getting all this done, missing 4 of their opening day starters.  A patchwork lineup of bench guys and Durham guys are keeping the team in this hunt and giving them the chance stay close in the ultra competitive AL East.

Does this team have problems? Certainly.  But, now they're showing that they can win the kind of game they won last year.  Is it easy to watch as a fan? No. But, games like this is what make baseball so great... especially when your team wins!