Bleacher Report - Articles by Jay Ingles

How the Tampa Bay Rays Went From Worst to First

Jay Ingles — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:30:54 -0400

The Tampa Bay Rays have been an American League doormat since their creation in 1998. However, seemingly out of nowhere, the Rays have become the best team in the AL East. If you focus on a few factors, however, it's easy to see how this team turned it around so quickly.

1. Maturation of the Starting Rotation

Everybody has heard of Scott Kazmir, but James Shields has pitched just as well. Matt Garza was a solid addition in a trade with the Twins, one that also brought over starting shortstop Jason Bartlett.

Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson have benefited from a year's experience, as both have eclipsed their win totals from last year. Don't forget about David Price (above, left), the No. 1 draft pick that will more than likely see the majors toward the end of the season.

2. Bolstering of the Bullpen

The Rays' bullpen was the worst in the majors last season. This year, it is one of the best. How? The acquisitions of veterans Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival (above, right) helped bring some experience (as well as solid numbers) to the Rays' 'pen, and Grant Balfour has been dominating, leading the majors in batting average against.

Moving J.P. Howell to a relief role has proven to be an ingenious decision, as he has already compiled more wins (six) than he did in three years as a starter.

3. Evan Longoria

It's no secret how big an impact this rookie has had on the Rays' offense. Longoria made the AL All-Star team, despite spending the first month of the season in the minors. Anybody still wondering why they signed this guy through 2016?

4. Timely Hitting

Aside from Longoria, the Rays' lineup doesn't look much different than it did last year, and it really isn't much more explosive. In fact, Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, and B.J. Upton are all hitting below their career averages.

But with the Rays pitching—they don't need much run support—this team has produced enough runs to ascend to the top of the AL East. If there is a potential downfall for this team, however, this may be it.

Many are urging Tampa Bay to trade for a right-handed bat, but they may rely on the return of Rocco Baldelli and increased production from the aforementioned trio of hitters. Only time will tell if their offense can hold up for the entire season.

College Basketball: Championship Week Review

Jay Ingles — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:41:48 -0400

It was another wild week of conference tournaments to end the college basketball regular season. But if you missed it, here is all you need to know..

Best Game: Boise State 107 New Mexico State 102 3OT

In a game that lasted long into the night Saturday and into early Sunday morning, the Broncos finally escaped NM State's home arena with a thrilling victory and the WAC Championship.

Biggest Cinderella: Georgia

The worst team in the SEC equaled their conference win total for the season in one weekend, capturing a most unlikely automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Biggest Upset: Coppin State 62 Morgan State 60

Morgan State's 14-2 conference record didn't intimidate the Eagles of Coppin State, who pulled off this dramatic victory and became the first 20-loss team ever to qualify for the Big Dance.

Best Shot: Blake Hoffarber, Minnesota

The high school legend took a page out of Christian Laetner's playbook in hitting a turn-around buzzer shot after a full court pass to give the Gophers a one-point win and take Indiana out of the Big Ten tourney.

Team that helped themselves the most: Arkansas

The Razorbacks were squarely on the bubble heading into the SEC tourney, but nabbed wins over Tennessee and Vanderbilt and a trip to the finals to assure themselves of a bid.

Team that hurt themselves the most: Syracuse

The Orange still had a shot at the dance if they could beat (or even just play with) Georgtown in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, but they couldn't even get there as they fell to Villanova in the first round.

By the way, Villanova got in the dance.

The Big Winners: College Basketball Players and Coaches of the Year

Jay Ingles — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:55:32 -0500

With only a few games left in the season, it's time to take a conference-by-conference look at the players and coaches who defined the college basketball season.

ACC Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough

Not really a surprise here. Psycho T is averaging over 23 points and 10 rebounds per game and a big reason the North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 1 in the country.

ACC Coach of the Year: Oliver Purnell

It's hard to argue against a guy who has taken a past bottom-feeder and turned them into the best ACC team short of North Carolina and Duke. The Clemson Tigers are a lock for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998.

Big East Player of the Year: Luke Harangody

Notre Dame's sophomore stud is scoring 21 points and pulling down more than ten boards a game. Unfortunately for Big East foes, he'll be around for two more years.

Big East Coach of the Year: Mike Brey

I could have gone with Rick Pitino, but Louisville was a pre-season top ten team. So I like Mike Brey for exceeding expectations in South Bend and leading Notre Dame to the upper echelon of the Big east.

Big Ten Player of the Year: D.J. White

The big man trend continues here with this Indiana senior, who is averaging a double-double alongside superstar freshman Eric Gordon.

Big Ten Coach of the Year: Matt Painter

This one is a no-brainer. Painter has a very young Purdue team tied for first in the Big Ten at 14-2 after a 9-7 conference finish last year.

Big XII Player of the Year: Michael Beasley

Kansas State's star freshman is putting up Durant-like numbers in his first (and only) year in college and is probably the National Player of the Year.

Big XII Coach of the Year: Scott Drew

Who knew that Baylor would be on the NCAA Tournament bubble at this point in the season? Drew's Bears are 8-6 in the Big 12 and have the inside track to a rare tourney bid.

