The Rays have struggled with the bats as of late, but one position that's been struggling all season is that of catcher. Former DRB mainstay R.J. Anderson joins me for a discussion about the position and what, if anything, the Rays can do.

Erik Hahmann: Heading into spring training the Rays looked as if they'd get league average offensive production and above from eight of the nine positions, the one outcast being catcher. That's pretty much held true thus far. The backstops have combined for a line of .179/.244/.253. Before we get into specific players let me ask you this, do the Rays actually need to get some production from their catchers?

R.J. Anderson: The answer to that depends on how you categorize need and how you evaluate the catchers' defense and whatnot. If you only look at batting average then you might say the Rays need better production out of Ben Zobrist, too. Still, the backstops haven't been pretty at the plate. Entering Wednesday, the Rays ranked 29th in catcher OPS, only ahead of Oakland and fantasy trade heartthrob Kurt Suzuki. Could the Rays stand to get better offensive production? Yes. But that isn't the question for me. The questions is how do they get that better production?

EH: That's another question I wanted to ask; is there a point of diminishing returns when it comes to playing Jose Molina? How many runs does he have to save defensively to make up for his bat? How much value does his defense add to an already good pitching/fielding team? There's a reason he's only appeared in more than 80 games once in his career. A great offensive team can afford to all but punt an offensive category like a fantasy player would. I'm not sure the Rays can. To answer your question, the only way to get that better production would be via trade, unless Lobaton begins to hit like he did at Durham last year.

RJ: There are reasons why Molina has never been a fulltime starter, but there are reasons why he's lasted 13 seasons with a career .285 on-base percentage, too. The guy can catch. We--the analytical community--used to ignore defense for everyone, but especially catchers. We would pretend that the only difference was in caught stealing rates. Now, obviously that's changed with some of the recent work, and maybe we are too far the other way where we look at Molina and completely ignore his offense because his defense is that good.

I couldn't tell you how many runs he adds or how much cascading value he brings to the table (be it by dissuading baserunners from attempting stolen bases, or providing some advice to the pitching staff). What I can tell you is that the Rays can live without offensive production from the catcher's spot when the rest of the lineup is healthy. Entering the season, I think everyone knew the only real question marks were catcher and shortstop (and Sean Rodriguez has done his part to make shortstop a non-concern). If you look around the league, you can win without a great catching situation, so long as the backstop you do have brings something to the table. Molina does.

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After taking two of three from the Red Sox in Boston the Rays came home and ran into a buzz saw by the name of the Chicago White Sox.

I'm not going to dwell too much on the sweep. The White Sox are playing very well at the moment and the Rays are trying to keep their head above water in a sea full of torn hamstrings, sprained knees and broken toes. They lost three straight, and you know what? They're going to lose three straight again this season. It happens. There's no use getting upset by it.

Alex Cobb had a tough day, allowing four runs on nine hits while throwing 91 pitches in five innings. His defense didn't help him out much early as Paul Konerko and Alex Rios each singled to left field in the first inning on balls that could have/should have been made by Drew Sutton or Elliot Johnson. He was able to work out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the second inning but came back in the third to allow a double, hit by pitch, single and sac fly that scored two runs. Cobb had good success with his changeup, throwing it 35 times for a strike percentage of 77 and generated seven whiffs. He struggled with his fastball, both with command and velocity. Last season his fastball averaged 91 miles per hour, this season it's sitting at 89 and topping out today at 90. The velocities of all of his pitches are down compared to last season. Perhaps that's a lingering effect of the surgery he had last season?

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Provided without commentary:

via www.tampabay.com

via www.tampabay.com

You can find more pictures here. This team is something else.

• Do pitchers throw harder in certain situations? Max Marchi takes a look.
• What does Justin Verlander mean? Jeff Sullivan tells us.
• I can always use more Rich Thompson stories.
• Rancel hits on the changes BJ Upton has made in his approach.
• The most popular baseball team in Florida is your Ta....your Mi....nope, still the New York Yankees. While the Rays dominate the Bay area market in the poll, they finish third in central Florida behind both the Yankees and the Red Sox. Nice work, Collette.....
• Sabermetrics - Overrated in baseball or the new standard? For the lulz

There were certain expectations put on Sean Rodriguez coming into the season. He was expected to win the starting shortstop job and did so. He was expected to flash excellent glove work and has thus far. He was expected to be league average with the bat, which isn't a high bar to reach for a shortstop. That bar looked out of reach in April. However, the month of May has been a different story.

It's not a stretch to say that Rodriguez was one of the worst hitters in baseball in April, putting up a line of.190/.274/.238 with a .238 wOBA in 76 plate appearances. He had one (!) extra base hit. His walk rate was a decent 10.5 percent but he struck out 25 percent of the time. When the calendar turned over so did his game, hitting .300/.329/.486 with seven extra base hits in roughly the same number of plate appearances. His current May wOBA of .354 is good for ninth overall for shortstops and seventh among third basemen. In April his .238 mark was seventh and fifth worst respectively. In months in which he's had more than 50 plate appearances his wOBA of .354 is the highest of his career, narrowly edging last May's .351. How has he turned it around?

There's no one answer to point to specifically. He's begun hitting fastballs better which certainly helps. Look at the pitch result data from April and May.

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The first seven innings went well. James Shields was excellent, the offense drew a career high seven walks off opposing starter Ricky Romero, and there was little reason to worry. Then the eighth inning happened.

After allowing a one out double to Jose Bautista, James Shields was pulled in favor of Joel Peralta with the Rays leading by two. In four pitches the lead was gone. As Edwin Encarnacion rounded the bases I couldn’t help but think of all the writers who now had to re-work their already mostly finished game stories. I felt the same thing in my head. The Rays have a good bullpen. They don’t blow two run leads in the eighth inning very often. Mentally I had to hit backspace just like the scribes in the press box. It’s a new game. The events of the last few hours don’t mean much now. That’s a feeling that’s unique to baseball, I think. No other sport lends itself to the game turning on a dime quite like baseball, which is one reason we love it, I suppose. It turned one more time in the 11th inning when B.J. Upton stepped to the plate.

