Here is their depth chart.
http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/index.jsp?c_id=tb
A lot of holes in that lineup. Not a lot of depth in the starting rotation. Good division.
I would wager under if anything.
http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/index.jsp?c_id=tb
A lot of holes in that lineup. Not a lot of depth in the starting rotation. Good division.
I would wager under if anything.
Under. Their young arms are going to be solid this season but that line-up needs a lot of work beyond Longoria. Jennings is supposed to be the next Crawford but he's still a ways from a .300 hitter. Zobrist came back down to Earth last season and should continue to hover around average. The back of the pen has a LOT of questions.
The Orioles will be improved this year as will the Jays. I don't see the Rays cracking 80 wins.
The Orioles will be improved this year as will the Jays. I don't see the Rays cracking 80 wins.
6-2 on the under so far....
http://www2.tbo.com/sports/rays/2011/jun/24/6/rays-starting-pitching-preying-on-hitters-ar-239457/
By ROGER MOONEY | The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 24, 2011
Updated: June 24, 2011 - 4:00 AM
Rays' starting pitching preying on hitters
HOUSTON --
Wade Davis took his white and tan owl, made from pine cones he thinks, and placed it on the shelf above David Price's locker Tuesday night.
"For good luck," Davis said.
Luck?
"You need luck in baseball," Davis said. "Maybe if you strike out every batter you don't."
Owls are seen by some as a sign of wisdom or mystery; intelligence or protection.
Fastballs and cutters? Not so much.
But owls are birds of prey, and the members of the Rays rotation have done a pretty good job this season of preying on opposing hitters, so maybe there is a connection.
"Don't bash the owl," Davis said.
The homegrown rotation, which goes six deep when you include Alex Cobb, is the only American League staff to have four starters with at least six wins. They have combined to hold opposing batters to a .237 average, which is tied for the third-lowest in the majors.
The starting pitchers are easily the backbone of the team.
"Absolutely," manager Joe Maddon said. "They've been our bread and butter."
And with the Rays spotty offense, it will be the starters who determine how far the Rays go this season.
"No question," Maddon said.
"You hate to put that pressure on them," J.P. Howell said, "but I think that's something they thrive on."
Truth be told, it is.
"Yeah," Price said. "We got to bring it every time out. Honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way."
"Absolutely," James Shields added. "I think that as a starting staff we have that mentality. We want the ball. We want to be that guy who's going to shut them down. We feel the game starts with the starting pitching and everything else follows suit. The defense follows suit, the hitting follows suit and the bullpen follows suit. I think if you have good starting pitching, you're going to be successful. Our job is to keep the team in the game as long as we can, and if we do that we're going to win a lot of ball games."
That theory was tested earlier this month when the Red Sox brought a nine-game winning streak and their big bats to Tropicana Field. The Rays lost two of the three games during the series, but the Rays starters held the Red Sox to only six runs – three each by Price and Jeremy Hellickson.
Price lasted five innings against the Red Sox and walked five. He wasn't pleased with his outing, though a lot of major league pitchers would have called it a good night if they only allowed three runs in five innings against that Boston lineup.
"We're not cut from that cloth," Maddon said.
Price, 8-6, leads the staff in victories. Next come Shields, 7-4, and Hellickson, 7-6. Davis is 6-5, and Cobb was 2-0 in his five starts. The only starter with a losing record is Jeff Niemann, who is 2-4, but Niemann looked good in his last start when he returned from the disabled list Monday and threw six shutout innings against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
"The rotation is as good as any, and we feel like we're going to have a chance to win as it works now with any one of six guys," Kelly Shoppach said. "That's how we're built. That's the makeup of this club. We hate to take those things for granted, but we sure have a lot of confidence running those guys out there."
The starters are averaging 6.43 innings per start, which means less work for the bullpen. That they are pitching to a 3.62 ERA – fourth-best in the American League – means the Rays can win with an offense that averages 4.1 runs per game.
