Longo brings spark Rays were looking for

All night, I was looking for the spark.  Something that showed me the Rays realized how precarious their situation was getting this year.  For the most part, I didn't see it.  Up and down the Rays went. Striking out. Grounding out. And flying out.  In the 8th, Evan Longoria looked like he had the spark... hitting a homer to tie the game.  But, then the Rays offense continued to putter and got no runs even with a bases-loaded, no out situation.

Then comes the bottom of the 13th.  By then, the game had become a battle of the wills.  Neither the Rays nor the Red Sox were giving an inch.  Each team was deep in their bullpen. The Rays had cleared their bench.  The rally energy was gone. Every one was looking for the big hit to end the game.  

It's moments like this that are the difference between good players and great players.  The great ones know they have to put their team on their back.  The great ones know that it's up to them. They know what they did before wasn't enough. They know they have to shake off their earlier failures and live for this moment. And that's what Evan Longoria did last night.  He responded. With his arms raised watching the ball go out of the park, Longoria once again showed what makes him so special. Longo showed why, at 23, he's one of the most popular players in the American League. He showed why he's the bane of Red Sox nation. Now, let's see how the rest of the team responds to that kind of leadership.

Here are some things I noticed in the Rays long 4-2 victory over the Red Sox:

• Run Prevention rules. Before Longo's heroics, run prevention was the rule of the day.  The Rays pitchers and defense did a real good job of keeping the Red Sox from getting a rally going. Their 2 runs came off of solo shots from the normal Rays killers: Kevin Youkillis and Dustin Pedroia. But, other than that, the Rays kept them at bay with good pitching and solid defense.  If the Rays are going to be successful in catching the Red Sox and Yankees, run prevention is the key.
  

• Line-up changes.  Joe Maddon kept his Sunday line-up intact for last night's game.  Jason Bartlett led off and B.J. Upton went down to the 7 spot. Meanwhile, Willy Aybar got the DH duties and Pat Burrell came off the bench. I'm not sure that the switch provided the "spark," I was looking for. The Rays entire offense looked listless against Jon Lester.  Bossman couldn't get anything going and Aybar's big play was a ground-rule double error (more on that later).  
  

• The case of the equipment bags in the bullpen.  Although I don't like it, the umpires made the right call according to the rule book.  The fact remains that the Rays needed to push those runs across, regardless of the play before.  Not only that, the equipment bags shouldn't have been there.
  

• The Red Sox upgrades aren't really that intimidating. The Red Sox were active at the trade deadline, getting Victor Martinez from Cleveland. But, to me, the Red Sox lineup was just as intimidating with a healthy Mike Lowell at 3rd and Youk at 1st.  Judging from last night's game, these teams are still pretty evenly matched.
  

• Send the Red Sox to New York beaten and broken. The Rays have the opportunity to send the Red Sox up to New Yankees stadium beaten and broken.  Hopefully, they can keep that spark going tonight and finish them off.
  

The 2009 endgame begins today

The endgame of the 2009 season begins tonight at Tropicana Field.  The Rays have 56 games to make up 5 games on the Boston Red Sox... and that's just to make the playoffs.  Whether we like it or not, it's no longer early. It's no longer a long marathon.  There's no longer time to make up ground later.  The Rays must turn it on now!

We can already see that Joe Maddon's thinking about the endgame. Yesterday's insertion of Willy Aybar in the DH spot and Jason Bartlett in the leadoff spot shows that skipper knows he's run out of time to get "streaky" players hot. Each game must be treated as a must-win.  Do the Rays have to win every game on the schedule? No. But they can't let games like Sunday get away from them. The offense can't take nights off. Pitchers can't work through their troubles.  All in all, it's crunch time.

So buckle up and get ready!  We, as Rays fans, have never got to see our team "chasing" in the last couple months of the season. Last year, the Rays were the hunted. This year, the Rays are the hunters.  I think this team has the roster to make up the ground and get in the playoffs. The question is: Do they have what it takes mentally to grind out a five game differential over the next 56 games?  And that's how Joe Maddon will earn his paycheck this year.

Here are some things I noticed in the Rays 10-4 victory over the Royals:

• Applebottom jeans, boots wit da fur.  Willy Aybar is a man of few words. Instead, he lets his bat do the talking for him. And, if yesterday was any indication, Willy's ready for a run to the playoffs. Aybar rewarded Joe Maddon's decision to start him at DH with not one, but 2 homers from each side of the plate. Aybar has now made Maddon's job of filling out the lineup card a little more difficult tonight.  Should he listen to the angry villagers and go with Aybar over Pat Burrell? Or will he keep his right handed DH in the lineup to do what he's supposed to do: hit lefties.
  