After a Rich Thompson hit by pitch and a Carlos Pena strikeout, Upton faced Darren Oliver. The Jays had burned through four relievers already and left Oliver in to face the right handed Upton. It seemed like overexposure to me, seeing as Oliver had already faced six batters, but on a 2-2 count Upton laced a double down the left field line, allowing the blazing Thompson to score easily from first, giving the Rays a 5-4 victory. For the day Upton went 3-6 with two doubles and a stolen base, extending his hitting streak to seven games. In those seven games he's gone 13-29 with four doubles and two home runs. The walk off hit was the fifth of his career and fourth against Toronto. With so many players lost to injury it's super important that a hitter like Upton step up and have a big impact. The top five hitters in the Rays' order got on base 14 times. You're not going to lose too many games when that happens.

As I mentioned before, Shields was excellent in working 7.1 innings while striking out 10 and walking just one. It was the second time this season Shields has struck out 10+ batters. The Toronto hitters had a rough time with his changeup as nine of his ten strikeouts came on the pitch - and all were swinging. His ground ball rate on the day was 63 percent, marking the ninth time in ten starts this season he's been at or above 50 percent.

With the amount of men the Rays put on base the game shouldn't have been so close, but a win is a win and thanks to the Orioles loss they're just one game back in the division.

The pillar of the Rays success over the past four seasons has been pitching and defense. With the budget they roll with they're never going to be able to sign high priced offensive talent, so it's the only means to success they have. Lately the pitching has been stellar but the defense has been lacking, with last night as a prime example. Couple that with the lack of offense and it's taking a toll.

The Rays were able to weather the storm early on with all of the injuries, but lately the effect has been more evident. They haven't scored more than four runs in seven straight games. The same thing could have happened even with Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings in the lineup, but I wouldn't bet on it. Even the loss of Jeff Keppinger is having a bigger effect than was originally thought. They're currently two games out of first but not so far removed from last place in the stacked A.L. East. The patchwork offense and defense needs to tough it out a little bit longer.

• More gladiator helmets? More gladiator helmets.
• The great Sam Miller discusses baseball and the F-word with an appearance by J.P. Howell.
• Someone stormed the field at AT&T Park and Jon Bois is all over it.
• It's funny how things can change in a month.

Interleague play didn't start the way the Rays had hoped, dropping the first game against Atlanta by the score of 5-3 in front of 19,693 at Tropicana Field.

James Shields was good but faltered in some key situations, allowing four runs in six innings. Usually getting 18 swinging strikes, while striking out eight, in six innings yields positive results. He was able to successfully work low in the zone, registering all but three of his whiffs there.

He had a rocky first two innings, allowing a run in each, but settled down in the third and fourth. It was the fifth that would be his undoing. After retiring the first two batters on five pitches, Shields gave up a two out walk to Martin Prado who advanced to second on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and would then score on Freddie Freeman's double to left field. After another two out walk to Dan Uggla, Brian McCann singled to right-center past a diving Ben Zobrist giving the braves a 4-2 lead. It's a baseball cliche, but you really never want to give up a two out walk. Shields gave up two of them that inning and it ended up costing the Rays.

That's not to say that the Rays would have won if not for those walks. The offense didn't mount much of an attack against Tommy Hanson. They had their chances, in the second inning after an Elliott Johnson bunt scored Luke Scott they had men on first and second but came away with nothing. In the third they loaded the bases with one out and plated one on sac fly by Luke Scott but were unable to break anything open as Jeff Keppinger grounded out. They were able to get a run in the eighth on a Luke Scott single - and nifty slide by Sean Rodriguez - but that would be the extent of their night.

On the night the Rays got one hit and two walks out of the top four men in their order. That's not going to get it done a vast majority of the time. The lefties in the lineup should have had a good shot against Tommy Hanson, who came in with FIP's of 4.25 and 5.97 against left-handers last season and this season. The only one that did was Luke Scott who picked up two hits against him. Ben Zobrist, Carlos Pena and Matt Joyce went hitless. Elliott Johnson, hitting from the left side, dropped in a safety squeeze for a base hit. Scott's star shone bright tonight, going 3-3 and knocking in two of the team's three runs.

Alex Cobb starts tomorrow in his first major league action since undergoing surgery last season after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. Facing a good Braves lineup is no welcome back present, so hopefully he can show the poise and promise he showed late last season.

After the game the Rays optioned Jose Lueke, who was impressive in his one inning of work, to Durham to make room for Cobb.

• One note about the Braves, Chipper Jones left the game with a contusion on his left leg after being drilled by a B.J. Upton liner. He received a big ovation from the crowd before his first at bat, stepping out of the big to wave his cap in appreciation. The Rays have a video tribute planned for him Sunday as well.

Today is the start of interleague play, the silly money grab instituted by in 1997. Watching the Rays play a team, lets pick the Nationals, is no more exciting than if they were to play the A's another series. It's especially less exciting when American League pitchers have to hit. By less exciting I mean brutally painful. The Rays open up with a three game series against the Braves then don't face another National League team until June 8th when they travel to Miami.

Besides the lack of excitement Interleague also messes up an already unbalanced schedule. The Rays won't play the same teams as the rest of their division, but the games will count toward crowning a division champion. It's said every year, but I'd love for baseball to get rid of interleague play and divisions entirely, going to a completely balanced schedule. That will never happen, though.

• Over at Fangraphs our man Bradley Woodrum has a nice post about Rich Thompson and the dream of every kid that ever put on cleats.
• Can the Orioles keep it up? Jay Jaffe takes a look.
• We can never, ever, ever, ever have enough talk about defensive shifts and Jeff Sullivan is happy to oblige.
• Bees! Ah!

