Some of the faces may change, but some things stay the same.
The GBT - The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
RAYS 2, Blue Jays 1 (boxscore)
THE GOOD: The starting pitching is doing Rays starting pitching things even with all the injuries. Jake Odorizzi was the latest, going 8 innings and allowing just 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks. In the last 3 games, starters have pitched 22 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs on 5 hits with a 0.82 ERA…What is up with the bases-loaded walks? The Rays got 2 more last night and now have 6 on the year. The Red Sox have 2. No other team has more than 1. To put that in perspective, the Rays are on pace for 129 bases-loaded walks. The team record is 25 (2008, 2010) and 29 if we include hit-by-pitches with bases loaded (2008)…Allan Dykstra got his first big league hit. It was a long time coming for the former 2008 first-round pick. Unfortunately, Dykstra did it with a nasty black eye that happened on a bunt attempt in batting practice.
THE BAD: The Rays’ starting pitchers have been as awesome as expected. Unfortunately, they only have 3 starting pitchers right now. Most teams use 5. The Rays typically have 7 or 8 We’ll find out tonight if Matt Andriese will make it 4.
THE TELLING: The Rays are 4-3, 1.0 game behind the Red Sox and tied with the Blue Jays…Matt Andriese will make his first start today.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays are #7 in this Fox Sports MLB Power Ranking. [FoxSports]
- Rob Manfred was in Toronto and said a lot of the same about Montreal and the Rays. Montreal? Maybe. Get a new stadium and he’ll talk. The Rays? Stuart Sternberg is committed to making it work here and that’s good enough for Manfred. [TampaBay.com]
- Outside of Mikie Mahtook, the 2011 draft, when the Rays had like 48 first-round picks, has been a complete disaster. [TampaBay.com]
- 1,300 words on the potential of Kevin Kiermaier. [Fangraphs]
- DOWN ON THE FARM [boxscores] Ryan Brett was 0-4 with Durham. Scott Diamond tossed 5 shutout innings. Hak-Ju Lee did not play. In double-A, Daniel Robertson was 0-4 with a walk. Richie Shaffer had a single and 2 walks. Justin O’Conner hit a 2-run home run, his first of the year. SS Andrew Velazquez went 3-5 for Charlotte. Willy Adames had a double and a walk in 5 plate appearances.
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3 Comments
Amazing! Notice how hungry this team is to play compared to the past couple years where we handed out contracts and guys got comfortable. It's still early but I think I'm feeling the Rays spirit again! A roster full of rookies and underdog mentality complements us well. It's feeling a bit like 2008 around here
I agree generally about the benefits of "youngry", but the vets who are getting paid (Jennings, DeJesus, Cabrera and Longo) have been showing up as well.
Nice team effort here. Just need to split the next two starts until Archer is up again. With all of these domed stadium games to start the season, can't even hope for an April rain out.
Yup, so far the chemistry really looks like it's working. Still early though. But I'm excited to think of how the team will look once Cobb, Smyly, Jaso, Loney, and McGee are back.