Route 66
July 4th, 2016
The big picture is stunning, ugly, and scary.
At Sunday evening’s halfway mark of this season, the Rays are on pace to win 66 games.
That’s a big enough sample size. It’s not a bad stretch, a rough patch or bad luck. They’ve been awful. Anyone watching regularly can attest.
Invisible starting pitching. Too many dead bats. Defense that’s fallen off a couple of notches from years past. A lifelessness at times that makes you not feel bad if you miss a few innings. And there’s way to much overselling by team media on how “hard” the Rays are playing.
For those who think the Rays are such grinders, Joe suggests you watch the rest of the majors.
The Rays last won 66 games in 2007, but that team left you with hope. You could see past the heinous, vomit-inducing bullpen led by Shawn Camp’s and Casey Fossum’s torture, and it was clear that legit young arms and a sparkling young outfield could form a real team nucleus. And there were A-list draft picks simmering in the minors.
Now, Joe’s not sure. Route 66 has a lot more potholes this time around, and the engine of this Rays car is suspect.
July 5th, 2016 at 2:30 pm
At the rate they’re going, Route 44 would be more accurate.
July 5th, 2016 at 2:39 pm
Joe, you forget that Kevin Cash cost this team 8 games minimum. At least 3 or 4 in Oakland/Seattle when he stubbornly used Geltz BEFORE the injury bug to the tune of 3 losses in 5 days which was so idiotic as everyone knew the guy was a homer machine! Add the 2 major gaffes this past week with pulling Andriesse versus the Tigers where he actually accepts the blame along with a couple of other one run losses where Cash made a crucial brainfart and we have a 0.500 team and the Yankmes are in the basement…. This team is not as bad as 2007 Joe, it has injuries and a manager who could take a 100 win club and make it sweat out the wildcard with his poor decision making! Healthy and with a good manager this team could be above 0.500…. Fire Kevin cash; its obvious he is not the type of guy who can motivate a bunch of AAA players….. Charlie Montoyo can do that and he is already a line coach….. I am pessimistic Joe, but about Cash, not the future of the team like you…. Looks like you are setting us up for another: Montreal is calling to go along with the Vegas is calling mantra that Oakland A fans hear from their pessimist beat writers!!!!! Below average article Joe; lay blame at the manager, quit giving this moron a pass!
July 5th, 2016 at 3:18 pm
Good analogy Joe – “The engine of this Ray’s car is suspect.” The front office felt that Matt Joyce, James Loney, and Wil Myers had bad attitudes or couldn’t hit. Let’s see, Matt Joyce at the halfway point in the season is hitting .300 with Pittsburg. James Loney is hitting .294 with the Mets.
Wil Myers is hitting .284 with 19 home runs and 57 RBIs with San Diego. This is the front office that practically gave these players away. Now look at the averages of the players the Rays trudge out every day. The only two hitting above average Logan Forsythe at .304 and Evan Longoria at .276. Miller does have 12 HRs at the half but below average defensively.
The front office completely failed. Brought in an ASSISTANT pitching coach to manage their team. You mean, out of 32 teams with bench coaches, there was not ONE that would work here ? Even for the average fan, this is insanity !
July 5th, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Maybe Matt Joyce, James Loney, and Wil Myers are working with a major league hitting coach.
July 6th, 2016 at 12:49 am
Have to admit that Myers is beginning to turn it around in SD. Too bad he did not get that hairccut for cancer a couple years back aat the Trop. that uvenile mistake got him labelled as a cancer in the clubhouse as was the rumor in KC as well and that probably got him moved to SD for Rene Rivera and Steve Souza who just got benched for lack of hustle in the Angels game (per the SP times writer Tomkin)… Another trade that went south for the rays and might have been $ motivated as well as Souza probably was thought to be cheaper to keep than Myers in the long run…. Man its tough being a Rays fan!
July 6th, 2016 at 12:53 am
Don’t forget Sean Rodriguez and Jaso at Pittsburgh Darth; though they are not everyday guys in Pitt they sure as hell are contributing when given the opportunity. BTW I think Loney was a pure financial move as he made pretty decent coin, Myers was an alleged attitude issue and Joyce was just a bad decision by rays management!
July 6th, 2016 at 1:01 am
One more thing; I have to agree I was a bit harsh in my first post in this thread. Darth’s wisdom has made me think that the front office is the root of the problem. Yes, cash is making numerous errors and has cost the team 8 games minimum via his ineptitude and no one has any idea why Derek Shelton is still the hitting coach after almost every MLB player who moves on from the rays seems to have a breakout year with another club while the rays continue to struggle night after night to score runs and would be last in mLB for runs scored if they did not hit so many ****ing solo homers (too bad they never get any base runners on before the big bats hit….). Anyhow my s**t list is K Cash and Shelton but in retrospect I believe that the reason these guys are still employed and that the rays have simply threw away so much talent via poor trades is the front office!… BTW when was the last trade the rays made that really worked out in the long run: Myers/Odorizzi would have been a win if they still had Myers….. I’d say they’s have to go back to getting Archer in the Garza trade (and Garza was steal from the Twinkies before that in the D Young trade).. Its been a long time since the Rays have fleeced anyone!
July 6th, 2016 at 3:14 pm
I heard on the radio that the Rays are thinking about trading Archer to the Dodgers who want him. From all star to potentially out the door. The Rays, like the global economic system may go cashless.