There aren't many players in baseball like Ben Zobrist. Sure, lots of players will hit roughly the same number of homers and drive in roughly the same number of runs and steal roughly the same number of bases, but few, if any, will do it with the defensive prowess of Zobrist. He's a gold glove caliber second basemen and an above average right fielder. He's also started at least one game at every position besides pitcher and catcher. How many players can say that? The Rays' Mr. Everywhere is having one of the stranger starts to a season that I can remember, and it's been a whole lot of fun to watch.

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The good news is the Rays won the game, pushing them back into first place. The bad news is the disabled list has a new member. Let's start with the good news first.

After being held hitless by Brandon Morrow for the first four innings the Rays' bats came to life in the fifth. Will Rhymes lead it off with a double and was brought home by an Elliott Johnson single two batters later. After a fielder's choice and a walk to B.J. Upton, Matt Joyce hit a sharp grounder to first basemen Adam Lind who couldn't field it cleanly, allowing Joyce to narrowly beat Kelly Johnson's throw to first. Joyce was safe despite sliding head first into the bag, which is among the dumbest things a player can do unless he's trying to avoid a tag as it slows you down. After Carlos Pena reached on a wild pitch strike out Luke Scott and Sean Rodriguez added back to back two RBI hits to give the Rays a five run cushion. Ben Zobrist would add a solo home run in the ninth, making the final score seven to one.

Contributing one hit and reaching base three times tonight, Johnson has been on some type of hot streak. Not known for a great bat, Johnson was hitting .138/.265/.172 on May 4th. Coming into tonight's game he had improved that line to .264/.339/.415. He's now reached base 13 times in his past seven games. It's not something he's likely to maintain, but with Evan Longoria still out it's been a nice added bonus.

The bad news of the night comes in a 6'9 package. Jeff Niemann was struck by an Adam Lind ground ball in the first inning. He finished the frame but wasn't able to come out for the second. According to Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times Niemann has a fractured right fibula, putting him on the disabled list for a few months at least. He had been pitching well this season with a 3.13 FIP and 8.02 K/9 in six starts. Longevity had been an issue as he worked beyond the fifth inning just once. A replacement hasn't been named but it seems likely that Alex Cobb will fill the void in the rotation.

The situation is similar to last September 24th when Niemann left a start against Toronto after just one inning. Alex Torres pitched five innings in relief and the bullpen threw eight scoreless innings as a whole. Tonight, Cesar Ramos, Wade Davis, J.P. Howell, Burke Badenhop and Jake McGee combined to throw eight scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. McGee was particularly impressive, letting the first two men reach in the ninth then getting the next three batters to strike out swinging to end the game.The bullpen has quietly been coming together nicely over the past few weeks, even when pressed into unusual circumstances like tonight.

Despite being off to one of the best starts of his career, Yankee Stadium still proved to be too much for David Price to overcome.

He has a 4.54 ERA there, his second highest at any stadium with a minimum of three starts. He was able to make it through seven innings, saving the bullpen from getting too taxed. In those seven innings he allowed five runs on eleven hits. The bulk of the damage came in the fifth inning. He allowed six baserunners, including a double to Alex Rodriguez and a home run to Robinson Cano. Looking for a silver lining, Price did throw 20 changeups again and was effective with 14 going for strikes. He even mixed in 14 sliders. His continued maturation has been one of my favorite things about this season.

The offense, without Desmond Jennings, Matt Joyce or Luke Scott in the lineup, was pretty much held in check against Sabathia. They had some chances against the hefty southpaw, including loading the bases the first two innings but only coming away with two runs. They had men in scoring position in the fourth and seventh innings as well, but couldn't get a hit when they needed it. I think they went 2-1,469 with runners in scoring position this series. My math could be a little off, though. Sabathia was at his Sabathiest, generating 15 swinging strikes, 10(!) on his slider.

The loss of Evan Longoria, and in this game Desmond Jennings as well, are far more glaring when facing a pitcher like Sabathia. The lack of right handed depth hurt. The team could have played better, but there's no shame in losing two of three in New York. As Joe Maddon said after the game about winning one against the Yankees "It's better than one." Dropping two in a row at home to Oakland is a far worse crime. Now the team travels down to Baltimore for a first place showdown with the Orioles. Jeremy Hellickson takes the hill tonight, looking to rebound from the shortest outing of his career.

According to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune the Rays have officially called up outfielder Brandon Guyer from Triple-A Durham.

#Rays recall Guyer. Have not announced the corresponding move yet.

— RMooneyTrib (@RMooneyTrib) May 9, 2012

The 26-year-old outfielder, acquired in the trade of Matt Garza last winter, was hitting .294/.365/.459 with three home runs in 97 plate appearances for the Bulls. With Desmond Jennings knee an issue at the moment the Rays could use the extra outfield help. As Mooney noted, no roster move has been made to clear a spot.

The Rays could go in a few directions. They could send down Brandon Allen or Elliott Johnson. or place Jennings on the disabled list. Another, be it less likely, scenario is that a trade has been made that we're not yet privy to. We'll post more information as it becomes available.

Guyer, best remembered for hitting a home run in his first career at bat, is able to play all three outfield positions and spent a short time last season with the major league club, posting a.580 in 43 plate appearances.

Update: Well, it wasn't a move anyone expected. The Rays placed Jeff Keppinger on the restricted list due to a personal matter, according to Mooney. A time period for the absence wasn't given at this time, though the team expects it to be short.

As if the Rays needed anymore injuries, left fielder Desmond Jennings left Sunday's game with what the team revealed is a left knee sprain. It's the fourth leg injury the Rays have suffered so far this season, though one is more severe than the others: Luke Scott's sore hamstring, Evan Longoria's torn hamstring, B.J. Upton's tight quad and now Jennings' sprained knee. The injuries to Scott and Upton caused them to miss games but not land on the disabled list. With any luck that will be the situation with Jennings.

