Tampa Bay's 'Big Game' Resurgence: The Return of the Ace James Shields

Most of us wanted him gone. Go ahead, it's alright to admit. After all, you'd be in the same boat with me and the large majority of Rays fans.

We wanted Tampa Bay to trade James Shields, or do anything else they could to get him out of the rotation. He was 24-27 in the past two years combined, along with a nightmarish 5.18 ERA last season.

The 117 earned runs, 246 hits and 34 home runs were all MLB-highs. Many thought his time was up in Tampa Bay. After two poor seasons, I myself was about ready for the front office to ship him off. But how glad we are now that the people inside the organization still saw something in him.

Coming into this season, the thought was that Shields only remained because he had no trade value. Now it looks as if Tampa Bay would get plenty of talent back in a swap, but there's no need. "Big Game" James has stepped up in a big way.

He had to prove he still had the stuff that keyed the rotation during the Rays' magical run to the World Series in 2008. He has responded with a 5-2 record with a dominating 2.00 ERA, doing more than his share early in the season.

Yesterday was the boldest of statements so far by Shields this season, a 13-strikeout complete game-shutout, one in which he only allowed three hits.

In the 4-0 victory, Shields was in complete control, with much of the Marlins' futility to blame on a deceiving, disappearing and flat-out dirty changeup. The pitch has been a huge key to Shields' success this season, as it also was in 2008.

The change piece finished off eight of Shields' 13 strikeouts yesterday. The pitch that seems to drop off a table, so to speak, is hard to pick up for any hitter, and has fooled every one from Jose Bautista to Hanley Ramirez so far this season.

But how can you blame those hitters from whiffing, when the ball drops nearly a foot (11.8 inches) after delivery. It's been the main "finish pitch" for Shields ever since he broke into the majors.

With the great break of the changeup, and the effectiveness of the rest of his pitches, Shields has already thrown three complete games (two of them shut-outs). and is fifth in the bigs in strikeouts.

There seemed to be urgency for him to succeed this year, and while he may not have been worried about his future with the team, Shields wanted to step-up his off-season workout program. And that he did, coming in more prepared than ever.

As I said before the season began, (in this article http://bleacherreport.com/articles/622197-tampa-bay-rays-2011-preview-hoping-for-a-turnaround-from-james-shields) Shields may have had a down year, but you wouldn't have known it with the confidence he had coming into this spring. And now that confidence and work ethic have turned into results.

He may no longer be the ace of the team, with David Price taking the opening start this season, but Shields has pitched like an ace, picking up for an average start by Price.

There are still plenty of games to be played this year, and then some, but Shields has returned to "Big Game" form, and the Rays will need him to stay that way in order to stay with their AL foes.

Just imagine if the Rays had done what a lot of us fans wanted them to do, and traded Shields. Good thing I don't have a say in these matters.