Detours: a country in search of direction
On the eve of the election, a reporter and photographer set out for Washington, via America. We tell stories from seven towns, touching on seven issues from politics and real life.
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
Game show themes
These themes are probably going to make some of you have flashbacks to wasted mornings or afternoons spent sprawled in front of the TV.
Rays reliever Trever Miller was charged with three earned runs on one hit and two walks in the eighth. He didn’t retire a batter and saw his ERA for the season rise from 4.32 to 5.40.
[JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]
Akinori Iwamura scores on Carlos Pena’s sacrifice fly in the third, giving the Rays a 1-0 lead. Oakland then scored three in the fourth.
ST. PETERSBURG — If the Rays are going to be all right, they're going to have to do better against left-handers.
Tuesday, Oakland's Dallas Braden was the latest lefty to beat them, as they fell 8-1 to an A's team that had lost six straight, and looked bad in doing so.
They're 16-15 against left-handed starters, compared to 42-26 against right-handers; they're hitting nearly 20 points lower against lefties overall, .247 vs. .264; and they're going to see more lefties as long as they continue to struggle.
Manager Joe Maddon said he is confident they have the hitters in the clubhouse to correct the imbalance. Executive vice president Andrew Friedman — who met with Maddon for nearly 45 minutes after the game, though supposedly about the pending activation of shortstop Jason Bartlett — will have to decide soon, with the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline looming, if they need outside help.
"We talk about stuff all the time," Maddon said afterward. "And we've talked about that for a long time. We've talked about a whole bunch of things. And we're always trying to make it better. Those are part of our normal daily conversations. And we'll see."
The Rays' (58-41) optimal lineup is predominantly left-handed, and it's typical for left-handed hitters, even everyday players such as Akinori Iwamura, Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena, to not do as well against lefties. (Plus, they usually sit Cliff Floyd and Eric Hinske against lefties.)
But more concerning is that some of their top right-handers, such as B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria, also have struggled. Plus, Jonny Gomes — whose primary job is to hit lefties — hasn't done much yet, with a .205 average. And it's yet another reason why they miss Bartlett, who has a .324 average against lefties.
"The solution is that we just have to hit better against them," Maddon said. "The group that we have, we have plenty of right-handed hitters out there. We just have to do a better job with it. The lefties in the past, Carlos has done some good work against them, so has Carl and so has Aki actually. So we've just got to stay with it, hang with it, and we're going to get better at it. I'm certain of that."
Maddon pointed out that when they beat Oakland lefty Dana Eveland on Monday "everyone was happy" so it wasn't appropriate to be that unhappy on Tuesday, even though Braden made his first start of the season. But they've faced lefties in seven of their past 11 games and lost six.
"It's been a problem," said Gomes, one of a few position players who addressed the media. "But it's a long season. … It's one of those things we have to battle.''
With the lack of offense (including another 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position), starter Andy Sonnanstine's couple of mistakes were magnified: two singles on 0-2 counts then a three-run full-count homer by Jack Hannahan — his first since May 23 (thus a .337 slugging percentage that was third lowest in the AL) and the A's first since July 13.
Add in ineffective relief work and more sloppy defense (two errors by Ben Zobrist), and the Rays' lead over the Red Sox shrank to a half-game.
Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.
Left out?
Among the Rays who haven't hit well against lefties:
Hitter (Bats)vs. LHPvs. RHP
Carl Crawford (L).240.286
Jonny Gomes (R).205.170
Akinori Iwamura (L).263.283
Evan Longoria (R).247.285
Dioner Navarro (S).267.328
Carlos Pena (L).210.245
B.J. Upton (R).257.276
[Last modified: Jul 23, 2008 01:24 PM]
Comments on this article
by Tone
Jul 23, 2008 1:24 PM
The games they have won lately have not been very good wins. They look like the Devil Rays not the Rays. Somethin' needs to be shaken up. Too many struggling at once for it to be a fluke. Watching the Yanks and Sox gain ground is maddening!
by Gary
Jul 23, 2008 1:24 PM
Mark: The battging averages are only a little down against lefties. I'd like to see stats about hitting with runners in scoring position against lefties. I think that's where the big difference is.
by dayoneray
Jul 23, 2008 1:24 PM
Gomes isn't hitting well against anybody,below the Mendoza line all year. Upton has been looking pathetic offensively and defensively, he needs a new mental gear. Sitting Hinske against all lefties is crazy, let him hit instead of Gomes
by JB
Jul 23, 2008 1:24 PM
All the crummy teams have pitchers that can't throw strikes. If the Rays are to have any chance this year they need to fix this. There's no excuse period.
by Danny
Jul 23, 2008 1:24 PM
We desparately need Bartlett back. They are being way too cautious with him. Zobrist is a liability to this team. We need to get rid of him ASAP.
by David
Jul 23, 2008 1:24 PM
Be scared if you want to, be critical if it's your thing, but we're still leading the division and one of the top 4 teams in baseball in the second half of the season. I'd have taken that at the beginning of the season so I'm taking it now.
by Chopper
Jul 23, 2008 1:23 PM
Crawford has been hurting the Rays the most. He doesn't walk, his OBP is terrible and when he does get on, he has no clue how to run the bases. OVERRATED!!!
by Marc
Jul 23, 2008 1:23 PM
I turned the game off when Miller came in.. he and Hammel are going to give up 2-3 runs every time they pitch. No way they make this team if Friedman actually thought the Rays would make a run for the playoffs this season.Hitting woes continue too.
by Paully the Face
Jul 23, 2008 1:23 PM
Can someone please tell Carl Crawford it's ok to take a pitch!!!!
by Lori
Jul 23, 2008 1:23 PM
I though Sonny did well, the offense and bullpen let him down. We should have crushed that Oakland pitcher.
by raysfan
Jul 23, 2008 1:23 PM
zobrist is permanently terrible and sonnanstine didn't hit his spots at all, he made too many pitches in the nitro zone and that's how you become the game's LOSING PITCHER
Subscribe to the Times
Click here for daily delivery
of the St. Petersburg Times.
News