Without Jennings the Rays are a different team on the basepaths. He has eight steals while the rest of the team has a combined twelve. It doesn't help that Upton missed two weeks and thus hasn't had the opportunities, but the fact remains.

With every tweak, strain, pull or tear it reminds me of just how healthy this team has been over the last several years, especially the pitching staff. Carl Crawford's 2008 season in which he played just 108 games has been the most injury plagued on the offensive side. No pitcher has gone down needing any type of major surgery, either *knocks on all kinds of wood.* It's a testament to the training staff and something the Rays have to be extra careful about given their razor thing margin for error.

• The Week in Worst is one of my favorite features at Baseball Nation. This week's includes Michael Saunders' leaping attempt at a Luke Scott fly ball that ultimately won the game for the Rays.
• Mike Axisa gives us a fun fact sheet about Mariano Rivera. Did you know Aubrey Huff has hit .400/.429/.800(!) off Rivera?
• Bill Chastain gives a nice account of the Rays success under the guiding hand of Joe Maddon.

After winning five straight close games the Rays, backed by a stellar outing from David Price, made things a bit easier for all involved Friday with a 7-2 victory over the A's.

To say Price was superb would be an understatement. He threw 106 pitches in his eight innings of work, giving up three hits and striking out 12, including at least one from every member of the Oakland lineup. He generated 20 swinging strikes(!), including three on thirteen changeups and four on nine cut fastballs. The A's have one of the worst lineups in baseball so it's not as impressive as if he did it against the Rangers or Yankees, but a 0.34 FIP is a 0.34 FIP. In his past two home starts Price has a line up 17IP, 8H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 18K. Over his last three starts he's struck out 24 and walked just three. Once again he did a wonderful job of mixing his pitches, and throwing away from the hitter's strengths. Looking at his strikezone plot (shown below) you can see how he mostly attacked lefties inside and stayed away from righties. He's been a revelation this season, gaining confidence in all his pitches and using them to his full advantage.

via www.brooksbaseball.net

It likely makes it much easier to pitch when your offense gives you a six run lead, Roy Halladay aside. Every starter excluding Ben Zobrist reached base at least one time. The table was set by Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton who had two hits a piece, including two doubles from Upton. Luke Scott and Matt Joyce continued their impressive starts to the season by provided run scoring hits in the third and fourth innings. With Longoria out it's important that those two keep hitting well to soften the blow. Even Jose Molina got in on the action, belting his first home run of the season and 30th of his career.

The team is rolling right now, winning six in a row and 12 of their last 13, improving to a major league best 19-8. Jeremy Hellickson looks to keep the momentum going tomorrow night as he squares off against Bartolo Colon.

This spot is usually reserved for news about the Rays, and in some ways this does affect them. Mariano Rivera is hurt. Hurt doesn't describe it. He's 42 and suffered a torn ACL while shagging fly balls in Kansas City. Those two things don't usually lend themselves to a comeback. He's spoken about how this would be his last season, and if this really is the end then it's a sad, sad day for the sport. Despise him for the uniform he wears, but respect him for what he's been able to do over his career. Baseball is worse off without him.

Somehow he became the only Yankee I actually liked. Admired is a better word. He throws one pitch and everyone knows it, yet there's nothing they can do with it. That's the ultimate sign of baseball bad-assery. With Rivera out the Yankees will turn to either David Robertson or Rafael Soriano to fill the void. Whoever the new long term closer is for the Yankees he'll have a huge act to follow.

• Is the frequency of no hitters rising? No, says Alex Remington, but complete games are.
• Rafael Betancourt hasn't hit a batter since 2003. That's a streak of 2,262 batters faced. That's utterly amazing, as Jeff Sullivan notes.
• Howard Bryant takes a look at Delmon Young and where the troubled hitter's career goes from here.

May 1st is supposed to be a happy day. Historically, it is an ancient spring festival celebrated in parts of the world and is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. The Rays started the day a little weary-eyed after an extra innings win against the Mariners to cap a 15-8 month against a grueling schedule. The only planned event on the agenda was a press conference to officially announce the minor league signing of Hideki Matsui but Murphy's Law went into effect and by the end of the day, three pieces of unfortunate news came out that changed the course of this successful start of the season.

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Through the first nine innings the most eventful play didn't involve scoring a run, striking someone out or making a great defensive play. It looks routine in the box score: Longoria caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. It ended up being anything but. Longoria was lifted from the game with what the Rays are calling "left knee soreness" after sliding unsuccessfully into second. It looked like he hurt the knee just before descending into the slide. If Longoria is to miss any extended period of time it would be a huge loss but wouldn't sting as badly as it did last season when he missed a full month. The Rays offense was worse than it is now, depending on Felipe Lopez to help fill the void. They have a variety of options involving Jeff Keppinger and Elliot Johnson if a DL stint is required for Longoria. It would take away some of their positional flexibility but they're more equipped to handle something like that than most teams.

Now, on to what else happened on the field.

Jeremy Hellickson and Felix Hernandez were excellent. That's the basic summary. Hellickson went seven innings, allowed one run and struck out seven. Hernandez went eight innings, allowed one run and struck out nine. The weak hitting Mariner lineup had little chance against Hellickson. His changeup, thrown 30 times, generated 11 whiffs. He was especially unpleasant toward Brendan Ryan, striking him out three times. His most impressive feat, though it may not be considering the competition, was not walking a soul. Coming into the game he had a 1.17 strikeout to walk ratio. Striking out seven and walking none will help swing that in the right direction. He also came into the game with a ground ball rate north of 45 percent and continued the trend by inducing seven more grounders on the night. He pitched well enough to win, the only blemish coming off the bat of Miguel Olivo. Victory was denied to him by the opposing pitcher, Hernandez.