Pac-10 Player of the Year: Kevin Love

There are some pretty good candidates for Pac-10 player of the year, but you can't sell short this freshman for filling UCLA's only void: the post. He makes the Bruins a serious national title contender.

Pac-10 Coach of the Year: Trent Johnson

Apologies to Herb Sendek, but Johnson has done an incredible job at Stanford. The Cardinal are 24-4 and ranked in the Top Ten.

SEC Player of the Year: Shan Foster

Finally, a guard makes the cut. Foster has been lighting it up from three all year and has a surprising Vandy team heading to the tourney for the second straight year.

SEC Coach of the Year: Rick Stansbury

Stansbury has Mississippi State on top of the SEC West at 11-3 and well in line for a bid to the NCAA Tounament.

Bubble Weekend: Which Teams Will Make Their Move?

Jay Ingles — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:44:47 -0500

ACC: Clemson at Maryland

It's pretty much the consensus that the Tigers are in the NCAA tournament, especially with a couple more wins down the stretch. A win at Maryland would be a quality notch in their belt. The Terps are another story. They overcame an unimpressive nonconference showing to get to 7-4 in the ACC, third in the conference standings. But then the Terps stumbled, losing to Virginia Tech and Miami back-to-back. They got their feet back under them with a crucial four-point win at Wake Forest. Maryland now sits at 8-6 in the conference and needs a couple more wins to feel anywhere near comfortable, seeing as how it's up against non-conference losses to American, Ohio, and VCU.

Big East: Pittsburgh at Syracuse

Both of these teams need this win. Pittsburgh is said to be a safe bet right now, but their margin for error is small. Syracuse, on the other hand, is in all-out panic mode. The Orange are 7-8 in the conference and have little to brag about in their nonconference resume. The win over Georgetown is about all they have to hang their hat on at this point. With this and two other tough games (at Seton Hall, vs. Marquette) remaining, Cuse needs to turn it on quickly if they don't want to be left out of the dance for a second straight year.

Big Ten: Ohio State at Minnesota

The Big Ten is basically void of bubble drama with four tournament locks already and Ohio State being the only legitimate at-large contender remaining. That said, the Gophers are the next best option, and could possibly stake a claim if they can down the Buckeyes and pull off a couple more wins. At this point, Ohio State is probably out. They are an abysmal 1-9 against the RPI top 50, and have a very mediocre RPI themselves. This game is a must-win if they want to keep hope alive, because a loss would put them at .500 in the conference, with games still remaining against Purdue and Michigan State. These games do, however, pose possible big-win opportunities, which the Buckeyes are in need of.

Big XII: Texas A&M at Oklahoma

The Aggies (7-6 Big XII) and Sooners (6-7) are both squarely on the bubble and in need of wins to sway the committee. Well, only one team will get one on Saturday, in a game where the desperation on both benches will be palpable. Oklahoma may actually have an edge as it stands right now, by virtue of significantly better computer numbers and good OOC wins against Gonzaga and West Virginia. This is probably a moot point, however, seeing as how Saturday's winner will gain the upper hand by default. Oklahoma does also own a very important sweep of fellow bubble team Baylor. Texas A&M looked poised for the dance, but they hit a three-game slide that may end up costing them dearly if they can't take care of the Sooners.

Pac-10: Southern Cal at Arizona State

This is another wouldn't-mind-a-win vs. have-to-have-a-win game. USC's win at Arizona was unbelievably huge and may ultimately be what sends the Trojans to the dance. With good computer numbers and a marquee win over UCLA, they probably only need to win one of their last three to feel pretty safe. The Sun Devils may need to win this game and the following two at the Oregon schools (both are winnable), because they lack big OOC wins aside from Xavier and have an RPI in the mid-70's. They do have a win over Stanford and a sweep of bubble brethren Arizona in the conference slate, but they also endured a five-game losing streak in conference play.

SEC: Kentucky at Tennessee

This year's Kentucky team has one of the strangest tournament profiles in recent memory. They started the season 6-7 with losses to the likes of Gardner-Webb and San Diego. But the beginning of conference play must have woken the Cats up, because they now sit at 10-3 in the SEC and 16-10 overall. Can the committee look past the terrible start and appreciate UK's conference resume? A win in Knoxville would be a great stride for Kentucky if they want real at-large consideration. And if they can get to 13-3 in the conference, or even 12-4 if they can't beat the Vols, can the committee leave out a team with a record like that in a power conference? Their situation would be much less stressful if they could have won a couple more games outside of the SEC.

Missouri Valley: Illinois State at Southern Illinois

The Valley is still a one bid league as we speak, but for either of these teams, a win in this game coupled with a run in the MVC tournament would create a very compelling at large case. For Illinois State it would be a 13-5 conference record and a pretty solid RPI. For Southern Illinois it would be a 12-6 conference mark and good OOC wins over Saint Mary's, Mississippi State, and Western Kentucky (despite a less than desirable overall record).