The GBT - The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
RAYS 6, D’backs 4 (boxscore)
THE GOOD: Desmond Jennings must have heard the rumblings. The criticism was coming fast and heavy this week. Coming into last night’s game, Jennings was hitting .171 with a .237 OBP, with just 3 home runs, 2 stolen bases, and numerous defensive gaffes. Yours truly proposed a tongue-in-cheek trade of Jennings for Carl Crawford with the Dodgers throwing in $30 million and a new pair of knees for Crawford and the Rays tossing in a 6-pack of Cigar City. I might have also suggested that the beer was more valuable than Jennings. There was also Marc Topkin who wrote that Jennings has “disappointed” and that his “disinterested and lackadaisical play” has created a “negative energy” that has extended to the clubhouse. The criticism appears to have lit a fire under Jennings, for one day at least. He went 3-4 with a home run and a walk. He drove in 3 of the runs. That being said, it is still one game and I would be shocked if this kept up for more than a few days. I was more impressed with the home run of Tim Beckham. I’ve said it before: there is nothing accidental about bat speed and Beckham has oodles of it. If he ever gets his sh*t together, Beckham is a 30-home run hitter in the waiting. This was also the biggest hit of the game, turning a deficit into a 1-run lead.
THE BAD: Chris Archer wasn’t terrible. He went 6 innings, gave up 3 runs. He also struck out 12 batters. That’s good. In fact, overall, this is a very good performance for a 4th or 5th starter. However, it is not good for an ace. More importantly, you can’t be giving up home runs to the other team’s pitcher. I am starting to wonder if this is just going to be one of those lost seasons that many great players have. For some reason, it seems like when this happens the player can’t properly assess what is happening as it is happening. Rather, it will come after the season when Archer looks back. At that point, maybe Archer will realize that what got him to where he was in 2015 is hard work and dedication and maybe he was starting to spend too much time being a star and one of the new “faces of MLB” and thought he could continue to get by on just natural ability. That’s not to say Archer shouldn’t be doing those other things. But at some point there needs to be prioritization if wants to be great and he needs to recognize when he is spreading himself too thin. Those are the sort of things he may see after the season.
THE TELLING: Evan Longoria was named AL Player of the Week…The Rays are now 26-30, 7.0 games behind the Orioles and a half-game behind the Yankees for fourth place…[Durham 6, Norfolk 0] Jamie Schulz faced one over the minimum in 7 shutout innings, striking out 10 and allowing just 1 hit. Daniel Robertson hit his 3rd home run.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Here is another breakdown of Chris Archer’s disappointing season. [Big League Stew]
- TOPPS made a card for Evan Longoria’s recent home run binge. [Topps Company]
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7 Comments
Colome made a fourth consecutive appearance and notched his fourth save in a row. Cash is crazy if he replaces him with Boxberger when he comes of the DL (again).
I wonder if that is Cash or upper management's call. I agree with you, Rob.
Yall are fuckin crazy! Yes jennings was in a slump but he broke out of it in toronto when he went 3-5 wit a Homer and cash sits him the next day. That entire series jennings was seeing the ball better and sat him in between games WHY? but you play Lomo thru his same struggle????? Funny I ain't playing the race card or anything but COME ON so yes I get the frustration or the disinterested look. Wouldn't you be? Hell
We want Des to show enough here before Guyer comes back off the DL so he could be off-loaded for something.
Romero needs to be able to throw strikes. A trip to Durham is in order to regain that. I wouldn't mind them starting Blake Snell in the bullpen to (a) keep his innings count down and (b) help the team in desperate need, kind of like Price throwing out of the bullpen some in 2008, the year of Percival.
Do Beckham,Motter,and Franklin remind you of S Rod,Brigniac, and Elliot Johnson. ? ?
Moore has zero movement on his fastballs. Maybe he should try a 2-seamer.
Agreed. My son, a former pitcher, tells me he's tipping his pitches as well. Has to do with his glove placement during the delivery. Could be as the D Backs hitters were wailing on his breaking stuff.