Much like Hellickson, King Felix kept the Rays off balance with his devastating changeup. He threw 17 of them and the Rays swung and missed at four. They had their chances, though, leaving a man in scoring position in the second, fifth and eighth innings. The most painful being Carlos Pena's ground-rule double in the fifth inning. Had that ball not skipped over the wall Ben Zobrist would have made it home easily. Instead, he was stranded at third as Johnson was called out after bunting foul for strike three. Although Johnson ended up being the big hero on the night, a lot of credit is due to B.J. Upton. It was his double in the second that put Brandon Allen into scoring position and his hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that tied the score and sent the game to extra innings. Thankfully League went away from the slider away, Upton's worst pitch, and left a fastball up in the zone that was able to be driven to right.

A big tip of the cap needs to be extended to the work of the bullpen. Four pitchers combined to throw five innings, allowing just one run with a five to one strikeout to walk ratio. Even the pitch that Wade Davis throw to Jesus Montero that temporarily put the Mariners ahead was in a good location that he was able to golf over the wall.

The Rays face Hector Noesi tonight. He's given up 10 runs with as many strikeouts to walks over just 6.1 innings pitched in his last two starts. Hopefully the Rays, sans Longoria, are able to beat him up as well.

While Brandon Allen is deservedly the talk of the town for one day. Another player that was the talk of the town for many, many days over his career in Tampa Bay is having a rough go of it to start the season. Carl Crawford is being shut down from baseball activity for the foreseeable future with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament.

There are many in the Tampa Bay area that openly jeer him, booing him with lion-like ferocity. I don't begrudge him anything. He was with the Rays for nine seasons, three longer than is required and played wonderfully. He earned that pay day, no matter if it was the Red Sox that signed him. Seeing him struggle mightily in Boston hasn't brought me any joy. There's a difference between struggling and being injured. He's going to try rehab instead of opting for surgery. Hopefully that cures what ails him, even if it means a positive contribution to the hated Red Sox this season.

• In case you missed it yesterday, Adam Berry of MLB.com had good article on the Rays shifting prowess. My favorite nugget was that Shields can call his own shift, audibling out of a certain formation if he thinks a pitch he's going to throw will go a certain direction. We all love shift talk. Shift shift shift.
• Mighty Casey isn't off to the best of starts with Cleveland, as Paul Hoynes details.
• Former Devil Ray Aubrey Huff was recently put on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder. For anyone that has ever suffered with anxiety, and I have, though not to that extent, it's an awful, awful feeling and nothing anyone should take lightly. Get better soon, Huff.

UPDATE:

Who else has watched this ∞ times?

The Rays seem to like playing at home. Tonight's win moves them to 7-1 at home this season and have now won 18 of their last 21 regular-season games at the Trop. This series also continues a stretch in which the Rays play 13 of 16 at the Trop; they're 4-1 so far.

He didn't pitch a complete game like his colleague David Price the night before, but Jeremy Hellickson was very solid in his six innings of work, improving his record to 3-0. He gave up one run, the blemish coming in the forth inning courtesy of a Vernon Wells home run. As usual his best pitch was his changeup, which he threw 22 times and generated eight swinging strikes. Of course, that pitch is set up by the excellent command of his fastball. He didn't get any whiffs on it, but had a strike percentage of over 65%. Even his rarely used curveball was on display tonight, prominently featured in the sixth inning strikeout of Albert Pujols.

Speaking of Pujols, the Rays implemented the extreme overshift for him again tonight, and used different variations of it against Tori Hunter and Vernon Wells. They were once again able to contain Pujols, giving up just a walk in his four plate appearances. He's been sufficiently frustrated this series.

C.J. Wilson was impressive as well in the loss, striking out 11 and only allowing two runs in his seven innings. The damage came in the third when Ben Zobrist had a solo blast and Jeff Keppinger's bloop double scored Carlos Pena. It was a one run game until the eighth inning when the Rays were able to give themselves a little breathing room.

After a walk by Evan Longoria, sac bunt by Elliott Johnson and strikeout by B.J. Upton, Luke Scott was intentionally walked to set up the double play. The walk of Scott lead Joe Maddon to pinch hit Matt Joyce for Sean Rodriguez, which worked out as Joyce also walked to load the bases. Instead of allowing right handed Chris Gimenez to face the right handed Isringhausen, newly acquired Brandon Allen was called upon to make his debut. Isringhausen was able to get two strikes with his four-seam fastball but missed with his curveball and cutter, walking Allen and giving the Rays an extra run they'd desperately need after the Angels scored an unearned run in the ninth. Looking at the Pitch f/x data it seems as though Allen was fortunate enough to get a gift ball call on the first pitch of the at bat.

via www.brooksbaseball.net

In any case, the Rays won, setting up a possible sweep tomorrow afternoon as Matt Moore squares off against Jerome Williams. Hopefully Moore, who has struggled with his command in the early going, can improve upon his 0.92 K/BB ratio.

If you haven't heard already, the Rays are planning to sign Hideki Matsui to a minor league contract. Steve's going to have a more extensive look at him later, but for now lets consider what the signing means. The answer is not a whole lot. He's coming off his worst season in the majors -- he had a .696 OPS. Simply put, he's insurance. If Luke Scott gets hurt or Brandon Allen doesn't work out the Rays have a veteran bat waiting to take over.

It's a no risk situation for the Rays. If he hits well, awesome. If he sucks, oh well. Matsui has played a total of five minor league games in his life, and those were just rehab stints. He's going to look awfully funny sporting the Durham Bulls D on his cap.

• Friend of the site Tommy Rancel has a nice take on James Shields' ever changing pitch selection over at ESPN1040. Without overpowering stuff he has to keep hitters off balance as much as possible.
• With the retirement of Pudge Rodriguez, Matt Klaassenn takes a look at the three biggest hits of his career according to Win Probability Added (WPA).
• The Always entertaining Sam Miller takes a look at Albert Pujols and tries to locate what has gone wrong, and what he's doing differently, this season.
  
