Why Tampa Bay Retains a Ray of Hope in Baseball's Toughest Division

Was 2008 a fluke? Was the Cinderella story of the Tampa Bay Rays run to the World Series a step into the future of competitive baseball? Can the Rays repeat as a threat in the toughest division in the Major Leagues? Taking out revenge on the reigning World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies in Interleague Play this week may have answered that.

A look at this season thus far and the possibility of being a postseason threat after the All-Star break is the question that matters now.

The AL East is the toughest, and anything could happen with the three teams sitting in front of the Rays, the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. But what these teams do before the trade deadline, and who is on the DL list for each team after the break, will matter the most. Which team can get on a roll and who is healthy could determine another ALCS winner coming out of the East.

Weighing some strengths and weaknesses of the Rays going into the All-Star break, after the pounding given to the Phillies this week gives us an indication, Tampa Bay is still a contender, and the length of a MLB season opens the door for a team to make a move as late as August. What America and Tampa/St. Petersburg fans need to know is that there is a very good baseball team taking the field for the Rays.

The Pitching Is a Little Weak

Some of the pitching needs that seem obvious begin with a middle reliever or closer, or lack there of. Coming out of the bullpen there are more questions than there are threats to the opposition.

A rookie pitcher took the mound in David Price for game one loss in the Phillies series. Price is still trying to find his Major League groove. He is a great pitcher on his way. He has a nasty slider and a strong fastball but Price needs to work on controlling those pitches and watch out for getting behind on pitches early. Right now he is not instilling fear into major league batters and throwing 40 before getting an out is unhealthy and dangerous.

Matt Garza is one guy who when he has pure control of his fast ball and stops thinking just to throw, he is one of the best this year. He wanted to personally avenge his 2008 October performance against Philly, and that he did in game two this week. He dropped his ERA to 3.61, gave up three hits in eight innings, with only one earned run. Garz also sits 15th on the strikeout list, but 13th on hits allowed.

Andy Sonnanstine is one of Tampa’s better pitchers. He did get in some trouble in the first inning versus the Phillies giving up four earned runs off six hits, but went 5.1 innings with redemption.

James Shields may be the Ray with biggest hope. In 2007 and 2008 he sat in the top 20 of six different categories for pitching, including ERA, strikeouts and wins. This season Shields is holding a 3.41 ERA (25th), but has six losses and is second on hits allowed. So some turning around is needed coming out of the break.

Jeff Niemann has been brought up this year, and has looked good most of his starts and has eight wins. Perhaps he can be a late season hero and pitching dependable.

Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler, J.P. Howell are coming out of the bullpen. But manager Joe Madden will not hesitate putting these guys on a pitching carousel when they are slipping or getting behind.

Balfour is always a gamble. With a 5.01 ERA fans get nervous when he is called out. But he does have a 3-1 record over 32.1 innings with 29 hits and 32 strikeouts, and when he is on there are signs of a great pitcher there.

Wheeler may be one of the reliable for the team. He does have a 4.07 ERA, 22 hits, 11 and earned runs, but, when needed to get six to nine outs, he can be the man.

Howell has fire that pumps a team. He is fun to watch and has passion. Howell is the pitcher to hang the end of a game on right now. With a 1.82 ERA and only eight runs, seven earned, and one homer allowed, he is the reliable one. But he can’t do it all every night.

Batting Is the Rays' Stinger

The Rays have at least two players in the top 10 of each batting category there is for 2009. Only a couple other teams can say that, and Tampa players like Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford have become nationwide household names.

In the Interleague series with the NY Mets, B.J. Upton, Crawford and Longoria combined for 11 hits for the Rays. No other major-league team has gotten 11 hits from the top third of its lineup in a game this year.

Carlos Pena is tied for third in the Majors with home runs, and sits in first place in the AL with 22. He is 12th among RBI league leaders and third on the runs list with teammate Crawford in tenth.

Longoria sits fourth in the majors RBI list with 61, and has great overall numbers: .309 AVG, .390 OBP, and .590 SLG.

B.J. Upton, who led all American Leaguers with nine RBIs, was chosen the American League Player of the Week for the period ending last Sunday. Upton went 12-for-28 (.429) in the six games he played during the week, with three doubles and a pair of home runs.

Crawford had a in mid-June collapse, but then from June 12-20 hit 8-for-16 (.500) with three doubles.

If you don’t know about a player by the name of Ben Zobrist (in for , he has been a big lift for the team especially with key injuries. Zobrist is third among slugging percentage MLB leaders with a .642, he is in the top ten of triples, and in the top 20 of OBP leaders.

The MLB batting average leaders list has both Crawford and Longoria in the top 30.

SS Jason Bartlett is on a 19 game hitting streak.

Gabe Kapler is batting .526 (10-19) in Interleague play, which leads the majors in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Speed Kills!

Everybody knows the saying, and in post steroid era, running bases has become a threat in the pros. The Rays got speed, and watching game II in Phillies v Rays base running put that one in the win column. 

Upton has a season total of 26 stolen bases, third in the Majors behind teammate Crawford (36)

Winning two of three against the Phillies was a good look at a Rays team trying to revive a great 2008 season. And knocking in 17 runs in the last two games tells how good this team is in hitting. But giving up 10 runs in game one and four in the first inning of the third game is not the way to go.

Pitchers have to get ahead on counts faster and throw the pitches that are their strength. Although the Rays are good at coming from behind, it is dangerous especially when you play in the AL East and face the like of Jonathan Papelbon and Mariano Rivera.