The Rays came out this season with a new name and a new attitude. No longer the "Devil" Rays, and just the Rays, it seemed to be the first transformation of the young team. Not to sound like “Captain Obvious” here but the Rays have been the biggest surprise this season. Just don’t expect this to be the story of the year when they fall apart in the end.
In the past they have been the team you liked to run into when you were struggling because you could roll right over them and get your record right back on track.
That is far from the case this season with the majors best record at 54-32, nearly unbeatable at home with a 35-13 record at the Trop while playing .500 ball away from home with a 19-19 record.
They have a few major problems. Their closer, Troy Percival is not healthy and is the oldest player on the team at 38 year old. A team is only as good as its closer.
They are an extremely deep team however and can either make a deal or have someone like Dan Wheeler step up and fill the position. They also have an issue with the oft injured DH/LF Cliff Floyd who only has 111 AB’s this season. He is as big of a presence as anyone when healthy, but how will he hold up as the season continues?
Age just seems to be the biggest issue with this team – however, not the oldness of the team. They have a few older players such as the aforementioned Floyd and Percival, but it is not the old players that are going to hurt them nearly as much down the stretch. It is the youngsters of the team who have never played this many games and particularly the pitchers who have not pitched as much as they will this season.
Let’s start with their ace, Scott Kazmir. Kazmir has already been injured and missed some time, so he may not be too much of an issue when it comes to compiling innings, as the 24 year old has only pitched 72 innings thus far this season. However, in his last few starts he seems to be coming back to earth, not pitching with a one and a half ERA, having some five plus inning outings giving up three and four runs.
However, their second best starter, Matt Garza, also 24 years old, has already pitched over 90 innings this season while in his career, he has only pitched a little over 223 innings. How will his arm respond? Chances are, he has some tired arm issues coming to him as do some of the other members of the staff.
26 year old James Shields has pitched 109.1 inning, while in his career has compiled just 449 inning pitched. 24 year old Edwin Jackson has pitched 103.2 innings this season, while in his career he has only pitched 376.1 innings. Lastly, there is 25 year old Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine has pitched 108.2 innings so far, which account for nearly half of his career innings pitched.
There is a reason why everyone says that the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. So far these young guns have won the sprint and only time will tell how they finish the race. These young guys don’t have nay clue how their arms will respond as this long season continues.
Oh, and before we forget, how will these kids deal with the pressure of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox breathing down their necks. How will they deal when a few of their players slow down? Will they fold or do they have (I hate this saying but it fits perfectly here) the intestinal fortitude to pick each other up, not get down, not give into the pressure that they have never dealt with before and to keep winning? That is a big problem with a young team and the average age of their players is 27.7, although for the most part that number is upped by a few older players in their mid and upper thirties.
This is a mid twenties team – two of their youngest outside the pitching staff at a prime age of 22 and 23 in Evan Longoria and BJ Upton.
Do they have the conditioning? Do they know what to expect from their bodies? And when they do fall off a little, how will they react? That may be the biggest question of them all.
When they start to feel a lot of pressure, having for the most part, never being through a pennant race, how will they react mentally? It is so easy for a team who weren’t expected to do anything to just get down on themselves and play the way everyone expected them to play prior to the start of the season.
It is also easy for them to just get down on each other and feel they were a flash in the pan. Right now they a have had virtually no set backs. It is when you really see what a team is made of when their backs are up against the wall. Do they fall apart or do they come back with vengeance.
Look at last season Yankees. They were 14 games out of first yet by the end of the season they had captured the Wild Card with some ease and were just two game behind the first place Red Sox. The Sox and Yankees know what it takes to come back when behind the eight ball and have succeeded. The Rays players have never been through it and there is a good chance they will fall apart.
Come the final weeks of the season, the Rays will have been a great story but not good enough to make a playoff run and probably not good enough to even make the playoffs. They will just be another story of first half wonders that fell apart when it really mattered.
In the past they have been the team you liked to run into when you were struggling because you could roll right over them and get your record right back on track.
That is far from the case this season with the majors best record at 54-32, nearly unbeatable at home with a 35-13 record at the Trop while playing .500 ball away from home with a 19-19 record.
They have a few major problems. Their closer, Troy Percival is not healthy and is the oldest player on the team at 38 year old. A team is only as good as its closer.
They are an extremely deep team however and can either make a deal or have someone like Dan Wheeler step up and fill the position. They also have an issue with the oft injured DH/LF Cliff Floyd who only has 111 AB’s this season. He is as big of a presence as anyone when healthy, but how will he hold up as the season continues?
Age just seems to be the biggest issue with this team – however, not the oldness of the team. They have a few older players such as the aforementioned Floyd and Percival, but it is not the old players that are going to hurt them nearly as much down the stretch. It is the youngsters of the team who have never played this many games and particularly the pitchers who have not pitched as much as they will this season.
Let’s start with their ace, Scott Kazmir. Kazmir has already been injured and missed some time, so he may not be too much of an issue when it comes to compiling innings, as the 24 year old has only pitched 72 innings thus far this season. However, in his last few starts he seems to be coming back to earth, not pitching with a one and a half ERA, having some five plus inning outings giving up three and four runs.
However, their second best starter, Matt Garza, also 24 years old, has already pitched over 90 innings this season while in his career, he has only pitched a little over 223 innings. How will his arm respond? Chances are, he has some tired arm issues coming to him as do some of the other members of the staff.
26 year old James Shields has pitched 109.1 inning, while in his career has compiled just 449 inning pitched. 24 year old Edwin Jackson has pitched 103.2 innings this season, while in his career he has only pitched 376.1 innings. Lastly, there is 25 year old Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine has pitched 108.2 innings so far, which account for nearly half of his career innings pitched.
There is a reason why everyone says that the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. So far these young guns have won the sprint and only time will tell how they finish the race. These young guys don’t have nay clue how their arms will respond as this long season continues.
Oh, and before we forget, how will these kids deal with the pressure of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox breathing down their necks. How will they deal when a few of their players slow down? Will they fold or do they have (I hate this saying but it fits perfectly here) the intestinal fortitude to pick each other up, not get down, not give into the pressure that they have never dealt with before and to keep winning? That is a big problem with a young team and the average age of their players is 27.7, although for the most part that number is upped by a few older players in their mid and upper thirties.
This is a mid twenties team – two of their youngest outside the pitching staff at a prime age of 22 and 23 in Evan Longoria and BJ Upton.
Do they have the conditioning? Do they know what to expect from their bodies? And when they do fall off a little, how will they react? That may be the biggest question of them all.
When they start to feel a lot of pressure, having for the most part, never being through a pennant race, how will they react mentally? It is so easy for a team who weren’t expected to do anything to just get down on themselves and play the way everyone expected them to play prior to the start of the season.
It is also easy for them to just get down on each other and feel they were a flash in the pan. Right now they a have had virtually no set backs. It is when you really see what a team is made of when their backs are up against the wall. Do they fall apart or do they come back with vengeance.
Look at last season Yankees. They were 14 games out of first yet by the end of the season they had captured the Wild Card with some ease and were just two game behind the first place Red Sox. The Sox and Yankees know what it takes to come back when behind the eight ball and have succeeded. The Rays players have never been through it and there is a good chance they will fall apart.
Come the final weeks of the season, the Rays will have been a great story but not good enough to make a playoff run and probably not good enough to even make the playoffs. They will just be another story of first half wonders that fell apart when it really mattered.
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