Round 1: Pat the Bat vs Carl Crawford

Update: 11:30 PM After the Rays walk-off loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Pat Burrell left the clubhouse before it was open to the media. Crawford said he's not talking about the pre-game incident. This is from Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times Twitterfeed.



Marc Lancaster from TBO is reporting that some sort of shouting match took place between Pat Burrell and Carl Crawford this afternoon. The two exchanged words in the clubhouse. According to Lancaster, both players met with manager Joe Maddon, who said "everything's good."

No, Joe. Everything's not good. This clubhouse is falling apart at the seems. I don't know the details behind this altercation, but the lack of leadership on this team is becoming more and more obvious each day. These are still important games. They're going to set the tone for the off-season and next season.  The fade that everyone expected of the Rays has finally come to fruition. The next few days will show whether this team will continue down the drain or try to salvage something.

Pat the Bat leads the team meeting

For a few moments last night, Pat Burrell reminded Rays fans why he was brought in.  He took us back to a time before he was on the team.  A time when there was a different hero every night.  A time when the team could grind out a win, despite only getting 2 hits in 9 innings.  He brought us back to the magic of 2008, to a time before Pat.  

Pat the bat is an enigma for Rays fans. He was the enemy last year,  now he's ours.  He's the big priced free agent brought in to counter the Rays woes against lefties.  So far, his numbers haven't reflected his salary.  But for a few moments last night, as he neared home plate for the team meeting, Rays fans saw the Pat the Bat that we want to see for the rest of the season.

Here are some of the things I noticed during the Rays 3-1 victory:

• Offense still dead. Despite PTB's late inning dinger, the Rays offense was woefully inadequate for the 5th game in a row.  It's almost like they've completely shut down ahead of the All-Star break.  I'm starting to get a little concerned. 
  

• Curse of Steve Carlton, Part 2? Earlier this season, I documented the Rays struggles versus lefties.  They appeared to have gotten over the hump... until the last week.  Ricky Romero, Derek Holland, and Marc Rzepczynski are three lefties who all gave the Rays trouble over the last week.

• 0-3, 7.20 ERA That's the stats Shawn Camp put up in 2007 when he was with the Rays.  Last night, he threw 3 innings and allowed no hits. The offense is that bad right now.
  

• Bossman's gun.  More than 1 person told me that B.J. Upton's throw out of Aaron Hill at the plate was a season saver.  That remains to be seen.  However, I will say that was one of the best put out I've seen in a long time.  Bossman and Dioner Navarro both get props for that play.
  

• Vote 'Los.  Maybe I'm being a little sacrilegious here, but I'm not all that excited about Carlos Pena and the All-Star game.  Yes, his home runs are impressive... but, what else? His .228 average doesn't scream All-Star.  His 8 errors won't win him any votes.  And how about his 106 strikeouts?  Don't get me wrong, I like to see Rays players in the All-Star game, but I'd much rather see them in the playoffs.  The fact is, Carlos Pena could've made a case for himself on the national televised Sunday night game in Arlington.  That was his stage. He went 0-3 with a strikeout.
  

Mrs. Burrell's new business

As many of my Twitter followers know, I got the opportunity to cover the opening of Pat Burrell's wife's SOHO cycling studio in Tampa last night.  The studio offers cycling classes seven days a week a features 30 bikes, two big screen tv's, and plenty of mirrors.  Michelle Burrell says the Bay area was missing that type of cycling shop and it was a dream of hers to open her own shop.  As for her husband, he said it was important for him to support her because she's always been there for him at ballgames.  

Burrell said Elvis wasn't invited to the opening but, his buddy Evan Longoria was. And if you're looking for cycling lessons, the studio is located on West Kennedy in Tampa on the corner of Albany. Parking is in the back.

Here's the link to the story we did:

http://www.wtsp.com/sports/story.aspx?storyid=109059&catid=4

Here are some pictures I took:

Series win fine by me

Wednesday didn't turn out quite the way the Rays hoped for.  First, Blue Jays lefty Ricky Romero stifled the bats in a masterful 8 innings of shutout work.  Then the Baltimore Orioles returned the favor to the Boston Red Sox, blowing a 4 run lead before falling 6-5.  And finally, the New York Yankees extended their winning streak to 7 and increased their wild card lead over the Rays to 2 1/2 games. Taken together, not a great day for the Rays. However, I don't think it's cause for panic.

The important thing this week was that the Rays took 2 of 3 from the Jays in Rogers Centre.  Not only did they show the Jays that they could beat them in Toronto, they also had to beat their ace Roy Halladay in the process.  Coming out of the series, the Rays are 2 games ahead of the Jays... as the Jays head to New York to face the Yankees.  Someone will have to lose in that series. And it means as long as the Rays handle their business in Arlington, they'll either gain ground on the Yankees or put more ground between them and the Jays.  A win-win all the way around.  The real bright spot is that the Rays won a series against a good team on the road.  If they can keep that going, it's going to be a real good 2nd half.

Here are some things I noticed in the Rays 5-0 loss to the Jays:

• Wicked Ricky Romero.  The Blue Jays pitcher made the Rays look real bad yesterday. Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, and Pat Burrell combined for 7 K's yesterday.  The Rays are probably going to see Romero again.  However,  I think that the Rays hitters will have something for him the next time they see him.
  

• James Shields run support.  Much was made of Shields lack of run support yesterday. He got none.  However, I tend to think run support is more a "lucky" stat than anything else. There really isn't an adjustment Joe Maddon can make to get Shields more run support.  I also don't think the Rays offense decides to shut it down because "Big game" is on the mound.
  

• Pat the Bat. Fail. Still waiting for Pat the Bat's streak to start.  Once again, I saw a pitcher walk Ben Zobrist to get to Pat.  That set Pat up with the bases loaded and a chance to do some damage to Romero. Instead, he grounds into a double play. I would've rather seen him strike out. I really want Pat to succeed, but he's making it real difficult.  Of course, this could all be a moot point if he gets it going late in the season.
  

• Still 4 games back from last year.  I prefer to measure the Rays season as compared to last year instead of what the Red Sox are doing.  Right now, they're still 4 games back on last year's pace. The 2009 Rays can pick up some of those games in the coming weeks.  The 2008 squad had a Cleveland losing streak going into the All-Star break.