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Rays are now a 'hunted' team |
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Friday, 04 July 2008 |
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By TERRY NAU Sports editor Before any Red Sox or Yankee fans jump off a bridge this weekend, let’s remember that truly important pennant race games are played in September, not early July. The only team likely to benefit from this weekend’s four-game series in New York is first-place Tampa Bay, which will be rooting for a split between its two closest rivals.
By Sunday night, the Rays will have played 50 of their first 88 games this season at home, where they were 33-13 heading into this evening’s game with Kansas City.
In September, the Rays pay the price with 16 games in 17 days against AL East foes, nine of them on the road, that will go a long way to determining their chances of securing a playoff berth.
Here’s a look at Tampa’s schedule during that difficult stretch:
Sept. 2 NY Yankees
Sept. 3 NY Yankees
Sept. 4 NY Yankees
Sept. 5 @ Toronto
Sept. 6 @ Toronto
Sept. 7 @ Toronto
Sept. 8 @ Boston
Sept. 9 @ Boston
Sept. 10 @ Boston
Sept. 12 @ NY Yankees
Sept. 13 @ NY Yankees
Sept. 14 @ NY Yankees
Sept. 15 Boston
Sept. 16 Boston
Sept. 17 Boston
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Tampa is certainly a team that plays with a lot of energy. The Rays are young, talented and athletic. That’s their hole card when trying to beat the Red Sox and Yankees, who are talented and more experienced.
Perhaps the key play in Tampa’s sweep over Boston game in Wednesday night’s finale came when Rays’ CF B.J. Upton raced back and made an over-the-shoulder grab of Kevin Youkilis’s bid for a game-changing double in the ninth inning.
Instead of standing on second base, Youk was left cursing Upton’s speed and nose for the ball.
Now that Tampa is in first place, the Rays must deal with something that has become commonplace for the Red Sox and Yankees over the past few years. Everyone on Tampa’s schedule will be psyched to play the Rays. That comes with the territory. Let’s see how that added burden impacts Tampa when the pressure is on.
Boston and New York both know they must fix their flawed teams before making a run. It would appear the Red Sox can shore up their bullpen with a couple internal moves. They accomplished the first on Thursday by activating veteran Mike Timlin, who will throw strikes. That’s something Craig Hansen couldn’t do in Wednesday’s loss to Tampa and he may pay for his lack of control with a return trip to Pawtucket in the near future when Clay Buchholz returns to Boston.
An interesting solution to Boston’s bullpen woes is current starter Justin Masterson, whose heavy sinker would seem made-to-order for use as a situational reliever. Masterson usually has good control. Can he come into a game and throw strikes with runners on base? We may find out, especially if Manny Delcarmen remains inconsistent.
Boston and New York (among others) are also targeting lefthanded reliever Brian Fuentes, currently the closer for Colorado. The Rockies would want two blue-chip prospects in return for Fuentes, whose contract expires after this season. The Red Sox have based their organizational philosophy on protecting their best young prospects. New York GM Brian Cashman is trying to do the same thing. But will wild and crazy Hank Steinbrenner intervene and force the Yanks to give up two blue-chippers for Fuentes? Good question. Stay tuned. The trading deadline is July 31.
Some caller came on the radio Thursday asking whether Pawtucket pitcher Charlie Zink, who is 8-2 with a 2.63 ERA this season, could help out Boston’s bullpen? The guy probably didn’t know Charlie’s a knuckleballer. He just knew the numbers looked good for Zink this season.
That got me to thinking about Zink’s possible role in Boston’s future. Current knuckleballing innings-eater Tim Wakefield is having another solid season in Boston. Wakefield is probably second to Josh Beckett in terms of consistency and durability among Red Sox pitchers this season. He’ll also be 44 years old after the 2009 season when his contract runs out.
Assuming Zink remains in Boston’s organization, does he take over for Wakefield in 2010? Knuckleballers may have their drawbacks but you can pencil them into a rotation and be pretty sure they’re not going to hurt their elbow throwing a 69-mph floater nearly 100 times per game.
Zink is averaging 6 innings per start for Pawtucket – best on the team. It would probably be 7 innings per start if these weren’t the minor leagues, where managers sometimes have to replace players just to get a look at someone else.
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Woonsocket native Rocco Baldelli is still rehabbing with the Vero Beach Devil Rays. He’s batting .207 in 29 at-bats after going 1-for-12 over the past week.
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Pawtucket native Jay Rainville is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA for Fort Myers. The 23-year-old righty picked up his first win since being demoted from Class AA ball when he pitched 6.2 innings against Brevard County last Saturday. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 July 2008 )
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