• Hey, did you know Moneyball died again? Grant Bisbee tells us so.
  

Life above .500 was a short one for the Rays. Coming home after consecutive impressive victories over the Blue Jays, the team couldn't maintain a seventh inning lead, giving up three runs in the frame to fall behind by one, a lead they would never regain.

It wasn't the best of starts for Matt Moore -- though considerably better than his previous outing. He got through six and a third (his third straight start over six innings) but couldn't locate his pitches well enough to go deeper. He was able to get seven swings and misses, which is good, but walked three batters and struck out just two, which is bad. On the season he now has 12 walks and 11 strikeouts. He consistently missed up, throwing 16 called balls above the strikezone.

The real issue arose in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and the Rays clinging to a two run lead.

The Situation:

Bases loaded and one out with Joel Peralta facing Joe Mauer. This was an interesting matchup as Mauer had reached base safely three times on the night, and owns a career OPS over 1.000 at Tropicana Field, and the right handed Peralta has reverse splits. The battle ended in Peralta's favor when Mauer popped out softly to left field. This brought up Josh Willingham, among the hottest hitters in the game. After getting ahead 1-2, and with the defense shaded for the right handed Willingham to pull, Peralta left a fastball up in the zone that was pushed past the outstretched arm of B.J. Upton for a bases clearing double. He hadn't allowed a hit in his last three outings. That put the Rays in the hole they'd never climb out of.

A half inning earlier the Rays had scored three runs of their own, and likely should have scored four, which would have made Willingham's double sting a bit less. With the bases loaded and no outs Carlos Pena hit a ground ball to second that was scooped by the fielder, thrown to second for the first out and flung to first where he was called out. A run scored on the play but after viewing the replay it sure seemed as if Pena beat the throw to first. The next batter, Evan Longoria, hit two run homer to deep left field. Maybe the Twins pitch Longoria differently if there are two men on instead of one, but that run ultimately cost the Rays at least an opportunity at a victory.

James Shields goes tomorrow, he of the 16.1 innings pitched in his last two starts. Another outing like that would go a long way to saving an already taxed bullpen.

In a roster update, Reid Brignac was optioned to Triple-A Durham to make room for the recently acquired Brandon Allen.

Road trips aren't fun. Unless you mean the type you take with your boys during your sophomore year of college. Those are fun. Traveling for work, though? Who enjoys that? The Rays are finally home after a grueling 10 game trip that saw them play afternoon games in Detroit and take in first pitch before lunch time in Boston. When you're used to beginning work at 7pm, that sucks.

The road trip was tough, but things don't get much easier with the Twins and Angels in town despite each being under .500. Justin Morneau looks to be recovering nicely from his concussions with four home runs though 11 games. Joe Mauer is starting to do Joe Mauer things. Jered Weaver has an 11.50 K/BB ratio in 20 innings. There's still that Pujols guy. A series at the Rangers also looms at the end of the month. Heading into the season a .500 month of April would have been acceptable. Certainly it's not up to the Rays' standards, but considering the competition, and rash of injuries they've faced, it seems like a reasonable goal. They currently sit 7-6. Bring it on, Twins.

• I don't know if everyone saw it last week, but The Onion did a little piece on Joe Maddon and his constant infield shifts. As always, The Onion wins.
• Over at FanGraphs, Dave Cameron takes a look at the odds of Bartolo Colon's 38 straight strikes. Needless to say we likely won't see something like that again for a long, long time.
• One of the funnier posts I've read in a while comes from Jeff Sullivan at BaseballNation. It's worth it if only for the lines about Casey Kotchman.

If you're a regular reader of this site then you're likely familiar with the term "The Danks Theory". If not allow me to explain. The Danks Theory is a term coined by Tommy Rancel, former Editor in Chief of DRaysBay, to describe a certain lineup strategy employed by Joe Maddon and the Rays. In said strategy the Rays construct their lineup to neutralize a specific above average pitch from the opposing starter. It was first employed in 2010 against White Sox starter John Danks. It's since been used numerous times against pitchers such as Shaun Marcum, Dallas Braden, Tim Wakefield and Ricky Romero.

The main weapon it's designed to take away is the changeup. Braden threw a perfect game against the Rays utilizing his changeup against a right handed heavy lineup. Never again shall they let that happen. I mentioned Ricky Romero, whom the Rays faced off against tonight. Over the past three seasons he's thrown his changeup over 20 percent of the time, by far his second most used pitch. He faced the Rays five times last year with mostly good results. Last night was their first meeting of 2012, and the first time the Rays employed The Danks Theory this season. How did it work?

Continue reading this post »

There are many cliches about "aces". One of the most common being they're who you look to when needing to stop a losing streak. I don't know if James Shields qualifies as an ace, but he certainly fit the bill for the Rays this afternoon.

Coming off four straight losses, three at Fenway, the Rays needed something good to come of the day. They had been outscored 31-11 in the first three games of the series. You shouldn't panic over a small sample, but, man, a win would feel good before the team heads to Toronto. Shields was fantastic in his 8 and 1/3 innings, allowing just four hits and striking out five. His cutter was especially good, throwing it 39 times with 26 being strikes. Brooksbaseball mistakenly defined it as a slider, but the pitch averaged 90mph, just below Shields' normal fastball velocity. The performance was especially good given Shields' poor career numbers in Fenway. In 10 career games coming into today he had allowed a slash line of .300/.356/.526. That makes two starts in a row where Shields has gone at least eight innings and give up two runs or less. He's looked as if he's determined to show that his 2011 season was for real, his Opening Day start not withstanding.