"In other years we've had a lot of different things come into play, but for me, this year it's been the starting pitching holding it down," Howell said. "You can't get much better than this. I don't think so."
http://www2.tbo.com/sports/rays/2011/jun/24/6/rays-starting-pitching-preying-on-hitters-ar-239457/
By ROGER MOONEY | The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 24, 2011
Updated: June 24, 2011 - 4:00 AM
Rays' starting pitching preying on hitters
HOUSTON --
Wade Davis took his white and tan owl, made from pine cones he thinks, and placed it on the shelf above David Price's locker Tuesday night.
"For good luck," Davis said.
Luck?
"You need luck in baseball," Davis said. "Maybe if you strike out every batter you don't."
Owls are seen by some as a sign of wisdom or mystery; intelligence or protection.
Fastballs and cutters? Not so much.
But owls are birds of prey, and the members of the Rays rotation have done a pretty good job this season of preying on opposing hitters, so maybe there is a connection.
"Don't bash the owl," Davis said.
The homegrown rotation, which goes six deep when you include Alex Cobb, is the only American League staff to have four starters with at least six wins. They have combined to hold opposing batters to a .237 average, which is tied for the third-lowest in the majors.
The starting pitchers are easily the backbone of the team.
"Absolutely," manager Joe Maddon said. "They've been our bread and butter."
And with the Rays spotty offense, it will be the starters who determine how far the Rays go this season.
"No question," Maddon said.
"You hate to put that pressure on them," J.P. Howell said, "but I think that's something they thrive on."
Truth be told, it is.
"Yeah," Price said. "We got to bring it every time out. Honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way."
"Absolutely," James Shields added. "I think that as a starting staff we have that mentality. We want the ball. We want to be that guy who's going to shut them down. We feel the game starts with the starting pitching and everything else follows suit. The defense follows suit, the hitting follows suit and the bullpen follows suit. I think if you have good starting pitching, you're going to be successful. Our job is to keep the team in the game as long as we can, and if we do that we're going to win a lot of ball games."
That theory was tested earlier this month when the Red Sox brought a nine-game winning streak and their big bats to Tropicana Field. The Rays lost two of the three games during the series, but the Rays starters held the Red Sox to only six runs – three each by Price and Jeremy Hellickson.
Price lasted five innings against the Red Sox and walked five. He wasn't pleased with his outing, though a lot of major league pitchers would have called it a good night if they only allowed three runs in five innings against that Boston lineup.
"We're not cut from that cloth," Maddon said.
Price, 8-6, leads the staff in victories. Next come Shields, 7-4, and Hellickson, 7-6. Davis is 6-5, and Cobb was 2-0 in his five starts. The only starter with a losing record is Jeff Niemann, who is 2-4, but Niemann looked good in his last start when he returned from the disabled list Monday and threw six shutout innings against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
"The rotation is as good as any, and we feel like we're going to have a chance to win as it works now with any one of six guys," Kelly Shoppach said. "That's how we're built. That's the makeup of this club. We hate to take those things for granted, but we sure have a lot of confidence running those guys out there."
The starters are averaging 6.43 innings per start, which means less work for the bullpen. That they are pitching to a 3.62 ERA – fourth-best in the American League – means the Rays can win with an offense that averages 4.1 runs per game.
"In other years we've had a lot of different things come into play, but for me, this year it's been the starting pitching holding it down," Howell said. "You can't get much better than this. I don't think so."
Interesting fact:
Only the Kansas City Royals have a smaller payroll than the Rays' $42 million. Lackey, Carl Crawford and Bobby Jenks alone make about that much in Boston.
Only the Kansas City Royals have a smaller payroll than the Rays' $42 million. Lackey, Carl Crawford and Bobby Jenks alone make about that much in Boston.
christ on a crutch.....Sox are getting so plundered by Lackey
58 starts so far for a composite 5.15 era (6.30 in 25 starts this season).....If he works three more times in reg season this year his payroll will be just under HALF A MILLION DOLLARS per start since coming to Beantown
58 starts so far for a composite 5.15 era (6.30 in 25 starts this season).....If he works three more times in reg season this year his payroll will be just under HALF A MILLION DOLLARS per start since coming to Beantown