• Batting first, playing shortstop, Jason Bartlett.  Another Ray who decided to reward Maddon for a little change in the lineup.  MVB, as he's called in some circles, went 3-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's in the leadoff spot. More importantly, he started the game with a walk to get a 2 run rally started against Zack Greinke. How many times have we seen B.J. Upton start the game with a ground out? This is another place where Maddon will have to make a tough choice today. Stick with Bossman or go with the hot bat? Judging by his comments: I think we'll see a batting order change today.
  

• Scott Kazmir, trade deadline acquisition. I know it's only been 2 starts, but the change in mound presence from Kazmir has been night and day over the last couple of starts. It's almost as if Mark Buerhle's perfect game inspired him in some strange way.  The Kazmanian Devil didn't go deep into the game, but he provided 6 solid innings and left the bullpen in good position. A solid Kaz during the endgame will be much more valuable than any trade deadline acquisition the Rays could've made.
  

• The Greatness that is Michel Hernandez.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention Hernandez's first ever triple.  He's another guy pushing for more playing time.
  

• Some 2008 vs 2009 comparisons. If you inserted the 2008 Rays after 106 games into the 2009 standings, the 2008 Rays would be in 3rd place. They would be 1 game behind Boston and 1 1/2 behind the Yankees. But, the 2008 Rays got really hot in August. They went 21-7. They only lost 2 games in row once in the month.  The Rays need that kind of August this year.
  

From near history to sad meltdown

View of James Shields from the upper deck.

We weren't talking about it, but we sure were thinking about it. Going into the 8th inning James "Big Game" Shields was tossing a no-no. He needed only 6 outs and I was going to be there for history. But somehow, as they have a few times this season, the Rays figured out a way to completely meltdown... ending a game that could've been special in a not-so-special way.

You have to give credit to Shields. The man was a pitching machine for most of the game. For those of us at the Trop, the excitement grew with each out.  Too bad the offense couldn't get anything going for Shields.  It just felt like 1 run would be enough.  But, maybe that was too much to ask.

If anything, yesterday's game tempered my enthusiasm about this team's chances of making the playoffs a little bit.  The complete lack of offense and the terrible defensive execution late in the game marks a stark contrast to what we saw last year.  If the Rays can't finish a game like this, at home, against the Kansas City Royals, what chance do they have head-to-head versus the Yankees and the Red Sox.  The next couple of weeks will be very telling.  The Rays have to have an almost perfect August to make a playoff run. Yesterday's game was not a good sign of things to come.

Here are some things I noticed in the Rays 4-1 loss to the Royals:

• Not saying "no-no."  This was the first Rays game I had been to where a pitcher took a no-no so long into the game. The fans were into the game, yet the talk was at a minimum. You could tell people were taking notice because nobody was leaving their seat... even to go get food. The stairs were empty and the movement was kept to a minimum. Too bad we weren't rewarded.
  

• Gross not laying out. I'm not going to blame Gabe Gross for not laying out on John Buck's soft liner.  I'm going to blame the offense. I have not doubt Gross would've laid out for that ball if the Rays are up 2 or more to nothing.  But in a 0-0 game, he made the right play.
  

• Dioner Navarro's troubles.  I haven't been incredibly hard on the Rays catcher since early in the season, but things are not going well for the catcher.  It's one thing to slump a little bit at the plate. It's another to slump a little bit on defense, but that error in the 8th was an absolute mental error.  Trying to go for the double-play instead of the sure out cost his team a run... maybe two.  That was *not* an example of the "run prevention" Andrew Friedman was looking for at the trade deadline.
  

• Little league play. To compound Navarro's error, Jason Bartlett made his own mental mistake in the 8th. The Royals perfectly executed the "little league" play where you attempt a steal at second with a runner on third.  The runner at 1st stops half-way and induces a rundown... while the runner at third goes home. Perfection for the Royals. Nasty for the Rays.
  

• Royals hideous bullpen. I'm sure the Rays figured, like I did, that there was no need to get to starter Brian Bannister because the Royals bullpen is so hideous.  However, Royals manager Trey Hillman hedged his bets... letting Bannister go an extra inning and then bringing in closer Joakim Soaria to finish the job. It could've backfired on Hillman, except the Rays let the Royals put up 2 insurance runs in the top of the ninth. I liked the Rays chances down 2 runs with Soaria in the ninth.  4 runs was a little much to ask.
  

• Bossman gunned down.  How big was the play where Mitch Maier gunned down B.J. Upton at the plate? To me, that was the turning point in the game.