As well as Shields pitched, the game wasn't in hand until the final batter thanks to the offense's inability to get a key hit. They recorded seven hits and seven walks, which is usually more than enough to score a few. Instead, they were fortunate enough that Bobby Valentine left Daniel Bard in the game in the seventh inning to face Longoria with the bases loaded and two outs, having already walked six and thrown over 100 pitches. Longoria walked, bringing in the only run that would score all day. They had many other chances, though. Aside from the seventh they left a man in scoring position in the second, third, fourth, fifth and ninth innings. This team's success with situational hitting comes in streaks it seems. It has to get better soon because it can't get any worse.

What seems to be the talk of the game is the final out. After watching it live and looking at the Pitch f/x data Cody Ross and the Red Sox have some beef. Fernando Rodney didn't throw a single ball in the strike zone but was able to get the umpire to ring Ross up on strikes. They attacked him away, which is smart, and Jose Molina framed the pitches beautifully. The ability to frame would be balls into strike calls is something Molina is very adept at and a big reason the Rays signed him this off season.

via www.brooksbaseball.net

In any case, the Rays won, evening their record to 5-5. It doesn't get easier tomorrow as they face Ricky Romero tomorrow in Toronto.

I'm not sure if this type of thing is documented, but it sure seems like the Rays have had more injuries to start this season than any before. Sam Fuld, B.J. Upton, Luke Scott, Kyle Farnsworth and now Jose Lobaton. We don't know the severity of Lobaton's shoulder. He said he experienced soreness and they're going to run more tests in Boston. If he were to go on the disabled list the Rays wouldn't have many answers in terms of a replacement.

The best bet, outside of acquiring someone totally new, is Nevin Ashley, a 28-year-old light hitting catcher with limited experience above Double-A. A call-up of Ashley would require a 40-man roster decision. The Rays have a few options, but the most likely would be placing Sam Fuld on the 60-day disabled list. Hopefully it doesn't come to this and Lobaton only has to miss a game or two at the most.

• Before the season started I had never heard of Valley Fever. Now I can't go a week without hearing of it. What is it and how dangerous has it become to major league players? Alex Remington takes a look.
• Our friend Tommy Rancel takes a look at what has always plagued Jeff Niemann. Pitches 1-75 = good, pitches 75+ = bad. It poses a concern for his long term effectiveness.
• Johnny Damon is going to be an Indian, signing a $1.25 million pro-rated contract. The deal could include an opt-out clause for when Grady Sizemore returns from the DL. He's going to play the field for the Indians. You all have fun with that.

The Rays lost yesterday. That's not good. Instead of dwelling on that fact, let's take a look at some news surrounding our most beloved team.

Injuries

Luke Scott continues to suffer from a mild left hamstring injury. The designated hitter received a cortisone shot Monday but said the muscle was still sore Tuesday. It's unknown when he'll return to the lineup, but the cold weather in both Detroit and Boston wouldn't seem to help the situation. He has a history of hamstring issues, dating back to 2010 with the Orioles. As long as his shoulder is feeling OK then there shouldn't be too much to worry about.

B.J. Upton should continue his rehab assignment today. He said he felt good after his debut Monday. Hopefully he'll be ready in time for the April 20th series against the Twins.

Contracts

The soon to be 30-year-old Ian Kinsler received a five year, $75 million contract. The soon to be 31-year-old Brandon Phillips got six years, $72.5 million. The soon to be 31-year-old Ben Zobrist is in the middle of a four year, $18 million contract. He'll make $4.5 million this season and $5.5 in 2013 with two club options of $7 and $7.5 million after that. Over the past three seasons no second basemen has been worth more fWAR than Zobrist's 19.2. Kinsler and Phillips have 15.8 and 13.6 respectively. If you take out defense and just use weighted on base average (wOBA), Kinsler has a slight lead over Zobrist at .363 to .362 while Phillips is farther down with .340. What I'm trying to say is, Ben Zobrist is awesome. And cheap. Very cheap.

• Over at Baseball Nation, Rob Neyer asks if the Rays' shifts redefining how teams play defense. It's an interesting question. No one has shifted for hitters more over the past two seasons than the Rays. This season they've started to shift more for right handed hitters. If it works, or if other teams even think its working, then we're likely to see a bunch of copy cats in the coming years.
• Is it time to end the practice of beanball? FanGraphs' Wendy Thurm thinks so. With the amount of money at stake it seems like only a matter of time before baseball curtails it.

Evan Longoria's dream of a perfect season is over as the Tampa Bay Rays dropped their first game of the season, a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. It wasn't a particularly impressive game for the team in any way, shape, or form, but they managed to head into the seventh inning with a 2-1 lead. It all fell apart from there.

The damage began with two outs in the bottom of the frame, with Matt Moore facing Austin Jackson for a fourth time. Jackson's previous three plate appearances had ended in a strikeout and two walks, although Moore had been squeezed quite a bit by home plate umpire Ed Rapuano in Jackson's third at bat. This at bat was no different as Moore seemed to get robbed on a strike call that would have ended the inning, which you can see below. Instead, on the seventh pitch, Moore grooved a fastball that Jackson took deep to left field, tying the game at two apiece. There's no saying the Rays would have won the game had Jackson been called out on strikes, but it was still a major turning point in the game.

While he wasn't dominant, or even very sharp at times, Moore had a successful season debut. He walked four batters unintentionally but wasn't missing horribly with his pitches. His velocity was great, sitting at 93 and reaching 95 in the cold Detroit air, though he only had a 55% strike percentage on the day with his fastball. His change up worked nicely, recording eight strikes in 11 attempts. He wasn't the Matt Moore we saw blowing away the Texas Rangers in the playoffs last season, but it's a start.

After Jackson's home run, the final damage was done by Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder against Jake McGee. After having retired Brennan Boesch to finish the seventh inning, the southpaw McGee was left in to face the right handed Cabrera. That didn't work out well, as Cabrera laced a double and was then singled in by Fielder to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. After the game, Joe Maddon said he wanted McGee to face Cabrera due to his powerful velocity, thinking that out-weighed the righty/lefty matchup. He was right about McGee's velocity -- he averaged 95mph -- but McGee unfortunately left one up in the zone against Cabrera. Again, there's no way to say the Tigers wouldn't have taken the lead even if Cabrera was retired, but things certainly went downhill from there. Burke Badenhop relieved McGee, but was equally as bad. You know the rest of the story.

The offense recorded eight hits, which is good, but only one extra base hit, which is bad. They also only walked one time, which isn't going to cut it most days. Hats off to Rick Porcello for seven strong innings.

Tomorrow doesn't get any easier as James Shields squares off against American League MVP Justin Verlander.

"People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." – Rogers Hornsby

In case you hadn't noticed, it's Opening Day. Not much else really needs to be said. It's OPENING DAY. They've come a long way in 15 years.

via www.bestsportsphotos.com

Here are some fun Opening Day facts:

-In their 15 seasons no pitcher has started Opening Day in back to back years. James Shields holds the record for Opening Day starts with four (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012).

-In fact, a different pitcher started each Opening Day from 1999-2009. That's impressive.

-Juan Guzman, he of the two year, $12 million contract, took the mound in 2000, throwing 1.2 innings before injuring his arm and never pitching again. I repeat, 1.2 innings for $12 million.

• You want a comprehensive rundown of the Rays' pitchers this season? SBN Tampa Bay has it.
• If you all haven't seen or heard about it yet, www.aminorleagueseason.com is one of, if not the coolest things happening this season. Matt Lawell and his wife are traveling to every minor league park this season. Yeah, you read that right. Matt's a talented writer and will be writing at length about their journeys. The site will also have video and photo updates. Go to the website to keep up with them, and follow them on Twitter @AMinorLGSeason
• Call to the Pen has a pretty comprehensive preview of the 2012 team.

"When you have all those expectations attached to you as a young player, we have no idea what that looks like, what that means," Maddon said. "And he's had that, and he's had to do a lot of his learning right here. I know I like what I'm seeing right now."

That quote is from March 1st, 2012, but it could be from virtually any spring of Upton's career. He's been part of our lives since he was just 19, when he was called up to the majors far too early, still searching to find his position. We've watched him grow into a ball player and a person. This season will be his sixth, and likely last, as a Ray. He's the longest tenured Ray and over that time has done exactly what I want an athlete to do; made me give a shit one way or another.

Love him or hate him, he's the most polarizing athlete in the Tampa Bay area in the past 30 years, and possibly ever. Both sides have their cases, but at least he made you feel. He's kept sports talk radio hosts employed for the better part of four years.

His career with the Rays will likely come to an end sometime this calendar year, and when it happens I can't help but think I'll feel the same way former Houston Rockets' coach Bill Fitch felt about Ralph Sampson. After having coached the immensely talented yet underachieving Sampson in Houston, Fitch *said:

"I think, first of all, he was the victim of overstatement" "People would say he wasn't trying, but that wasn't the case. If anything he tried too hard. He just didn't have the bullets for the gun. And he needed a tank after what everyone had predicted for him."

*quotes taken from Chuck Klosterman's "Eating the Dinosaur"

That's not to say I haven't enjoyed the Upton experience. He's been the most intriguing player to watch, and he holds a big key to the Rays chances this season. If he hits well, in likely the second or sixth spot in the order, the Rays have a good shot of going deep in the playoffs. He's certainly capable of carrying an offense, as his 1.038 OPS last September can attest. On the flip side he can also hit like he did from June to August when his OPS didn't crack .700. His splits are just as confusing. Over the last three seasons his OPS against southpaws have been .572(!), .919(!!) and .746. Against right handers it's .734, .664(!), .763. His Isolated Slugging percentage splits are just as glaring: .260 vs LHP in 2010, .150 in 2011. Against right handers he increased from .153 to .199.

His plate dicipline numbers are still rather poor against same handed pitching, but he more than makes up for it against lefties. If he can maintain this newly found power stroke against righties that long predicted 30 home run season is still in his future.

He's been at least a four win player in four out of the last five seasons. He's just now entering his age 27 season, peak age for a player. He's a free agent after this season. If he comes back healthy from his DL stint he's going to make a lot of money, more than most will expect. Since 2007 only five centerfielders have accumulated more WAR than Upton's 20.1. Nothing he'll do will likely top his amazing 2007 season, but it's going to be damn fun to watch one last time.

Everyone loves to rosterbate. It's a cathartic exercise. With B.J. Upton and Sam Fuld headed for the disabled list, now is as good of a time as any to guess at their replacement. I say replacement, singular, because Elliott Johnson is making the team. Like him or not, he can play the infield and outfield, something the Rays covet in a reserve, so he's not going anywhere. That leaves three outfielders for one spot: Brandon Guyer, Jesus Feliciano and Jeff Salazar.

Guyer would seem to have the inside track, having experience with the organization at the major league level and having the far superior numbers overall. However, whoever is selected isn't automatically slotted into the starting left field position, which may work against Brandon Guyer if the team wants him to play every day to start the season. The Rays have the luxury of putting Zobrist in left and allowing Jeff Keppinger and Elliott Johnson to share time at second. In a pinch Johnson could even fill in at an outfield position if need be. Who do you think should get the nod? Who do you think will get it?

Injury Corner:

Fernando Rodney was struck in the right forearm by a line drive from the Pirates' Alex Presley. He's at least the third Rays' pitcher to be struck by a liner this spring. What the H is going on? The x-rays were negative, he'll just be sore for a few days.

• The top 500 player countdown continues at ESPN, this time with numbers 100-51. Zobrist is 97th, Matt Moore(!) 55th and James Shields 54th.
  
• An archived piece by Nate Silver? He defends Jeffery Loria, which isn't an easy thing to do, being the awful person that he is.
• Jeff Samardzija is going to be the number three starter for the Cubs. That's...interesting.